In the cold winter, how can you achieve healthy skin without too much tedious work? The hemp seed is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It tonifies the middle jiao, replenishes qi, builds muscle, and moistens the intestines. It is rich in nutrients such as unsaturated fatty acids, protein, vitamins B1 and B2, and lecithin. Adding it to rice to make a porridge is the best way to nourish the stomach qi, making it most suitable for daily consumption or as a "primer" before winter nourishment.
Red Dates
are a common ingredient in Chinese medicine for tonification. They have the effects of strengthening the spleen, replenishing qi, generating blood, and nourishing the organs and skin. It has been measured that the vitamin content in red dates is the highest among all fruits, earning them the reputation of a "living vitamin pill." Medical research has proven that vitamin C can inhibit the oxidation of dopaquinone in the skin, reduce melanin formation, and prevent pigmentation. One of the important functions of vitamin A is to activate and regulate the growth of epidermal cells and combat keratinization. Therefore, supplementing with vitamin A helps improve the skin's water barrier properties. When used in combination with vitamin E, it can delay and reverse skin aging. Vitamin E is known as the "youth hormone" for its antioxidant effects and its ability to scavenge free radicals, while also promoting blood circulation in skin tissue.
Vitamin B regulates the secretion of sebaceous glands. As the saying goes, "Eat three dates a day, and you'll never look old."
Honey
is the essence of a hundred flowers and is hailed as a holy medicine for female beauty. Regular consumption of honey can make one's face "rosy as a peach blossom." In winter, the skin is dry, lacking in water and oil. Honey contains a variety of rich bioactive substances that can improve the skin's nutrition and keep it delicate and smooth. Especially, honey contains 47 trace elements such as zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are essential for human health and beauty. Therefore, it is not only loved by people in the East but also highly favored in the West. It is said that Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, consumed honey regularly and lived to be 107 years old. Honey can be eaten alone or used to make nourishing pastes with other ingredients like Ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin), red dates, longan pulp, walnuts, and goji berries.
Jade Beauty Paste
500g of Jade Bamboo, 250g of white honey. Select plump, white Jade Bamboo, chop it into coarse pieces, decoct it three times with water, then strain and concentrate the liquid. Add white honey to form a paste. Take 30g on an empty stomach in the morning and evening, dissolved in plain water.
Immortal's Porridge
30g of prepared Fo-ti, 60g of japonica rice, 20 red dates. Scrape the skin off the Fo-ti with a bamboo knife, slice it, and decoct it to obtain a concentrated juice, then strain. Cook the concentrated juice with the japonica rice and red dates in a clay pot. When cooked, add an appropriate amount of brown sugar and bring to a boil. Eat on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. This is a 7-10 day course of treatment; repeat after a 5-day break.
Longan & Goji Berry
Longan, also known as Guiyuan, is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It has the effects of nourishing the heart to calm the mind, and nourishing yin to replenish blood, making it most suitable for women who are weak and sickly, have palpitations and insomnia, or a sallow complexion. The longan pulp can be simmered with rock sugar to make "Jade Spirit Paste," which is taken one tablespoon in the morning and evening, dissolved in water. It is simple, convenient, and easy to store. According to ancient texts, goji berries have the effect of "replenishing qi and essence for all deficiencies, improving complexion, whitening... and prolonging life." The great Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi praised it as "a top-grade tonic with the sweet taste of sweet dew, knowing that one spoonful can extend one's lifespan." In today's competitive society, it is easy to deplete one's qi and essence. For a modern woman, taking a moment from work to drink a cup of goji berry tea that is ruddy, sweet, and delicious like grape juice can be considered a perfect manifestation of self-care and cherishing life.
Longan and Lotus Seed Soup
30g lotus seeds, 30g Euryale ferox seeds, 50g Job's tears, 8g longan pulp. Add 500ml of water and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Season with a little honey and consume at once. Drink the soup along with the lotus seeds.
Walnuts & Sesame
Walnuts are commonly known as the "longevity fruit" in folklore, with the benefits of strengthening the body, nourishing the brain, and improving beauty. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi's face did not fade with age, which was related to her regular consumption of walnuts. Black sesame seeds are rich in cystine, and vitamins B and E, which can increase sebum secretion, improve skin elasticity, and keep the skin delicate. Japanese scholars call it the best food for improving rough skin. Walnuts and sesame seeds are rich in vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids, which nourish the brain and skin, delay aging, and replenish the body. If walnuts and black sesame are ground and used together, it is truly a perfect match, with a synergistic effect that can be called getting twice the result with half the effort. It is especially good for those who overuse their brains, suffer from neurasthenia, are weak and fatigued, or have dry skin.
Walnut Sesame Milk
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds, 10g of walnuts, 200ml of milk, 2 tablespoons of soybean powder, 1 tablespoon of honey. Grind the sesame seeds. Remove the film from the walnuts and coarsely crush them. Then, put everything in a blender and blend into a juice.
Pumpkin Seeds & Peanuts & Pigskin
Female hormones are an important material basis for maintaining female physiological functions and beauty. If the level of female hormones is too low, it will lead to menstrual disorders, even amenorrhea, and affect the health and beauty of the skin and body. The latest scientific research has found that a substance similar to a sex hormone exists in plants such as pumpkin seeds and soybeans. Li Shizhen, in his "Compendium of Materia Medica," stated that pumpkin seeds can "tonify the middle jiao and replenish qi," which seems to be true. If female friends have low hormone levels, they might try using pumpkin seeds as a dietary supplement to see its effect. No woman wants to be flat-chested and bear the embarrassing title of "Princess Ping Tai." A major reason for a flat chest is low levels of sex hormones and malnutrition of the mammary glands. At this time, you might try a soup made with peanuts and pig's trotters. Pig's trotters are rich in collagen, nourish the blood, and promote lactation, often used in traditional Chinese medicine for postpartum milk production. Peanuts contain eight essential amino acids for the human body, rich fatty oil, and nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamin E, which also have the effect of promoting lactation in women. The combination of the two will bring an unexpected surprise to the "Princess Ping Tai"s. This diet can also moisturize the skin and is very beneficial for preventing dryness, wrinkles, and aging. In winter, the cold and dry climate inhibits the secretion of sweat and oil, causing the skin to lack water and oil, become dry, develop wrinkles, and even crack. Moisturizing the skin is a primary task for women, and the best choice is to eat pigskin regularly.
Braised Pig's Trotters in Fermented Red Bean Curd Sauce
1 pig's trotter, 60g of peanuts, 100g of fermented red bean curd sauce, 1/2 cup of wine, 1 small spoon of salt. Remove the hair from the pig's trotter, scald it in boiling water, wash it, and cut it into pieces. Wash the peanuts. Place them in a pot, then add the wine, water, and fermented red bean curd sauce. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender.