Follow Me for Wellness: The Spring Wellness Guide, Season 2

Follow Me for Health: Spring Wellness Guide, Season 2

The most precious thing in life is life itself, the most precious in life is health, and the most precious in health is wellness. An old saying goes: nourish life in spring, boost in summer, harmonize in autumn, and conserve essence in winter.

Longevity is the ultimate goal of wellness, and health is its foundation. As the first season of the year, spring sets the cornerstone for the entire year's wellness journey. Therefore, wellness during this time is particularly important. If you felt the first season wasn't enough, here is the second season to continue our discussion on spring wellness.

First, we recommend a few delicious dishes especially suitable for spring. Read on...

Spring Wellness: The Auspicious Trio

Let's start with a little poem for you: For spring wellness, three treasures are key, Jujube and ginger you must have, and add garlic scapes for a spicy bite, For therapeutic effects, it's just right.

Spring wellness focuses on nourishing the liver and protecting the spleen. So, the stars of this episode are jujube, ginger, and garlic scapes.

First, let's talk about jujube

Everyone knows jujube is a wonderful thing. It helps replenish vital energy, nourish the blood, calm the mind, and strengthen the spleen and stomach. It's very effective for patients with mild insomnia. As the saying goes, "Eat three jujubes a day, and you'll never grow old." However, there's a right way to eat them. Eating too many can cause bloating, damage teeth and kidneys, and lead to premature aging.

Here are two delicious dishes made with red dates: Oat and Jujube Porridge, Millet and Jujube Porridge, and Red Date and Tremella Soup.

Tip: You can also add celery root to these porridges, which has a great therapeutic effect for people with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.

Next, let's talk about ginger

Ginger is warm in nature. Its unique "gingerol" can stimulate the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing gastrointestinal congestion and enhancing digestion. It can effectively treat bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting caused by eating too many cold foods.

Here are two ginger-based recipes we recommend: Ginger and Century Egg, Sweet Potato and Ginger Tangyuan, and Jujube and Ginger Soup.

Tip: "Half a pound of ginger and a quarter pound of jujube, boiled or steeped, keeps your complexion rosy till old age." This is a time-tested remedy. Actually, eating raw ginger is very good for your health. There was a centenarian who ate a slice of ginger every morning. So, if you want to live a long life, give it a try.

Finally, garlic scapes

Garlic scapes are spicy and pungent, and warm in nature. Their benefits include detoxifying, killing parasites, lowering lipids and blood pressure, making them perfect for people with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. They also protect the cardiovascular system by preventing blood clots, protect the liver by inducing the activity of liver detoxification enzymes, and can block the synthesis of carcinogenic nitrosamines, playing a role in cancer prevention.

Spring wellness emphasizes reducing sour foods and increasing sweet ones. Li Shizhen added that you should also eat some pungent foods, a practice called "mixed eating." Spring has a nourishing effect on lung energy. Using pungent flavors to enter the lung meridian can inhibit liver qi from becoming excessive, creating a balancing effect.

Here are a few homely recipes with garlic scapes: Dry Cowpea and Garlic Scape Braised Pork, Garlic Scapes and Shiitake Mushrooms, and Cured Meat Stir-fried with Garlic Scapes.

Tip: Besides stir-frying, garlic scapes can also be used in cold dishes. You can add them to century egg and tofu salad, or some people like to mix them with duck gizzards. They are great choices for adding a special flavor.

Special Feature:

After introducing our favorite vegetables, some of you must be thinking, "How wonderful it would be to have some seafood!" And you know what? We have two seafood recommendations for you: abalone and oysters. Some people call them oysters or raw oysters. I remember we used to eat them often in school. The meat was so plump and the flavor so delicious, a truly leisurely treat.

Oysters

There are many ways to eat them. Common methods include baked oysters or oysters stewed with tofu, creating unique flavors without losing the original taste.

Let's look at our food recommendations: Grilled Oysters, Ginger and Garlic Stir-fried Oysters, and Oyster and Shungiku Stew with Tofu.

Tip: We highly recommend the second dish. Oysters and garlic scapes together have a relatively light flavor, yet they are fresh, healthy, and leave a very pleasant impression.

Abalone

When it comes to abalone, many people think it's a luxury. Seeing the marked prices in hotels can be intimidating. But if you look carefully at the supermarket, it's not that expensive. It's okay to indulge in a little luxury occasionally. When picking abalone, choose a plump one. If it moves when you touch it, it's fresh. If the meat completely covers the shell, it means the flesh is thick. You can pay attention to this when you choose.

Now for our food recommendations: Garlic Vermicelli with Small Abalone, Imitated Buddhist Abalone, and Scallion Oil Abalone.

Tip: No matter how you cook it, life has its sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors, and we only have one mouth. Make whatever you like. Also, we look forward to more people who love food and enjoy life to give us more suggestions, so we can exchange ideas and improve together.

Alright, that's all for the second season of our "Follow Me for Health" series. We look forward to seeing you in the third season. Don't be late!

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