Four Basic Food Groups — YIN—YANG—ACID—ALKALINE

Here is a broad list of foods derived from Herman Aihara's book, Acid and Alkaline (see pages 88 through 93) that divides food into four groups according to their yin and yang, and acid- and alkaline-forming properties.

To balance my meals, I choose foods from each of the four categories, making sure that I'm balancing the amounts with the opposite category (that is, Yin Acid-forming opposite Yang Alkaline-forming and Yang Acid-forming opposite Yin Alkaline-forming).

For example, I might choose a whole grain (yang acid-forming), a vegetable (yin alkaline-forming), a small amount of oil (yin acid-forming), and a small amount of unrefined sea salt (yang alkaline-forming). I might also make a small bowl of soup containing barley miso (beans, grain, salt) and wakame (alkaline-forming sea-vegetable that's also yang), and a cup of bancha tea (yin alkaline-forming).

Chewing my food at least 100-200 times per mouthful makes the acid-forming grain more alkaline because it mixes with ptyalin enzymes in my saliva.

YANG ACID-FORMING FOODS
Grains, whole (except for millet, which is alkaline-forming)
Animal foods (sea and land animals, salted cheese) 

YIN ALKALINE-FORMING FOODS
Fruit juice, herb tea, bancha tea,
Coffee (organic, with caffeine — decaf is acid-forming)
Honey, spices, fruits, seeds,
Vegetables (with a few yang exceptions)
Seaweeds (with a few yang exceptions)

YANG ALKALINE-FORMING FOODS
Millet
Wakame and Kombu seaweeds
Lotus, Burdock, and Dandelion root vegetables
Jinenjo Japanese potato
Soy sauce (natural)
Gomashio (sesame salt)
Miso
Salted umeboshi plum 
Salt (unrefined sea salt with its alkalyzing minerals intact)
Kuzu, Dandelion, and Mu teas
Yannoh (Ohsawa grain coffee)
Ginseng
 
YIN ACID-FORMING FOODS
Chemical drugs, pills, sugar,
candy, soft drinks, alcohol,
vinegar, beans, nuts, oils,
flour, noodles

Note: Technically, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat are not cereals/grains since they're not from the grass family. They do not necessarily fall into the Yang Acid-forming group. Quinoa and amaranth are neutral-to-alkaline forming, whereas buckwheat is neutral-to-acid forming. (Quinoa is in the goosefoot family, amaranth is in the spinach family, and buckwheat is in the rhubarb family.)

These three books cover the four basic food groups in great detail and are available on the George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation website:
1) Acid and Alkaline, by Herman Aihara
2) Acid Alkaline Companion, by Carl Ferre
3) Essential Guide To Macrobiotics (formerly, Pocket Guide To Macrobiotics), by Carl Ferre.

Related Blog Articles:
The Yin and Yang of Acid and Alkaline
The Benefits of Unrefined Sea Salt
The Importance of Chewing
Whole Grains For Centering

Linda's Seabreeze Cafe

Don't forget to soak your grains! I had some brown rice at Linda's Seabreeze Cafe this morning and could immediately tell that they had not soaked their rice overnight prior to cooking. It makes such a huge difference, believe me. Soaking makes the year's-old rice taste fresh and new again, tender and soft, clear-through to the center of each grain.

But despite this omission, the rice was delicious! And I am so grateful that they offer it for breakfast (as a substitute for potatoes). I sprinkled a small amount of their amazing salsa over the rice and was very happy. Added to my meal were two pieces of buttered whole wheat toast and a mug of Numi's Organic Jasmine Green Tea.

Linda's Seabreeze Cafe is located in Seabright — a neighborhood district in Santa Cruz, California. Extremely popular with us locals, they had to set up a special waiting place outside for the dozens of people who had signed up for breakfast or lunch. You can sit on the benches, lean on the railings, and spill out onto the parking lot and sidewalk in front of the restaurant. There's even a serve-yourself coffee station while you wait.

My husband and I like to come here every so often, because it is one of our oldest and most favorite places to eat breakfast. You can eat breakfast any time between 6:00 am and 2:00 pm or you could eat lunch instead! I think that this is one of the reasons why it's so popular. Of course, the main reason is because of the food.

Check it out! Be prepared to sign up on the list, wait outside for awhile, and then receive a warm and friendly, fun, and quite delicious meal.

And if the crowd of people waiting is too large, you might want to try out another restaurant, "The Silver Spur," which was started by the very same Linda. The food there is good too! (And the lines of people waiting can be equally long.) I don't think they serve brown rice, but they do have some delicious oatmeal, which I will vouch for!

Note: The web site for Linda's Seabreeze Cafe does not mention the brown rice, but the menu pdf that you can download from there does — in a footnote at the bottom of the breakfast menu it says, "*Brown rice or fresh fruit may be substituted for potatoes."

Related Blog Articles:
Whole Grains In Restaurants
Day Eight Of My Whole Grain Fast
The Benefits Of Whole Foods