Fermented food in the Western world is usually dairy food, e.g., cheese, yogurt, kefir, sour cream, and buttermilk. In Eastern cultures, fermented food is mostly soy food, e.g., shoyu and tamari soy sauces, miso, tempeh, natto, and the like. Among ancient soy foods, miso has recently garnered great interest as a bracing superfood with beneficial properties that may help fight disease. Miso is the best food to support one’s effort to wean oneself from dairy food. Regularly taking miso greatly diminishes dairy cravings during the transition. Making that transition without taking miso is more difficult.

Heat oil in a large soup pot and sauté the garlic and onions for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the celery, corn and carrots. Sauté another 1 to 2 minutes. Add all of the beans and tomatoes along with their cooking liquid. Squeeze the water out of the soaked tofu and discard the water. Grate the tofu on a cheese grater. If some of the pieces are large, simply break them into smaller pieces with your fingers. Place the grated dried tofu in the soup pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Add the shoyu soy sauce, cover and simmer another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

The word macrobiotic comes from the Greek ‘makro’ meaning great or long, and ‘bios’ meaning life. It goes back quite far in both eastern and western cultures. Scholars, philosophers, and physicians have contributed to the understanding of the macrobiotic principles over thousands of years, using the word macrobiotic to reference lifestyle and diet which promote a fit mind and body, and associated spiritual freedom.Thanks to George Lima Ohsawa, Shuzo Okada, Herman Cornellia Aihara, Michio Aveline Kushi, their students, and others, macrobiotics studies continue.