Ingredients

brown rice, soaked overnight

1 nori sheet, ripped or cut into strips

mung bean shoots or alfalfa or other sprouts

fresh herbs, chopped e.g. basil, coriander, parsley

Pickles

fresh pickles e.g. daikon radish or cucumber in ume vinegar

OR

fermented veggies e.g. sauerkraut

Protein (about 10% of the meal)

stir-fried tofu or tempeh with shaved ginger and tamari

OR

beans e.g. adzuki soaked overnight, cooked with kombu, mixed with a little extra virgin olive oil and tamari or sea salt

OR

small bony fish e.g. sardines, anchovies, herrings

Veggies (30-50% of the meal)

raw veggies grated finely, julienned or shredded, e.g. carrot, daikon radish, lettuce, spring onion, beetroot (for summer—cooked in cool weather)

AND/OR

steamed vegetables, e.g. broccoli, pumpkin, green beans, carrot, corn (choose 1-2)

OR

stir-fried vegetables, e.g. bok choy, julienned carrot and parsnip, mushrooms (choose 1-2)

OR

roast vegetables, e.g. pumpkin, parsnip, carrot baked on top of nori sheets

Drain the soaked rice and cook in double the volume of cold water with a pinch of sea salt (if no time to soak, add ½ cup extra water). Fry tofu or tempeh cut into small strips or cubes in raw sesame oil, add shaved or grated ginger, at the end turn off the heat and add a splash of tamari and stir to coat. If using beans, make sure they’re cooked until very soft—don’t add salt until completely soft. Prepare quick pickles by finely cutting vegetables e.g. radish or daikon radish and soak in ume vinegar or brown rice vinegar watered down about 1:4 for 30 min or more. Prepare some raw veggies and/or steamed or stir-fried veggies.

Place some brown rice in a bowl (30-50% of the meal in hot months, up to 80% in cold months). Arrange toppings around the top in separate piles. Sprinkle with gomasio or toasted seeds/almonds, if desired. Alternatively, serve the toppings in small separate bowls and serve yourself little bits of each, grazing to taste. Chew everything very well.

Note: Avoid avocado and coconut (unless you live in the tropics) and nightshades e.g. capsicum, eggplant, tomato potato.