What to eat during the Summer Solstice? The Summer Solstice has arrived, and while the weather isn't the hottest of the year, it's still quite unbearable. A proper diet can help cool down and relieve summer heat. So, what foods should you eat for health during the Summer Solstice? Eat more of the "Four Treasures for Promoting Saliva": watermelon, peach, bitter melon, and lotus root!
I. Peach
Fresh peaches are in season now, and for those who love peaches, it's a time to indulge. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that peaches have the effects of tonifying the middle energizer, nourishing yin to promote fluid production, and moistening the intestines to relieve constipation. They are particularly suitable for people with symptoms such as qi and blood deficiency, sallow complexion and emaciation, palpitations and shortness of breath, constipation, and amenorrhea. Regular consumption of peaches can strengthen the body and prolong life. Although peaches are nutritious and rich in pectin, modern medical research has found that they contain high levels of sugar, which can help with weight gain and improve skin elasticity, making the skin ruddy. For thin individuals, regular consumption of peaches can strengthen the body and add muscle and improve the skin.
Everyone knows that peaches have a fine layer of fuzz on their surface, and some people peel them. In fact, the peach skin is rich in pectin and very nutritious, and it also tastes good, so peeling it is a pity. Here are a few tips to clean the fuzz on the peach surface very well.
1. Wet the peach, sprinkle a handful of fine salt evenly on its surface, rub it gently a few times, soak it in water for a moment, and finally rinse it several times with clear water.
2. Do not let the peach get wet. Use a clean brush to brush the peach surface once, then wash it in salt water.
3. You can soak it in alkaline water for a moment; the peach fuzz will come off without rubbing.
II. Bitter Melon
Bitter melon is bitter in taste and cold in nature. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that it has the function of "clearing pathogenic heat, relieving fatigue, clearing the heart and brightening the eyes, and replenishing qi and strengthening yang." It is not only rich in dietary fiber, which can slow down the absorption of sugars from food, but its vitamin C content is also the highest among melons, about 6-9 times that of a cucumber. In addition, the content of carotene, riboflavin, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and phosphorus in bitter melon is also very rich.
Traditional medicine believes that bitter melon is bitter in taste, raw it is cold in nature, and cooked it is warm in nature. Raw food relieves summer heat, purges fire, relieves heat, and clears restlessness; cooked food nourishes blood, nourishes the liver, moistens the spleen, and tonifies the kidneys, and can eliminate pathogenic heat, relieve fatigue, clear the heart and brighten the eyes, and replenish qi and strengthen yang. It can also alleviate summer heat-related thirst, heatstroke, dysentery, and heat rash. Some people blanch bitter melon in boiling water to reduce its bitterness. However, note that if bitter melon is exposed to heat for too long, although the bitterness can be removed, the loss of vitamin C will be severe. Therefore, when blanching bitter melon in water, the time should be short, or you can use the soaking method. That is, slice the bitter melon, soak it in cold water for about 10 minutes, which reduces bitterness without losing nutrition. In addition to making cold-dressed bitter melon, you can also wash fresh bitter melon, chop it, and squeeze it into juice to drink.
Recommended Recipe: Bitter Melon, Century Egg, and Crucian Carp Soup
Ingredients: 1 bitter melon, 1 century egg, 1 crucian carp, a piece of ginger, a little salt.
Method: Wash and cut the bitter melon in half, scoop out the pulp and seeds, and cut into pieces; wash the century egg, remove the shell, and cut into pieces; clean the gutted crucian carp, scrape the black membrane from the abdominal cavity, and drain the water. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok, pan-fry the crucian carp on both sides until slightly yellow, add 6 bowls of water and ginger slices and bring to a boil. Turn to medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the bitter melon and century egg and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and serve. This soup can clear heat and relieve summer heat, brighten the eyes and detoxify, and invigorate the spleen and promote urination.
