This past Saturday, I took a lovely 3 hour drive to Becket, Massachusetts. The macrobiotic Kushi Institute(www.kushiinstitute.org) had a free, afternoon “Open House” that day. Any macrobiotic centre is a great place to experience healthy living and vegan dining(though macrobiotics does allow the eating of certain fish). My commute was filled with picturesque views of the Blackstone Valley, lakes, mountains, forests, and everything that encompasses the Berkshire Mountain region. It is just minutes from the New York state line. You could opt to stay overnight on the grounds of the Institute for a $65 Relax & Renew night in their beautiful residence. Overnight visitors would then have time the next day to partake in the region’s attractions such as Jacob’s Pillow dance group performances or the Norman Rockwell Museum. I chose to stay just for the afternoon open house.

Prior to the workshops, visitors could opt for the $15 buffet lunch. It included macrobiotic staples such as brown rice with veggies, steamed greens, kombu seaweed salad, corn tortillas, wheat tortillas, black beans, sliced onions, pickled vegetables, and a fruit pudding-like dessert.

The afternoon consisted of several workshops from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. You could select among macrobiotic cooking classes, macrobiotic theory, shiatsu massage lessons, and diabetes and hypoglycemia healing.

I attended the shiatsu massage class first. We were taught how to make a fist and use it to gently pound up and down our arms and legs, then our stomach, back, and head. Then the instructor told us that a face massage does more for cell renewal and anti-aging than anti-aging moisturizing creams!! The facial massage must be done with open palms as our fingers stretch the skin on our cheeks, chin, mouth, and forehead.

There was a little bit of free time before the next demo, so I decided to visit the gift shop. I ended up doing quite a bit of my grocery shopping there!! For those who were not fortunate enough to visit, you can order their food and other healthy items from their website.. http://www.kushiinstitute.org. I purchased quinoa crackers, macrobiotic fruit and nut bars, twig tea, macrobiotic cookbook, whole wheat pasta, lotus roots, shitake mushrooms, barley miso, pickled umbushi plum paste, pinto beans, millet, and kombu sea vegetables.

Next up.. the macrobiotic cooking class. The chef prepared brown rice, tempeh strips, and thinly sliced veggies such as carrots. He then placed the seaweed down and pressed the rice onto it and sprinkled toasted sesame seeds. The tempeh and vegetables were placed on top. He rolled the seaweed with rice mixture using the bamboo sushi roll mat. He cut the rolled maki into two pieces then into another four. The resulting maki rolls were given to each class participant. I devoured mine!! It was delicious.

The final workshop was one on macrobiotic theory. The facilitator described studies and reasoning on how and why the macrobiotic lifestyle can improve or revoke medical conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, sleeplessness, and others. The lecture was followed by a raffle. The winners won brunch, overnight stays, and gift shop gift certificates.

I spent the next 45 minutes or so glancing at the Institute’s brochures on their programs then walking around the vast, beautiful, woodsy grounds.

Dinner was at 6pm after the open house completed. I enjoyed the brown rice, cauliflower soup, pinto beans, cabbage, pickles, leafy kale, and both barley and twig tea.The meals were fabulous!

I highly recommend a trip to the Kushi Institute for a relax&renew overnight stay, a week long health and nutrition program, or a cooking class. You will enjoy the healthy, vegan macrobiotic meals, the informative workshops, and the picturesque scenery!!