The China Diet: The Ingredients


It's time to start our next diet, and this one, I'm hoping anyway, will be amazing! I've been waiting for about 4 months to start this one, and am so excited to bring all the information I've been collecting about it all this time to you all.

China is a fascinating place when it comes to food. So much of what we think of as "Chinese food" doesn't even really come from China - at least, not the natural elements that make up the country's culinary wonderment. And so many things that we think don't come from China, actually do.

Now, because there are so many things that don't come from the country, I had to take some liberties, and again, am only using ingredients that have been available to the people of that native land for several centuries. Let's put it this way, if something I look up online, and I discover was brought to China in the 1600s, I dismiss that as being "too recent".

This being said, everything that I will be eating on this diet, is purely native to the country by at least a few thousand years...so it's all good.


So let's get started. This took me, as usual, dozens of hours to research but in the end, I think I did pretty well with what I get to work with. All of the information I am quoting was found directly on Google. If there is no information beside the item, that means that it is native to China.


1. Grapes - During the Neolithic period (6,000 B.C.) the culture of the grapevine was initiated in Asia Minor & the Near East. 

2. Wine - Because grapes. But also: The history of Chinese grape wine has been confirmed and proven to date back 9,000 years.

3. Grape seed oil - Because grapes.

4. Soybeans

5. Cabbage

6. Radishes

7. Apricots

8. Kumquats

9. Mushrooms

10. Nectarines

11. Peaches

12. Rhubarb

13. Spring Onions - They are only available during the spring (ha), therefore I'm substituting them with green onions

14. Blueberries - Some consider it native to Northern Asia which China is in




15. Kiwi

16. Chickens 17. Eggs - Because chickens.

18. Cows - Results of research indicate domesticated cattle were originated from the Near East around 2,500 - 1,900 BC

19. Cheese - Because cows. But also: During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) they did have acidic cheeses available, which would have been something like cottage cheese, fresh Mozzarella or Queso Blanco.

20. Yogurt - Because cows. But also: My research indicates that these "soft cheeses" that they ate were more similar to that of what we know today as yogurt. Therefore, I'm going to indulge in both.

21. Milk, half and half and cream - Because cows.

22. Butter - Because cows. But also: During the Tang Dynasty they also had something called "clarified butter" (e.g. ghee butter), and "clotted cream" i.e. butter.

23. Oats - Have been cultivated in China since prehistoric times.

24. Lemons

25. Almonds

26. Almond flour - Because almonds

27. Almond milk - Because almonds

28. Napa Cabbage

29. White rice




30. Brown rice

31. Cilantro (a.k.a. Chinese parsley) - Has been around since 5,000 B.C.

32. Pine nuts - information online suggests they grow wild, but I'm not 100% sure. Even still I'm going to eat them because they are a part of my top favorite nuts and I need them.

33. Sesame seeds - They were used by the Chinese at least 5,000 years ago

34. Beer - Chinese villagers were brewing beer type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7,000 B.C.

35. Venison

36. Lamb

37. Garlic - Some writings suggest that it was grown in China as far back as 4,000 years ago

38. Chinese white shrimp

39. Mahi Mahi

40. Sugarcane - Was introduced to China in the 4th century B.C.

41. Vanilla - Vanilla Schenzhenica is a species of vanilla native to Guangdong and Hong Kong in China

42. Black Pepper - Comes from the Sub-Continent of India, but was introduced so long ago that it was actually used during the Tang Dynasty.

I think the funniest thing about all this research is finding out that (though I'm no supporter of carbon dating, and certainly don't believe the earth is as old as this research would have you believe) - beer was brewed by villagers approximately 5,000 years prior to garlic being grown in the country. This should tell you everything you need to know about human desire for alcohol!

So that is it. Those are all the ingredients we have for this month. I'm excited to share with you guys all the amazing things I'm going to be making and eating, and I'm sure you can't wait to see it all!

Thanks for following me as always, and stay tuned for the first week of The China Diet!


 “She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” - Proverbs 31:14-15

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