How to Pick Vegetables for a Macrobiotic Diet

Macrobiotic diets do more than require that vegetables as well as whole grains and beans make up the bulk of your daily diet. They qualify all food by its "yin" (expansion) or "yang" (contraction) qualities and consider how these foods affect the body's need to find balance. Our well-being can be better managed by avoiding foods that are too yin or yang. Eating one will make you crave a food that is as much yang as the first food was yin, for example; and you'll treat your body like a yo-yo. Read on to learn how to pick the right vegetables for your macrobiotic diet.

Instructions

How to Pick Vegetables for a Macrobiotic Diet

• 1

  Know the 15 "super foods" in a macrobiotic diet, five of which are vegetables. (While not technically a vegetable, shiitake mushrooms are another "super food"). Those five are sea vegetables like agar, wakame, arame, hiziki, kombu, and dulse; leafy green vegetables like kale, chard, collard greens, watercress, arugula, bok choy, and dandelion greens; pickles (not just picked cucumbers but also sauerkraut and kim chi); daikon radish, what looks like a large white carrot; and chile peppers. Eat these vegetables frequently.

• 2

  Avoid vegetables that are part of the "nightshade family" (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers) because they are extremely yin. They have high amounts of alkaloids that hinder our ability to absorb vitamin B, an important way for us to cope with stress. Vegetables with oxalic acid, like spinach, Swiss chard, and beets, should be eaten infrequently.

• 3

  Eat these vegetables frequently: bok choy, carrot tops, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, daikon greens, dandelion greens, kale, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, spring onions, turnip greens, watercress, acorn squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, cauliflower, hokkaido pumpkin, onion, pumpkin, red cabbage, and turnips.

• 4

  Make sure you eat plenty of roots, as well. Chose from burdock, carrots, daikon, dandelion roots, lotus root, parsnip, radish.

• 5

  Eat these vegetables occasionally: celery, chives, cucumber, endive, green beans, green peas, iceberg lettuce, Jerusalem artichokes, romaine lettuce, snap beans snow peas, and sprouts.