In yesterday’s post, I mentioned the six tastes and how many Eastern cultures use them. By including all six in a course of a meal, the nutritional needs of our bodies can be met with ease. The six tastes again are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Now before you run out and purchase a spicy TV dinner, bag of chips, an ice cream cake and a cup of coffee in an attempt to include the six tastes, there is a catch. The idea is to incorporate these tastes using natural, non-processed ingredients. Here is a partial list of pretty common foods that fit within each category to get you started.
Sweet: milk and milk products, grains (rice, barley, wheat), legumes (beans, lentils), bananas, mangoes, some cooked vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets).
Sour: lemon and limes, fermented foods (vinegar, sauerkraut, soy sauce, wine), yogurt, cheese, sour cream.
Salty: sea salt, sea vegetables.
Bitter: green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, green cabbage), zucchini, eggplant, spices (turmeric), olives, bitter melon, coffee.
Pungent: chili peppers, garlic, ginger, cumin.
Astringent: beans, lentils, cranberries, pomegranates, pears, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, turnips, asparagus, quinoa, buckwheat, turmeric, marjoram, coffee and black tea.
As I mentioned yesterday, the most difficult to digest foods on this list, fall into the sweet category and therefore should be included at the beginning of the meal for optimal digestion.
If you would like ideas on how to prepare some of these ingredients in a simple and delicious way, I recommend one of my favorite cookbooks (really a guidebook to healthy eating), a book called Eat. Taste. Heal. by Thomas Yarema, MD, Daniel Rhoda and Chef Johnny Branningan.
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