The summer weather is hot and muggy, and people are also prone to irritability and poor appetite. So, what should you eat at this time? Today, the editor will recommend 6 home-cooked dishes suitable for summer. Come and find out more. As we all know, bitter melon and winter melon are the most suitable melons to eat in summer. But besides these two, what other ingredients are suitable for summer? For all you foodies, keep reading.
6 Foods Most Suitable for Summer Home-Cooked Dishes
1. Eggplant
Summer is also the season for eggplant. The purple skin of eggplant is rich in vitamins, which is incomparable to other vegetables. Among them, vitamin P can increase the elasticity of capillaries and improve microcirculation, and it has a certain preventive effect on hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and scurvy. The special substances contained in the fiber of eggplant have the effect of lowering cholesterol.
Eggplant originated in Southeast Asia and was introduced to China after the Jin Dynasty. It is divided into white, purple, green, black-purple, and green-white eggplant. In the past, white eggplant was not very common, but with its popularity in recent years, it has gradually been accepted. Compared to ordinary purple eggplant, the skin of white eggplant has medicinal value and can be used for removing freckles and beauty, as well as treating rheumatic joint pain.
2. Bitter Melon
On hot days, eating some bitter melon is beneficial for clearing heat and reducing fire. The momordicoside and bitter substances it contains can strengthen the spleen and whet the appetite; the quinine contained in its alkaloids has the effects of diuresis, activating blood circulation, reducing inflammation and fever, and clearing the heart and improving eyesight. Bitter melon is high in vitamin C, which can prevent scurvy and improve the body's resistance.
In addition, bitter melon also contains a substance similar to insulin, which can lower blood sugar, making it an ideal health food for diabetic patients. However, bitter melon is the most cooling among common melons and fruits, so pregnant women and people with a weak spleen and stomach should eat less of it.
3. Andrographis Paniculata
Andrographis paniculata, also called Kudan grass, is cold in nature and bitter in taste. The fresh product can be used both as food and medicine, effectively relieving summer heat, clearing heat, and reducing swelling. It has varying degrees of therapeutic effects on common summer ailments such as acute bacillary dysentery, acute gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections, colds, as well as bronchitis, pneumonia, cholecystitis, oral and throat swelling, burns, and insect bites. It should be noted that Andrographis paniculata is cool in nature, so people who are weak, prone to diarrhea, or have a cold constitution should eat less of it.
4. Tomatoes
Summer is the season for tomatoes. Many people love tomato and egg soup, which is appetizing and nutritious. It's not only a treat for the taste buds but also good for the body. It can prevent and improve various physical diseases while also helping to reduce fat and detoxify, changing your obese physique. It is an indispensable weight-loss food in any diet plan!
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, whose antioxidant effect can effectively inhibit the activity of active oxygen, and its anti-cancer ability is very high! In addition, vitamin K can help prevent osteoporosis, making it a savior for women's bones. And vitamin E is a great helper for maintaining liver function and improving hangovers.
5. Winter Melon
Winter melon can clear heat and relieve summer heat. It contains more vitamin C, high potassium salt content, and low sodium salt content. For patients with hypertension, kidney deficiency, edema, etc., eating it can achieve the effect of reducing swelling without damaging the body's vital energy. Winter melon is not suitable to be eaten raw; it can be stir-fried or cooked in soup. However, winter melon is cold in nature, so people with a weak spleen and stomach or who are prone to diarrhea should be cautious about eating it; people with long-term illnesses and yang deficiency with cold limbs are prohibited from eating it.
6. Cucumber
Cucumber is crisp and refreshing, appetizing, and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting urination and reducing swelling. Cucumber is rich in nutrients, including vitamin C, carotene, and potassium, and also contains ingredients that can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells.
3 Recommended Dietetic Recipes for Summer
Lotus Leaf Juice
Fresh lotus leaves or flowers in appropriate amount, decocted in water. Or 100 grams of winter melon and 1 lotus leaf, decocted in water, can clear heat and refresh the stomach.
Bayberry Juice
500 grams of fresh bayberries and 50 grams of sugar. Place them in a crock, mash them and cover. After 7 days, squeeze the juice with a gauze, then take the juice, bring it to a boil in a pot, let it cool, and bottle for later use. Eat regularly to prevent heatstroke.
Coix Seed Duck Soup
500 grams of winter melon, 30 grams of coix seed, and 1 duck. Remove the feathers and internal organs from the duck, wash and cut into pieces. Peel and cut the winter melon into pieces. Cook with coix seed in a pot with an appropriate amount of water and serve as soup. It has the effect of clearing dampness and heat, and is suitable for the prodromal stage and mild cases of heatstroke.