As winter arrives, the time for nourishing the body officially begins. Many people focus on health preservation in autumn and body toning in winter. But do you know what to eat for health preservation? And do you know what to eat to nourish your body? Let's take a look at the principles of body toning in winter!
1. Eat less raw and cold food, drink more congee and soup
Consuming raw and cold foods in winter can easily irritate the stomach and intestines, causing abdominal pain, diarrhea, and other issues. Therefore, paying attention to choosing appropriate cooking methods is also important. It is recommended to use cooking methods like stewing, boiling, steaming, and braising when preparing winter foods. This approach better preserves the nutritional value of the food and is beneficial for health.
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables to strengthen the body and resist disease
Winter is dry, especially in northern regions where a meat-heavy diet can easily lead to constipation. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, which can enhance the body's immunity, improve its ability to adapt to the cold, protect blood vessels, and promote gastrointestinal motion to prevent constipation. Therefore, it's important to supplement your intake of fruits and vegetables. Vegetable options include carrots, white radishes, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, Chinese yam, lotus root, spinach, rapeseed, celery, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, and baby bok choy. Fruit options include apples, pears, kiwis, bananas, pomelos, and citrus fruits.
3. Food intake should be sufficient, and energy should be balanced
In winter, the weather is cold and freezing. Residents in northern regions have heating facilities; although they feel cold when outdoors, it's as warm as spring indoors. However, in the south, there is no central heating, so indoor and outdoor temperatures are similar, and sometimes it's even colder indoors. The body's need for energy increases, so it's important to ensure an adequate supply. Make sure to have enough staple foods; it is recommended to eat 250-400 grams of grain daily. Besides steamed buns, rice, and cornbread, you can have a mix of soft and hard foods, and congee regularly. Animal-based foods are not only rich in protein but also contain a certain amount of fat, which can boost immunity and increase resistance to cold and disease. You should have 150-250 grams of animal-based food daily, which can include lean meat, eggs, poultry, fish, or milk, and it's good to vary the types.
4. Supplement moderately, just enough
Winter is cold, with shorter daylight hours and reduced outdoor activities, which can easily lead to vitamin D deficiency. Pay attention to eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, such as dairy products, soy products, seafood, and animal liver. The variety of fresh vegetables and fruits available in winter is not as abundant as in summer and autumn, which can lead to insufficient intake of some vitamins and minerals. Therefore, you can choose nutritional supplements to make up for dietary deficiencies, such as vitamin C and vitamin D. However, they should not be the primary source of nutrients; the principle is to supplement moderately, not excessively!
What meats are good to eat in winter?
1. Pigeon: Strengthens the body and nourishes the kidneys
As the saying goes, "one pigeon is worth nine chickens." The nutritional value of pigeon meat has long been recognized. It has effects such as strengthening the body, nourishing the kidneys, invigorating the brain, improving memory, lowering blood pressure, regulating blood sugar, and beautifying the skin, making it fair, delicate, and supple. It is also easy to digest, making it very suitable for the elderly, the weak and sick, post-operative patients, pregnant women, and children. For making soup, it's better to use older pigeons, while young pigeons are chosen for their crispy bones and tender meat. Older pigeons have more prominent nutritional value and richer flavor due to long-term nutrient accumulation. Drinking a bowl of pigeon soup that nourishes the liver and kidneys, and replenishes qi and blood during the coldest time of the year can boost energy and make one look vibrant.
2. Pork: Supplements iron
Pork varies greatly in fat content. Fat cuts have a high fat content and low protein content; eating too much can easily lead to high blood lipids and obesity. Most protein is concentrated in lean meat, which also contains hemoglobin that can supplement iron and prevent anemia. The hemoglobin in meat is better absorbed than that in plants, so the effect of replenishing iron by eating lean meat is better than eating vegetables. Healthy and fresh pork should have a lean part that is red or pink, with a bright luster and little liquid exuding. The fat part should be white or milky-white and relatively firm.
3. Quail: Supplements qi and blood
There is a folk saying, "For poultry, quail is the best." Indeed, quail meat is a typical food that is high in protein, low in fat, low in cholesterol, and rich in vitamins. It can be compared to ginseng, the king of tonics, and is an ideal meat for overweight people. Medical research has shown that the rich lecithin in quail can produce lysolecithin, which inhibits platelet aggregation, prevents thrombus formation, protects blood vessel walls, and prevents arteriosclerosis. Experts say it is suitable for patients with malnutrition, weakness, aversion to cold and heat, cough and asthma, neurasthenia, anemia and dizziness, nephritic edema, diarrhea, dysentery, high blood pressure, obesity, and arteriosclerosis. For example, to treat neurasthenia or improve intelligence, quail meat can be decocted with goji berries, almond seeds, and polygala root.
4. Chicken: Enhances physical strength
The chicken referred to here is skinless chicken, as almost all of the chicken's fat is in the skin. Every 100 grams of skinless chicken contains 24 grams of protein but only 0.7 grams of fat. Chicken has a good therapeutic effect on malnutrition, aversion to cold, fatigue, menstrual irregularity, anemia, and weakness. Chicken is not only suitable for stir-frying and soups but is also a meat that is quite suitable for cold salads. Chicken has a high proportion of protein, with many varieties and a high digestibility, making it easily absorbed and utilized by the body, which has the effect of enhancing physical strength and strengthening the body.
