Before starting to cook and while preparing ingredients, many kitchen "scraps" are mercilessly discarded. However, these "scraps" are not only highly nutritious but also have certain therapeutic effects, making them true "treasures."
Celery Leaves
Celery stalks are often used for cooking, while celery leaves are often ignored. However, from a nutritional perspective, celery leaves are more nutritious than celery stalks: the carotene content in celery leaves is 88 times that of celery stalks, the vitamin C content is 13 times, the vitamin B1 content is 17 times, the protein content is 11 times, and the calcium content is more than 2 times that of celery stalks.
Celery leaves also have high medicinal value. They have the effect of calming the liver and lowering blood pressure, and are beneficial for primary and menopausal hypertension. Their sedative effect helps to calm emotions and relieve irritability. They are rich in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, prevent colon cancer, and neutralize uric acid and acidic substances in the body, thereby preventing gout to a certain extent.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, celery leaves are bitter in taste and cool in nature. They have the effects of calming the liver and clearing heat, eliminating vexation and reducing swelling, moistening the lungs and relieving cough. They can be used to treat dizziness, jaundice, edema, and difficult and painful urination.
Recommended Uses:
Celery leaves have a unique aroma that can stimulate the appetite. They can be stir-fried, mixed in cold dishes, quick-fried, or used as an ingredient. They can also be used as a filling for dumplings. A soup made with a moderate amount of celery leaves and eggs, or celery leaves mixed with dried tofu, is both delicious and palatable.
Radish Leaves, Radish Skin
As the saying goes: "Radish greens are a treasure, effective for stopping diarrhea and dysentery." Radish greens are the leaves of the radish, with a slightly spicy and slightly bitter taste. Numerous studies have shown that the nutritional value of radish greens is higher than that of the radish root in many aspects. The vitamin C content in radish greens is more than 2 times higher than in the root; the content of calcium, magnesium, iron, and riboflavin is 3 to 10 times higher.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, radish greens have the effects of promoting digestion and regulating qi, clearing the lungs and soothing the throat, dispersing stasis and reducing swelling. They are mainly used to treat food accumulation and qi stagnation, hiccups, diarrhea, swollen and sore throat, and bruising and swelling from injuries.
Radish skin contains mustard oil, which has anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, radish skin can regulate qi, resolve phlegm, stop coughing, detoxify, and promote the production of body fluids. It is used to treat wind-heat cold, abdominal bloating, indigestion, and can also reduce edema.
Recommended Uses:
Boil the radish greens until tender, chop them up, stir-fry them briefly with a little oil, and then mix with an appropriate amount of sugar, vinegar, and salt to eat. Those with diarrhea or gastrointestinal discomfort might want to give it a try.
Boil radish greens in water, add a little sugar to improve the taste, and drinking it regularly can help prevent arteriosclerosis.
To prevent colds, you can boil and eat radish skin.
For those with pharyngitis or tonsillitis, you can mash the radish skin to extract its juice and take it together with ginger juice.
For edema, you can chop the radish skin, boil it in congee, and eat it.
Winter Melon Skin, Winter Melon Seeds
Winter melon skin and winter melon seeds are the peel and seeds of the winter melon, respectively. Many people throw away the winter melon skin and seeds when eating winter melon, but they actually have great medicinal value. Winter melon skin promotes urination and reduces swelling; winter melon seeds are sweet and cold in nature, and can clear the lungs, resolve phlegm, and drain pus.
Recommended Uses:
Decocting winter melon skin with red beans and Poria has a good effect of promoting urination and reducing swelling.
For those with a lung-heat cough, winter melon seeds can be decocted into a soup for consumption.