What foods are both filling and healthy? Let's take a look at the latest popular trends in eating from Japan and Korea!
Korean Kimchi Method
Characteristics: Spicy, sour, and slightly sweet. How to make it:
You can buy authentic Korean kimchi at the supermarket, served as an appetizer or as a side dish with rice. You can also try kimchi tofu, a favorite of many celebrities. Mix 150g of Korean kimchi with half a block of tofu and eat it cold or in a soup. It not only helps with weight loss and beauty but also supplies isoflavones and strengthens blood vessels.
Tip: Authentic Korean kimchi is made with fish sauce, a salted fermented seafood product that aids in fermentation, and contains no artificial seasonings, colors, acidulants, or sweeteners, making it a true weight-loss food. Most Korean kimchi contains a certain amount of nitrite, which is not beneficial in large amounts. Limit consumption to 1-2 times per week, with a small portion each time.
Review: Currently, Korean kimchi is gradually being recognized as a healthy fermented food worldwide. Korean scientists have discovered that kimchi contains not only various vitamins, minerals, and more than ten essential amino acids for the human body but also a significant weight-loss effect, which has been proven in animal experiments.
Japanese Natto Method
Characteristics: Salty, pungent, and refreshing. How to make it:
You can buy natto at large supermarkets. You can eat it directly or mix it with light soy sauce. Adding some spices to 50g of natto not only gives it a unique flavor but also doubles its weight-loss effect. Mixing 50g of natto with chopped green onions can improve blood circulation. Eating 50g of natto with regular kimchi can promote normal gastrointestinal function, not only aiding in weight loss but also helping with regular bowel movements and preventing constipation. Mixing 50g of natto with grated white radish can increase satiety, reduce the total calorie intake of a meal, and help with weight loss.
Tip: Choose one meal a day to eat a small bowl (about 50g) before the meal. Natto is best served cold and should not be heated.
Review: The Japanese magazine "Body Science," published by the Japanese Review Publishing House, points out that as a plant-based food, natto is rich in protein and fat. The enzymes in nato can help the human body expel some cholesterol, break down oxidized lipids in the body, and normalize abnormal blood pressure after consumption.
Soy Milk Coffee Method
Characteristics: Smooth texture, no bitterness. How to make it:
Pour half a cup of hot coffee and set it aside. Slightly heat the soy milk in the microwave, then pour the heated soy milk into the hot coffee and mix to drink. You can also add a small amount of gelatin to the soy milk coffee mixture. Soak one or two sheets of gelatin in cold water until softened; heat 100ml of coffee to a boil, then add the softened gelatin and stir until it is completely dissolved, then turn off the heat. After it cools, place the coffee in the refrigerator to chill. Once it sets, cut it into small cubes and pour hot soy milk over it to make a delicious, low-calorie soy milk coffee jelly.
Tip: Can be consumed 30 minutes before or after exercise (about one rice bowl, 300ml). To keep your body slim, reduce the amount of milk and sugar when drinking coffee. You can also use unsweetened or low-sugar soy milk as a coffee creamer instead of milk.
Review: Soy milk is neutral in nature and sweet in taste, nourishing yin, moistening dryness, promoting urination, benefiting qi, and nourishing beauty and deficiency. Soy milk contains soybean saponins, isoflavones, soybean oligosaccharides, and other functional ingredients with significant health benefits. Regular consumption of soy milk can maintain a normal nutritional balance, comprehensively regulate the human endocrine system, lower blood pressure and blood lipids, reduce the burden on the cardiovascular system, increase heart vitality, and optimize blood circulation. Coffee is warm in nature and sweet-bitter in taste. Its main components are caffeine and theobromine, and it contains protein, fat, crude fiber, sucrose, and various vitamins and minerals. It has the effects of refreshing the mind, promoting urination, strengthening the heart, and aiding digestion.