5. Silkie chicken: Tonifies deficiency and fatigue
Silkie chicken is neutral in nature and sweet in taste; it has the effects of nourishing yin and clearing heat, nourishing the liver and kidneys, strengthening the spleen, and stopping diarrhea. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that Silkie chicken can remedy deficiency and fatigue, control diabetes, benefit postpartum women, and treat female uterine bleeding and leucorrhea, as well as various deficiency diseases. Silkie meat contains more amino acids and iron than regular chicken, making it a highly nourishing product with extremely high nutritional value, earning it the reputation of a "treasure with a black heart." Therefore, Silkie chicken is an excellent product for tonifying deficiency and nourishing the body. For winter fatigue, drink Silkie chicken soup. Clean the blood from the Silkie chicken, place it in a pot, add scallions, ginger, and other ingredients and simmer. If possible, you can add medicinal herbs for food therapy such as Codonopsis root, Angelica sinensis, and Astragalus root. If Silkie chicken is not available, you can substitute it with a local chicken.
6. Mutton: Warms the stomach and resists cold
Mutton is warm in nature and can warm the stomach and resist cold, making it especially suitable for consumption in autumn and winter. Because sheep are pure herbivores, their meat is very tender and easy to digest, and its fat and cholesterol content is much lower than that of pork and beef, making it the most delicious food with dual effects of nourishment and cold prevention in winter. Mutton helps yang energy, replenishes essence and blood, and treats lung deficiency, and is quite beneficial for patients with asthma, bronchitis, lung diseases, and deficiency-cold conditions. However, it should be noted that mutton is inherently warm and not suitable for everyone. Those with yin deficiency and excessive fire, a productive cough with much phlegm, indigestion, arthritis, eczema, or fever should avoid it.
7. Beef: Warms the stomach
Beef is rich in protein, and its amino acid composition is closer to human needs than pork, which can improve the body's disease resistance. It has the effects of replenishing qi in the middle jiao, nourishing the spleen and stomach, strengthening muscles and bones, resolving phlegm and calming wind, and quenching thirst and stopping salivation. Eating beef in the cold winter can warm the stomach, making it an excellent tonic for winter health preservation. Additionally, water buffalo beef can calm the fetus and nourish the spirit, while yellow cattle beef can calm the middle jiao, replenish qi, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and strengthen muscles and bones. Wrap a small amount of tea in gauze and place it in the pot to stew with the beef; the meat will cook faster and have a fragrant flavor. Adding some wine or vinegar (at a ratio of 2-3 tablespoons of wine or 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 kg of beef) to stew the beef can make the meat more tender. Placing a few hawthorns or a few slices of radish in the meat will not only make the beef cook faster but also remove any strange odors.
Recommended Medicinal Cuisine for Winter Health Preservation
One, White Radish and Ginkgo Congee
Ingredients: 6 ginkgo nuts, 100g white radish, 100g glutinous rice, 50g sugar.
Method: Wash and shred the radish, blanch in hot water and set aside. First, wash the ginkgo nuts and cook them with the glutinous rice. When the rice begins to bloom, add the sugar and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes. Mix in the shredded radish and it's ready to serve.
Two, Steamed Ginseng Chicken
Ingredients: 15g ginseng, 1 hen, 10g ham, 10g soaked wood ear mushrooms, 15g soaked shiitake mushrooms, appropriate amount of salt, MSG, scallion, ginger, and chicken broth.
Method:
1. After slaughtering the hen, pluck it and remove all internal organs. Dip it in boiling water, then rinse with cold water. Slice the ham, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, scallion, and ginger.
2. Soak the ginseng in boiling water, then steam it for 30 minutes and remove.
3. Clean the hen and place it in a basin. Add the ginseng, ham, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, scallion, ginger, salt, cooking wine, and MSG. Pour in chicken broth (enough to cover the chicken). Steam over high heat until thoroughly cooked.
4. Place the steamed chicken in a large bowl. Chop the ginseng and arrange it with the ham, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms on top of the chicken. Pour the steaming chicken broth into a pot, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, adjust the seasoning, and pour it over the chicken.
Three, Pig Kidney with Dangshen and Chinese Yam
Ingredients: 10g Angelica sinensis, 10g Codonopsis root, 10g Chinese yam, 500g pig kidney, appropriate amount of soy sauce, vinegar, shredded ginger, minced garlic, and sesame oil.
Method:
1. Cut the pig kidney in half, remove the membranes and glands, wash it, and place it in an aluminum pot.
2. Place the Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis root, and Chinese yam in a gauze bag, tie it tightly, and put it in the aluminum pot.
3. Add an appropriate amount of water to the pot and simmer until the pig kidney is thoroughly cooked. Remove the kidney, let it cool, then slice it thinly and place on a plate.
4. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, shredded ginger, minced garlic, and sesame oil with the sliced pig kidney and serve.