20 Classic Pairings for a Healthy Diet
A balanced diet refers to a daily meal that includes appropriate amounts of grain, legumes, meat, eggs, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and oils, with the major food groups properly matched. In summary, the following 10 pairings should be achieved.
1. Pairing Whole Grains with Refined Grains: Increasing whole grains in your daily diet helps prevent diabetes, age spots, constipation, and also aids in weight loss.
2. Pairing Staple Foods with Non-staple Foods: Daily meals should combine staple and non-staple foods.
3. Pairing Dry with Soft: Ideal foods for winter nourishment: Angelica and Ginger Lamb Soup; An excellent diuretic and dampness-dispelling food: Red Bean and Carp Stew; A galactagogue: Water Bamboo Loach and Tofu Soup; A brain-boosting food: Black Sesame Paste and the six congees mentioned in "Dream of the Red Chamber" (red rice congee, jade-like millet congee, jujube congee, duck meat congee, Laba congee, and bird's nest congee), as well as the "Immortal Congee" (found in the Dunhuang art repository, consisting of Gordon Euryale, Chinese Yam, and rice) are all typical examples of pairing dry with soft.
4. Pairing Colors: Foods are generally divided into five colors: white, red, green, black, and yellow. A daily diet should include foods from all five of these color groups.
5. Pairing Nutrients: Nutrients that are easily consumed in excess are fat, carbohydrates, and sodium; nutrients that are often lacking are protein, vitamins, some minerals, water, and dietary fiber. High-protein, low-fat foods include fish and shellfish, rabbit, silkworm pupae, and lotus seeds. Foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber include vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Water is an important nutrient; you should drink more than 4 glasses of water daily.
6. Pairing Acidic and Alkaline Foods: Foods are divided into acidic and alkaline categories, primarily based on whether they make the human blood more acidic or alkaline after consumption. In recent years, excessive intake of meat has led to blood acidification, causing "rich man's diseases," which should be taken seriously.
7. Pairing Raw and Cooked Foods: Eating raw or live foods has become a trend. Eating raw vegetables, fruits, fresh shrimp, and whitebait can allow for greater nutrient intake. However, attention must be paid to food hygiene when eating raw foods.
8. Pairing Skins with Pulp: Eating fruits and vegetables with their skins on has gradually become fashionable. For example, quail eggs, small tangerines, jujubes, and peanuts eaten with their skins on have higher nutritional value. [China Cuisine]
9. Pairing Nature and Flavor: Foods are categorized by their "Four Natures" and "Five Flavors." The Four Natures are cold, hot, warm, and cool. The Five Flavors are pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. According to the principle of "dietary therapy based on syndrome differentiation," different diseases should be treated with foods of different natures and flavors. The general principle is "for heat, use cold foods; for cold, use hot foods; for deficiency, use tonifying foods; for excess, use purging foods." Following the principle of "adapting to the seasons," different foods should be chosen for different seasons. For example, in winter, warm and hot foods like lamb, venison, ox penis, and ginger should be chosen, and cold foods should be minimized. The Five Flavors should also be balanced; one should not only eat sweet things and avoid bitter ones.
10. Pairing Cooking Methods: Common cooking methods include steaming, stewing, braising, stir-frying, quick-frying, boiling, deep-frying, and hot pot. Single cooking methods, such as braising, deep-frying, and stir-frying, can easily lead to obesity. It is better to choose cooking methods like boiling, steaming, and hot pot.
Common Quality Pairings in Diet
From the perspective of modern nutritional science, when two or more foods are rationally combined, they not only do not "clash" but can also "complement" each other, providing a synergistic and mutually reinforcing nutritional effect.
1. Sesame with Seaweed: When boiled together, they have a beautifying and anti-aging effect.
2. Pork Liver with Spinach: Both pork liver and spinach have blood-nourishing functions. The combination of one meat and one vegetable complements each other and has a remarkable effect on treating anemia.
3. Brown Rice with Coffee: Steam the brown rice, grind it into a powder, and add milk and sugar to drink. Brown rice is rich in nutrients and has good therapeutic effects for hemorrhoids, constipation, and hypertension. Coffee can refresh the mind, and when mixed with brown rice, it has a unique flavor.
4. Beef with Potatoes: Beef is highly nutritious and strengthens the spleen and stomach. When cooked with potatoes, it not only tastes good but the potatoes' rich vitamins can protect the gastric mucosa.
5. Lily with Egg: It has the effects of nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and calming the mind. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that lily clears phlegm and replenishes deficiency, while egg yolk relieves vexation and heat, and nourishes yin and blood. When the two are prepared with sugar, the effect is even better.
6. Lamb with Ginger: Lamb supplements yang and generates warmth, while ginger dispels cold and warms the body. Together, they enhance each other's warming effect, expel external pathogens, and can treat abdominal pain due to cold.
7. Soft-shelled Turtle with Honey: It is rich in protein, fat, various vitamins, and contains acids like linoleic acid, benzoic acid, and silicic acid, making it a rare tonic that is effective for heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and anemia. It also promotes growth and prevents aging.
8. Duck with Chinese Yam: Old duck can replenish the body's fluids, nourish yin, and clear heat and relieve cough. Chinese Yam has a stronger effect in nourishing yin. When eaten with duck, it can reduce greasiness and enhance the lung-nourishing effect.
9. Carp with Rice Vinegar: Carp itself has the function of expelling water. Most edema in the human body, except for nephritis, is dampness-related edema. Rice vinegar has the function of promoting diuresis. When eaten with carp, its diuretic effect is doubled.
10. Meat with Garlic: Research shows that Vitamin B stays in the human body for a very short time. Eating garlic with meat can prolong the time Vitamin B stays in the body, which is nutritionally significant for promoting blood circulation, quickly eliminating body fatigue, and improving physical fitness. Therefore, when eating meat, don't forget to eat a few cloves of garlic.