Macrobiotic PotLuck Dinner

Join us on Saturday October 1st at 5:30 - 8:30pm for our Macrobiotic PotLuck Dinner at the Strengthening Health Institute

No Pre-Registration Required.

Please Call for More Details 215-238-9212

Potluck Dinner

Potluck Dinner
July 2nd, 2011
5:30pm - 8pm

1149 N. 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123

Free event - just bring a vegan macrobiotice dish to share!
Live music and group discussion to follow dinner!
Meet great people and enjoy delicious food!

For more information, call (215) 238-9212
or email info@strengthenhealth.org

Denny Waxman Comments on Coconut Oil

In a recent article on philly.com, Denny Waxman was interviewed on the subject of Coconut Oil (Trans Fats).

In layman's terms, coconut oil is perfectly safe to use in moderation but perhaps to replace other oils rather than being added to the diet.

Denny Waxman, who co-founded Philly natural food store Essene Market in 1969 and has since moved on to health counseling, has seen similar food "scares" and crazes come and go. His brother Howard Waxman owns the 4th Street store now.

"I just like to sit back and watch any time a new super food comes out," Denny Waxman said. "We're always looking for the next 'wonder food,' the next thing that's going to transform us. Whatever it is, it never turns out to be what people thought it was."

Waxman is a longtime practitioner of macrobiotics, a diet that suggests choosing foods indigenous to your or similar climactic zones yields maximum health benefits. So while Waxman prefers sesame and olive oil, he said, coconut oil is not the health villain it had been made out to be.

And for vegans or gluten-free dieters, coconut oil can be a miracle ingredient. With the ability to take on both liquid and solid states depending on its temperature, it's been used to replace butter or other trans-fatty oils. It's also appreciated for its nutty, sweetening flavor.

"The [dietary] purpose of oil is to make food more digestible, absorb minerals, fat-soluble vitamins and calcium," Waxman said. "Cooking with oil steps up the ability to get more energy from food. But whether you're using sesame or olive or coconut oil, we should use it more sparingly than liberally."

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"It's chilly in Philly."

It was "chilly in Philly" Susan Waxman said to the kitchen staff during out April CCP seminar. Drawing inspiration from the cold the kitchen staff constructed a snowman to display on the serving table out of polenta, a matchstick carrot, black sesame seeds, a radish sliver, sunflower seeds and other vegetable matter. 

The students seemed to welcome this creative addition to the meal. Hopefully we can continue creating works of art at many seminars to come!

Refreshing Spring Rain and Summer Sunshine: Cooking Classes for you!

It is raining this morning in Philadelphia. The rain coupled with the most warm air is a sure sign of spring! I hope you all take a walk in the refreshing outdoors on this beautiful day. 

With spring in the air we at SHI are happy to announce that we have some cooking classes coming up in the next few months. The first cooking class will be taught by Carlotta Lala on April 30th from 1:30-4:30 PM. She is teaching a class entitled: "Conscious Cooking and Thoughtful Eating". This class is sure to jump start your macrobiotic practice and boost your April spring cleaning with delicious intentional macrobiotic dishes. 

Before long we will have a heat wave sweeping over the city of Philadelphia, leading us into many bright and sunny summer days. For your summer dietary needs Debbie Albanese will be teaching a class entitled: "Its Summer Time and Living is Easy!". The date/time of this class is TBA but we are aiming to put it on our calendars sometime near the summer solstice. This class will surely prepare you for the warm summer months by giving you dishes/tips to change your dietary direction to beat the heat. It will also focus on simplicity and quick dishes to reduce kitchen time so you can spend extra time in the sun.

Both of these classes are $30 if you register in advance and $35 at the door. We hope you can join us for these exciting events! Please call 215-238-9212 or email Briel@strengthenhealth.org to register or with any questions.

Enjoy this refreshing day!

Your friends at the Strengthening Health Institute 

SHI update: Another Successful Potluck and upcoming ATS

We are thankful to say that we hosted another successful potluck here at SHI this past Saturday. We had about 25 people attend the potluck and bring delicious and healing food to share. We had everything from spring rolls and sweet potato samosas to brown rice. It was a delicious experience full of inspired conversation and good support. We hope you can join us for the next potluck which is scheduled for May 7th at 5:30 pm. The event is free, just bring a macrobiotic vegan dish to share with the group. Also, in order to minimize our environmental impact we are asking that everyone brings a reusable plate and utensils to the event.

We also have an exciting seminar coming up this weekend, April 8th - April 10th. An advanced training seminar entitled "Towards a More Western Macrobiotics". This seminar is filling up quickly, but we still have a few seats left if you are interested in attending.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. 

Concerns Surrounding Recent Events in Japan

Concerns Surrounding Recent Events in Japan

We at the SHI, including my wife, Susan and all of the staff, wish to extend
our most sincere prayers of health and healing to the Japanese people, the
land and the ocean that has been effected by the devastation of the
earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plants.

With regard to the effect of the tragedy on imported macrobiotic staples,
namely the quality of present and future Japanese miso, umeboshi, shoyu,
wakame and other seaweeds, here are my thoughts. As of the earthquake on
March 11th and the subsequent tsunami, nuclear meltdown and radiation
release in Northeastern Japan, the most recent shipment of Japanese
macrobiotic foods was already at sea before the earthquake hit, according to
the suppliers of the SHI.  The coming shipment is untainted but as far as
future supplies are concerned, seaweed will be most effected by radiation
fallout.  If you have further concerns, please speak to your favored
macrobiotic foods importer.

Shoyu is made in Sendai, as are some misos, such as Onozaki, and they take a
long time to make. It takes eighteen months to make shoyu and two years for
miso.  Hatcho miso comes from Okazaki, nine hours southwest from Fukushima.
Ryujin umeboshi plums come from Wakayama Prefecture in south-central Japan
and so should remain unaffected. In the end, a big part of the quality of
the product depends on the ingredients: wheat, soy beans, salt and waters,
as well as the environment in which they are made. We will have to wait and
see how the radiation settles, but for now, this might be a good time to
start exploring American macrobiotic products, e.g. South River Miso, Miso
Master Miso, Maine Coast Seaweed and California-made Umeboshi.

As for the plume of radiation headed for the west-coast of the United
States, the radiation levels are very low and most likely will have
dispersed to a non-threatening level, according to Scientific American on
March 16, 2011. Maintaining a diet that includes brown rice, miso soup,
moderate amounts of seaweed and adzuki beans are especially important for
keeping blood quality strong.  Seaweed also has the unique ability to bind
with heavy metals, such as cesium, one of pollutants found in radioactive
fallout. However, over-consumption of seaweed creates a mineral imbalance
and could lead to thyroid problems and extreme weight loss, due to the high
mineral content of sea vegetables.

I recommend an increase in sea vegetable consumption only in a case of heavy
exposure to radioactive metals, and not otherwise. The current levels of
radiation on the west-coast to not warrant increased seaweed.

In the case of heavy exposure to radioactive metals, foods to avoid include
sugar, soft drinks, fruit, juices, chocolate and highly processed foods. It
is also important to avoid extreme yang foods such as meat, chicken and
eggs. Someone in Sendai or someone who has been exposed to the meltdown in
or near Fukushima needs a simple diet of brown rice, adzuki beans, strong
miso soup and a bit more seaweed, well cooked vegetables, such as nishimi
and kinpira, and drink small amounts of kukicha tea as a beverage.  It would
also be imperative that all sugar, excess liquids and all extreme yin or
yang be avoided.

People living on the west-coast of the United States should maintain a
standard macrobiotic practice, making sure to include brown rice, miso soup,
adzuki beans and a normal amount of sea vegetables, no more than usual,
along with the usual variety of foods. I will keep you updated as more
information becomes available.

With continued prayers for Japan,

DennyWaxman

Potluck and Openhouse

With our open-house and potluck this past Saturday was quite exciting for us here at SHI. In the early afternoon we made delicious open-house snacks: popcorn, hummus with olives and veggies, bancha tea, hot apple cider, mixed nuts and rasins and a delicious grape kanten. We blew up balloons and decorated with beautiful flowers. We had 20 enthusiastic guests come to the open-house and enjoy our snacks and listen to Denny give a brief introduction to macrobiotics, which I will be posting on Youtube momentarily!
Our Saturday evening potluck was very exciting. We had over 30 people show up and bring delicious dishes for everyone to share! We raffled off a "Great Life Diet" book as well as an SHI goodie bag. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the delicious food and we are all looking forward to our next potluck on April 2nd at 5:30 p.m. We hope to see you there!

