Seasonal cooking in Eastern medicines is not only about what foods you eat, but how you prepare them too. Each season has different dietary specifications intended to balance yin and yang, support each associated organ, and ease digestion. Preparing these foods properly by steaming, boiling, roasting, stewing, braising, or simmering not only maintains nutritional and flavor value, but also warms them to make them easier to digest. Proper digestion is key to overall well being and balance, as TCM teaches that food is the best medicine.
Winter Foods
In TCM, winter is associated with the kidneys, which store vitality, making it important to eat warm and nourishing foods for optimal digestion and kidney health. Steaming, roasting, stewing, braising, boiling, or simmering are the best ways to prepare food in winter since cooked and warm foods are easier to digest than raw or cold foods. Focus on healthy fat and bitter foods, and lower salt content. Warm and wet foods like soups and stews counteract the dryness of the season. Incorporating seasonal foods like root vegetables, hearty animal proteins, and warming spices provides the proper nutrients for kidney health and digestion.
Vegetables: Sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, yams, daikon radish, ginger, fennel, onion, leek, scallion, root vegetables, garlic, potato, radish, cooked cabbage, mushroom, asparagus
Fruits: Pomegranates, citrus like oranges and tangerines, stewed or baked apples with cinnamon, grapes, apple, mulberry, spinach, kale, and chard boiled or in stews
Proteins: Beef, venison, lamb, bone broth, black soy bean, black beans, lentils, red beans, soybeans, kidney beans.
Grains: Congee, brown rice, oats, barley, millet, whole grains, black rice, purple rice, rye bread, whole wheat
Nuts and Seeds: Walnuts, chestnuts, black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
Herbs and Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, garlic, black pepper, star anise, chive.
Teas: Ginger, chrysanthemum, ginseng, cinnamon, turmeric.
Spring Foods
Spring is a transitional season and a time for lighter meals and cooking methods like light steaming, sautéing, and quick hot stir frying (maintaining an al dente quality to vegetables). These cooking techniques maintain nutrients and flavors, and make them easier to digest. This season is associated with the liver, meaning it is important to include foods that support detoxification and the smooth flow of Qi. Limit fried foods and processed ingredients that can cause stagnation.
Vegetables: Lightly cooked leafy greens and sprouts. Asparagus, kale, spinach, swiss chard, collards, and dandelion greens, cabbage, carrots, celery, potato, pumpkin, radish leaf, shiitake mushrooms, string beans, sweet potato, lettuce, onions, beetroot, young beets, chard, cucumber, aubergines, squash.
Fruits: Grapefruit, lemon, dates, berries, apricots, figs, grapes, pineapples, plums, apples, cherries, dates and bananas, and kiwi
Proteins: Chicken, shrimp, rabbit, white fish, eggs
Grains: Millet, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, sprouted grains like mung bean.
Nuts and Seeds: Sesame seeds and oil including black sesame seed which tones up the liver, sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, chestnuts, coconuts, and walnuts.
Herbs and Spices: Ginger, chives, green onions, cilantro, mint, basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, turmeric, coriander, dill, and bay leaf.
Fermented: Sauerkraut, kimchi, apple cider vinegar, wine vinegars
Sprouted Seeds: Mung beans, pea shoots, and sunflower sprouts.
Teas: Lavender, lime tree flowers, milk thistle, dandelion, ginger with honey, green
Summer Foods
Summer foods are intended to keep the body cool and hydrated in this season of hot, humid or dry weather. The heart and small intestine are associated with summer, and they require foods that are cooling in nature vs temperature, and that are easy to digest without overburdening the digestive system and depleting energy. Cold or raw foods can weaken the digestive tract by causing contraction, which causes holding in sweat and heat, contract the stomach, and stop digestion. Cold foods include raw foods, drinks with ice, and excessive dairy like yogurt and milk. Avoid spicy and greasy foods, which can cause internal heat and overstimulate the digestive system, causing irritability, acne, insomnia, and diarrhea or constipation. Grilling is common and should not be over used. When grilling meats, use sour fermented foods, fresh greens and cooked summer vegetables to balance the grease and dense heat from the grill. Generally, opt for light, steamed meals, stir fried veggies, and herbal teas instead of caffeine or alcohol. When eating cold or raw foods, compliment the meal with ginger or warm water with lemon.
