What should you eat in winter to give your body a major boost?

I. Sweet Fruits (Grapes, Red Dates, Longan)

Content: Rich in minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, and iron, and contains multiple vitamins and amino acids, it has the effect of nourishing qi and blood, and strengthening muscles and bones. The "Ben Jing" even records: "Red dates are sweet in nature and warm in nature, belonging to the spleen and stomach meridians, with the functions of tonifying the middle and replenishing qi, nourishing blood and calming the spirit, and moderating the properties of other medicines."

Recommendation: Can be eaten as a regular fruit, or used in soups and congee. Longan and red date congee strengthens the spleen and nourishes the heart, replenishes blood and calms the spirit.

Longan and Red Date Congee

II. Dark Vegetables (Spinach, Carrots, Pumpkin)

Content: Rich in iron and carotene. Carotene can promote the increase of heme, improving blood concentration and quality. Pumpkin also contains "cobalt" and "zinc". "Cobalt" is one of the important components that make up red blood cells in the blood; zinc directly affects the function of mature red blood cells; and iron is the basic trace element for making hemoglobin. These are all indispensable ingredients for enriching the blood. Therefore, the famous Qing Dynasty physician Chen Xiuyuan once praised pumpkin as a "wonderful product for enriching the blood".

Recommendation: Fresh pumpkin juice, fresh carrot juice, pumpkin-stewed pork ribs, pumpkin and tremella soup, fresh and sweet, delicious and nutritious.

III. Red and Black Medicinal Herbs (Black Beans, Black Fungus, Fat Choy, Red Beans, Peanuts)

Content: High in iron, protein, and amino acids.

Black and red foods often have the effect of enriching the blood. Black foods enter the kidney and help the kidney store essence and absorb qi. The kidney stores essence, essence produces marrow, and marrow transforms into blood, so the root of blood also lies in the kidney. As for the theory of red foods enriching the blood, it originates from "using shape to supplement shape, and using color to supplement color".

Black beans help the kidney produce marrow and transform it into blood, and can also enhance the spleen and stomach's function of transportation and transformation. It is beneficial for those with kidney deficiency and blood deficiency to eat more. Black fungus nourishes yin, enriches blood, moistens the lungs, and brightens the eyes. Peanuts can enrich the blood and stop bleeding.

Recommendation: Braised peanuts with pig's trotters, black bean fish head soup, fat choy and pork bone soup.