Mediterranean Themed Macrobiotic Cooking Class and more news updates

It has been an exciting week here at SHI! On Wednesday afternoon Susan, Garrett and Briel headed out to prepare for a cooking class Susan was teaching at the local Whole Foods. Susan taught a packed room of enthusiastic Whole Foods customers a Mediterranean themed macrobiotic cooking class. The students learned about basic macrobiotic principals as well as how to prepare couscous, a Greek with greens salad, puréed chickpea soup with basil and a poached pear with balsamic glaze! With our new ATS topics out last week we there has been a lot of interest generated in the programs. We hope that you can join us for one of them. Also, next weekend on March 5th SHI is hosting an open house with yummy and fun snacks as well as our first, but not last, potluck dinner of 2011!

Andy Davis performs the SHI theme song that he composed

Macrobiotic Dinner in Jacksonville and our first seminar of 2011

The past few weeks have been enriching and eventful here at SHI. Two weeks ago Denny and Susan traveled to Jacksonville and gave a seminar for 20 people there. Denny and Susan both enjoyed the trip and said it was delicious, enriching and enjoyable.

Last week we had our first Comprehensive Certificate seminar of the year. The center was alive with 21 enthusiastic students. With the staff added to that count our kitchen team was cooking for 30+ people throughout the seminar and both students and staff enjoyed every bite! We have just a few spots left in the CCP class of 2011, call our office today so that you can join in on the excitement this February!

Our first macrobiotic seminar of 2011

We just finished up our first seminar of 2011 here at SHI. We had a wonderful group of students for the Intensive. With just five students it was actually the smallest Intensive on record, and included two SHI employees! However, the intimate setting provided a unique supportive and peaceful learning experience. We set out on an exploration of yin and yang, macrobiotic history, philosophy, cooking, Do-in and diagnosis. All of the students left here with a greater understanding of macrobiotics and a healthier body and mind from sitting down to delicious and balanced meals over the five-day period.

Did you sit down and enjoy your regular meals today?

Invest in your health for the New Year with a Macrobiotic Program

Happy New Year! There are still a few spaces left for January's Strengthening Health Intensive. We hope you'll come jump start or re-energize your macrobiotic practice with a macrobiotic study intensive. It's not too late to sign up for the Comprehensive Certificate Program either. This one year program meets monthly and concludes in November.

All of the information is listed below or you can call us at
215.238.9212 for more information and to sign up.



Strengthening Health Intensive
January 12-16 and March 9- 13 (register early for savings*)

Deepen your understanding and appreciation for macrobiotics in a relaxing, rejuvenating setting, and enjoy three delicious macrobiotic meals per day prepared by our expert team of cooks. Main topics include:

• Understanding Yin and Yang
• The Seven Steps to Strengthening Health
• Nutrition and Digestion
• Transitional Symptoms and Discharge
• Food Classification and Choices
• Kitchen Set-up and Menu Planning
• Food Shopping and Storage
• Cooking Styles and Creating Variety in Meals
• Cooking Demonstrations and Classes
• Daily Exercise and Spiritual Meditation

Register at full price and each additional registration is only half price.
Students, take advantage of our student discount, $575
Family and Group discounts available

* Register for the March Intensive by February 9th and save $100!
Click here for more information.
Or call us at 215.238.9212

2011 Comprehensive Certificate Program
The Strengthening Health Institute's newly re-designed Comprehensive Certificate Program is a streamlined one year program. You will learn more through doing and interacting with fellow students. It is fashioned after the old macrobiotic study house, where people lived, ate, studied, discussed and played together.

The Comprehensive Certificate Program meets monthly and concludes in November. At each meeting during the year, the following five key areas will be covered:

• Macrobiotic Philosophy and Theory
• Shiatsu Massage and Do-In Self Exercise
• Oriental Diagnosis
• Cooking
• Macrobiotic Health Care for Oneself and Others

Cost:
$5495 Full Payment
$5800- Quarterly Payment Plan
$6000- Monthly Payment Plan

$3495 - Full payment to repeat the CCP

Learn more about the Comprehensive Certificate Program
Or call us at 215.238.9212

Advanced Training Seminar: April 8-10
The perfect way to continue your macrobiotic education

The April Advanced Training Seminar will cover a number of advanced topics ranging from Health Care and Diagnosis to Hands on Cooking and Shiatsu.

Learn more about the Advanced Training Seminar
Or call us at 215.238.9212