III. Watermelon
There is an old Chinese proverb: "Eating watermelon on hot days saves you from seeing the doctor." Watermelon is cold in nature, sweet in taste, and affects the heart, stomach, and bladder meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving summer heat, promoting fluid production to quench thirst, and promoting urination to relieve restlessness. Eating watermelon often can clear internal heat.
The fluid-promoting effect of watermelon refers not only to the pulp but also to the top green rind (watermelon green skin) and the white part of the peel. Scrape off the tough green rind, infuse it in boiling water for 5 minutes, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar, and it becomes a great product for preventing heatstroke. For the white part of the peel, cut it into strips, add a small amount of rice vinegar, salt, and sugar, and stir-fry it lightly in a wok to become an appetizer that soothes the liver and promotes bile secretion, which is more suitable for liver protection after drinking.
Recommended Recipe: Green Melon Rind with Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients: Watermelon rind, pork tenderloin, egg white, cooking wine, salt, wet starch.
Method: Peel the green skin from the fresh watermelon rind and shred it. Mix with a small amount of salt, let it sit for a moment, then squeeze out the brine. Shred the pork tenderloin, place it in a bowl, and mix with cooking wine, salt, egg white, and wet starch to coat. Heat oil in a wok. When the oil is medium-hot (about 60% hot), add the pork shreds and separate them with a spatula. When the pork turns white, remove and drain the oil. Leave the remaining oil in the wok, add a small amount of clear soup and bring to a boil. Add the watermelon rind shreds and pork shreds and stir-fry a few times. Thicken with wet starch.
IV. Lotus Root
Lotus root is rich in mucin protein and dietary fiber, which can bind with bile salts, cholesterol, and triglycerides in the body and food, causing them to be excreted in feces, thereby reducing lipid absorption. Lotus root emits a unique fragrance and contains tannins, which have the effect of strengthening the spleen to stop diarrhea. It can increase appetite, promote digestion, whet the appetite, and is especially suitable for those with poor appetite and loss of appetite. Lotus root is rich in trace elements such as iron and calcium, plant protein, vitamins, and starch, which can replenish qi and blood and enhance the body's immune function. Lotus root is rich in tannic acid, which has a vasoconstrictive effect and can be used for hemostasis. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that lotus root can cool the blood to resolve stasis, stop bleeding without leaving stasis, and is a good food therapy for heat-related blood syndromes.
Lotus root is neutral in nature and sweet in taste, with effects such as clearing heat, promoting fluid production, moistening the lungs, and cooling the blood. The rich coarse fiber can moisten the intestines to relieve constipation. B vitamins, folic acid, and trace elements like iron and zinc can promote the repair of oral mucosal epithelium. Drinking lotus root and pork rib soup often can prevent and treat oral ulcers, but you should choose old lotus roots with many holes and white skin. This is also a common soup in many households.
Recommended Recipe: Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup
Ingredients: 500g lotus root, 400g pork ribs, 3 slices of ginger.
Method: Wash the lotus root, remove the joints, cut into sections, and soak in light salt water for 15 minutes; wash the pork ribs and cut into pieces. Put the pork ribs and ginger into a clay pot first, add 2500ml of water (about 10 bowls), bring to a boil over high heat, add the lotus root, and after it comes to a boil, turn to low heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours. Season with an appropriate amount of salt. This quantity is for 3-4 people. For the prevention and treatment of oral ulcers, it is recommended to drink this 3-4 times a week.
During the Summer Solstice, you should also drink more mung bean congee and sour plum juice. Mung beans can be used to clear heat and detoxify, relieve summer heat, promote urination, and treat summer heat-related thirst, edema, etc. Sour plum juice aids digestion, harmonizes the middle jiao, promotes qi circulation to resolve stasis, promotes fluid production to quench thirst, astringes the lung qi, relieves restlessness, and calms the mind. Regular consumption can strengthen the body and is a rare health drink in hot weather.