Vegetables: Watercress, lettuce, bitter melon, cucumber, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, lotus root, asparagus, radishes, celery, corn, water chestnuts, peppers, eggplant, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and summer squash.
Proteins: Plant-based proteins, lean pork, aduki bean, coix seed, pistachio, mungbean, soy milk
Grains: Millet, oat, barley, rice, wheat
Herbs and Spices: Honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, mint, black plum, longan, sour date kernel, aged tangerine peel, basil, ginger, paprika, coriander, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, matcha
Fruits: Melons like watermelon and canteloupe, stone fruits like plum, peaches, nectarines, and cherries, strawberries, pears, mulberries, apple, tomato, berries, lemon, pineapple quince, elderberry, cranberry, fig, banana, coconut
Teas: Lotus leaf, Tulsi, mint and licorice root, ginger and lime, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, Hawthorne berry, peppermint, green tea
Fall Foods
Fall is the transition time between summer and winter where slowing down and turning inward becomes the focus. The lungs and large intestines are the associated organs with fall, and they represent the body’s first line of immunity defense and elimination. It is important to keep warm by consuming warming foods that replenish fluids and eliminate dryness. Roasting, boiling, and stewing foods during fall adds warmth and preserves moisture.
Vegetables: Broccoli sprout, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, watercress, leek, onion, parsnips, fennel, Chinese yam, lotus root, sweet potato, pumpkin, snow fungus
Fruits: Apple, pear, peach, tangerine, golden kiwi, guava, persimmon, pomelo, fig
Proteins: Duck egg, duck, river fish, crab, black bean, adzuki bean, mung beans, white beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu.
Grains: Rice, red rice, oat
Other: Honey, cane sugar, spices, tahini, rice wine, extra virgin oil, almonds
Herbs and Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, lotus seeds, American ginseng, lily bulb, osmanthus
Teas: Chrysanthemum, oolong
Nature works in amazing ways by providing the most nourishing foods to support our changing health needs through the seasons, but how we prepare them is the final step in ensuring those nutrients are properly absorbed and processed. It is instinctual to want warm and comforting foods in the cold winter months, like soups, stews, and roasted veggies, as they provide physical warmth and nourishment as we slow down and wait for spring. The summer months bring the desire to cool off and hydrate, calling for foods with high water content that are lightly cooked. Adjusting how we eat to best support our bodies through the seasons will lead to better health overall.
Resources
● https://www.acu4u.com/blog/eating-according-to-the-seasons-dietary-principles-of-traditional-chinese-medicine
● https://donnabunte.com/seasonal-eating-with-chinese-medicine/
● https://meaganrosewilson.substack.com/p/cooking-for-the-season-a-tcm-approach
● https://aprpc.com/embracing-winter-with-traditional-chinese-medicine/
● https://www.yinovacenter.com/blog/winter-nourishment-warming-foods-to-banish-the-chill/
● https://www.northernmedical.org/2025/02/12/warmer-days-lighter-meals-a-tcm-approach-to-spring-nutrition/
● https://gwcim.com/spring-frolicking-eating-with-the-seasons-in-chinese-medicine/
● https://www.avicenna.co.uk/fileadmin/uploads/Documents/TCM_Spring.pdf
● https://www.eacuwell.com/blog/seasonal-spring-superfoods-to-consider
● https://yina.co/blogs/wellness-guide/summer-wellness-tips?srsltid=AfmBOoqEdnQnAG6-vYCo7SdL0jK99R25bPvGaOMGbY72uRD2fF20i_2r
● https://riverpointacu.com/eating-according-to-tcm-five-foods-for-summer/
● https://www.rcwacupuncture.com/summer-nutritional-tips-according-to-chinese-medicine/
● https://www.yinovacenter.com/blog/autumn-recipes-to-nourish-your-yin/
● https://calandraacupuncture.com/2012/06/tcm-and-summer/
● https://raleighacupunctureinc.com/fall-health-nutrition/
● https://riverpointacu.com/best-fall-foods-for-health-and-longevity-a-tcm-perspective/
● https://harmonizingcare.com/promoting-health-in-autumn-with-traditional-chinese-medicine/