Introduction: During the Rainwater solar term, dietary adjustments should be made based on the warming climate, cooler mornings and evenings, and the increasing prevalence of wind evil, often leading to a dry mouth and tongue. Therefore, it is advisable to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits to supplement the body's fluids and consume less greasy food.
One can eat more jujubes, Chinese yam, lotus seeds, chives, spinach, etc. For people in the north, therapeutic diets are often best in the form of congee, such as lotus seed congee, Chinese yam congee, and red date congee. During this season, one should consume less of warming foods like mutton and dog meat. For medicinal conditioning, it is important to consider the functions of the spleen and stomach, using methods to generate and promote yang energy to nourish them. Ingredients such as Glehnia root, American ginseng, Cassia seed, and white chrysanthemum can be chosen. Spiritually, one should also pay attention to calming the mind and reducing desires, avoiding excessive labor to conserve vital energy.
During the Rainwater season, eat more pea shoots
Pea shoots, commonly known as pea vines. As a food, pea shoots were recorded as early as in Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Peas were first cultivated in West Lake, but are now common in northern lands. They are sown in the ninth month, and the sprouts are soft and weak like vines, with tendrils, and leaves like tribulus leaves, growing in pairs. They are edible when young." Pea shoots are the seedlings of the pea when it has sprouted 2 to 4 cotyledons. They are fresh, tender, and fragrant, making them most suitable for soups.
The nutritional value of pea shoots is roughly the same as that of peas. The tender pods and leaves of pea shoots are rich in vitamin C and an enzyme that can break down nitrosamines in the body, giving them anti-cancer properties. Substances in pea shoots such as pisum, gibberellin, and phytohemagglutinin have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and metabolism-enhancing functions. Pea shoots contain relatively rich fiber, which can prevent constipation and has a bowel-cleansing effect. Pea shoots also contain a great deal of calcium, vitamins B and C, and carotene.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, pea shoots are considered cool and slightly cold in nature, with a heat-clearing effect. Eating them in the spring can clear heat and reduce fire, and also help to make the skin smooth and soft. Additionally, pea shoots are beneficial for reducing edema.
There are many ways to eat pea shoots. Here, I recommend a pea shoot and mushroom soup. The basic ingredients are pea shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms. In a pre-simmered chicken broth or stock (plain water can also be used), add two slices of ginger and the shiitake mushrooms. Once the water boils, add the enoki mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the pea shoots and a little salt. Be careful not to cover the pot. Turn off the heat once the water comes back to a boil, and finish by adding a few drops of sesame oil before serving.
Shepherd's Purse -- A "Life-Protecting Herb" for Both Food and Medicine
The history of consuming shepherd's purse in China spans several thousand years. The "Book of Odes" contains the verse, "Who says that the bitter herb is not sweet? It is as sweet as shepherd's purse," indicating that people were already eating shepherd's purse during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Since ancient times, shepherd's purse has been a very popular wild vegetable. In many parts of China, there is a custom of eating shepherd's purse boiled with eggs on the third day of the third lunar month. Some people also gather large amounts of shepherd's purse on this day, dry it, and save it to boil for drinking regularly. Some begin to pick the tender leaves of shepherd's purse as soon as they emerge around the spring equinox in March, saying this vegetable can cure all illnesses, is very beneficial to the body, and calling it the "Life-Protecting Herb." Thus, the saying goes: "On the third day of the third month, shepherd's purse is as effective as a magic elixir."
Shepherd's purse is highly nutritious, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin C, as well as flavonoid glycosides, choline, and acetylcholine. It is rich in vitamin C and carotene, which helps enhance the body's immune function. It can also lower blood pressure, aid digestion, and treat conditions such as stomach cramps, stomach ulcers, dysentery, and enteritis.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, shepherd's purse is considered sweet and neutral in nature with high medicinal value. It has effects such as improving eyesight, cooling the body, relieving heat, promoting urination, and treating dysentery. It is used to treat dysentery, edema, strangury, chyluria, hematemesis, hematochezia, metrorrhagia, menorrhagia, and red, swollen, and painful eyes. "The Famous Physician's Separate Record" states it "benefits the liver qi and harmonizes the middle jiao." "Daily Use Materia Medica" notes it "cools the liver and brightens the eyes." "Compendium of Materia Medica" records it "brightens the eyes and benefits the stomach."
Garlic
Eating more green onions and garlic in the spring is not only beneficial for the body's need for generating new energy but also helps it resist more external harm. Spring is a time of frequent colds and viruses, but garlic contains antibacterial components—two effective substances: alliin and allinase. Alliin and allinase exist in the cells of fresh garlic. Once the garlic is crushed, they come into contact with each other, forming a colorless, oily liquid—allicin. Allicin has a strong bactericidal effect and can help the body's immune system resist external microbial invasion.
Millet
The ancients believed: "Millet soup is as good as ginseng soup," showing how high the nutritional value of millet is. For the elderly, the weak, the sick, and postpartum women, millet can be considered the most ideal nourishing food. The iron content in millet of the same weight is twice that of rice, vitamin B1 is 1.5 to 3.5 times higher, vitamin B2 is twice as high, and the fiber content is 2 to 7 times greater.
Shrimp
Shrimp is rich in nutritional value, containing significant amounts of fat, trace elements (phosphorus, zinc, calcium, iron, etc.), and amino acids. Modern nutritionists unanimously agree that all types of shrimp are rich in protein, with relatively high content of vitamin A, carotene, and inorganic salts. Its fat content is not only low but is mostly unsaturated fatty acids, which have the effect of preventing and treating atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.