The Colors Of Yin and Yang

Color is one of the main tools for determining the proportions of yin to yang in something. The more red there is means the more yang it is; the more purple means the more yin.

The color spectrum ranges from red on one end to purple or violet on the other end — yang on one end and yin on the other end, respectively.

• Red is yang.
• Orange is less yang.
• Yellow is even less yang.
• Brown is a mixture of colors, yin and yang combined
• Green is even less yin.
• Blue is less yin.
• Purple is yin.

The more warm, dark, or bold (saturated) the color is, the more yang it is. The more cold, light, or pale (unsaturated) the color is, the more yin it is.

• Black is yang.
• White is yin.

Everything is relative. To figure out how a particular food, for example, is classified as either "Yin" or "Yang," I'll start by looking at the broad picture and what the color is overall.

• Animals are red-blooded, therefore animal foods are yang (compared to plant foods).
• Plants are green-blooded, therefore plant foods are yin (compared to animal foods).

Within each of these two categories are layers of subcategories that range from yang to yin to yang again. For example, a tomato is a plant food, therefore it is yin. A green tomato is more yin than a fully ripe red one, which is yang. The red tomato is yang compared to the purple eggplant, which are both fruits on a similarly sized plant.

Related Blog Articles:
The Color Classifications of Food
Guidelines for Classifying in Terms of Yin and Yang

Whole Date Cookies With No Added Sugar

Today I'm trying a new take on an old family recipe for Date Bars. I'm using whole organic deglet dates that I found from SunRidge Farms, certified organic by QAI (Quality Assurance International). And I'm omitting the cup of sugar in the recipe completely, without adding any other type of sweetener to take its place. I'm also using a mixture of whole oat flour, oat bran, and rolled oats instead of the white flour in the original recipe. These cookies have eggs in them; I'll try making a vegan recipe next.

Here is my new recipe for "Date Pecan Oat Bars":

325º F Oven, Preheated
8x8 glass baking dish, buttered
22 minutes (toothpick test comes out clean)

3 whole eggs
1/3 cup whole oat flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 cup oat bran (Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 cup extra thick rolled oats (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (non-aluminum)
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix the ingredients in the order listed above, spread evenly in the buttered (or oiled) glass baking dish, and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 22 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the dish before slicing into squares and removing.

And now let's see how they taste... My husband tried them first, "They remind me of Christmas!" he said. He found them to be quite sweet, and they certainly didn't need any of the missing sugar, but maybe they could have had less of the dates too!

I tried them next and wow that was good. Just the right combination of dates, oats, and pecans. It tasted like pecan pie, only more pure and natural. But very rich, even though the only fat was from what was in the eggs and the pecans. They're moist, compact, and can be cut into tiny squares or cubes to be eaten with one's fingers. These would make a good hors d'oeuvre, for special occasions!


Related Blog Articles:
Trying Out New Cookie Recipes
No More Sugar
In The Name Of Macrobiotics

What To Eat And Drink On A Macrobiotic Diet

(Picture I took of a rice paddy in California.)

Here is a list of what's healthy to eat and drink on a macrobiotic diet (see Chapter 5, "Ten Healthful Ways Of Eating And Drinking", in Zen Macrobiotics, by George Ohsawa):

1) Cereals — unrefined whole grains — as much as you like as long as you chew thoroughly (50-200 times). Whole grains are the foundation of a macrobiotic diet, and are called the "principle" foods. They should be a major part in every meal. Whole grains are better when they're rinsed and soaked in water overnight before cooking.

2) Vegetables — in season and locally grown (except for eggplant, tomato, or potato, which are too yin) — and wild vegetables — like dandelions, burdock, watercress, etc. — and wild seaweeds — like kombu, wakame, nori, etc.

Vegetables, wild vegetables, and seaweeds are "secondary foods" in the macrobiotic diet, and are usually eaten in smaller quantities than whole grains. Vegetables should not be soaked in water. Seaweeds, on the other hand, are dried (unless you get them straight from the ocean) and some are better when you soak them in water for 15 minutes before cutting them into pieces.

3) Animal foods that are free from chemicals (in the growing or processing of them), such as wild birds, fresh fish, shellfish, fertilized eggs, and organic dairy products, are "special foods" in the macrobiotic diet. They are eaten less frequently and in smaller quantities than principle and secondary foods.

4) Fruits, nuts, seeds, salads (raw vegetables), desserts, and beverages are also taken in smaller quantities than whole grains and vegetables. (See "Ten Macrobiotic Diets By George Ohsawa.")

5) Natural sea salt (unrefined)
6) Soy sauce, macrobiotic quality
7) Miso, macrobiotic quality
8) Gomasio — ground roasted sesame mixed with sea salt
9) Umeboshi plums, paste, or vinegar
10) Undyed, bancha or kukicha tea
11) Water that is pure, free from chemicals, with no additives or carbonation (no fizz!)

Cooking (boiling, steaming, pressurizing, sauteeing, frying, baking), drying, and aging/curing are all processes to make a food more yang. Adding water or oil makes the food more yin.

Some cooking oils are less yin than others, such as sesame oil (unrefined). This makes sense when you compare the size of a tiny sesame seed to, say, the size of an olive, which is also a tree fruit rather than a seed. (Small = yang, large = yin, seeds = closer to the ground/beginning of life = yang, fruits = further from the ground/ending of life = yin.)

See also:
Ten Macrobiotic Diets By George Ohsawa
What NOT To Eat (Or Drink) On A Macrobiotic Diet


Related Blog Articles:
What Is A Macrobiotic Diet, Really?
What Is The Macrobiotic Centering Diet?
My Notes On The Macrobiotic Centering Diet