You should eat some "bitter" foods in the summer.

Introduction: Summer has arrived, and the weather is becoming hot. Affected by the intense heat, many people experience a loss of appetite and have no desire to eat. We might as well eat some bitter vegetables. Bitter vegetables can clear heat and remove internal heat, and increase appetite. Common bitter vegetables include bitter melon, lettuce, and oil麦菜, among others.

Bitter Melon

Also known as cool melon, it is rich in nutrients, including carbohydrates, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, and more. It also contains substances such as dietary fiber, momordica saponin, and charantin. Research has found that charantin and bitter substances can increase appetite. In addition, bitter melon is very high in vitamin C, which can prevent scurvy, prevent atherosclerosis, enhance the body's immunity, and protect the heart.

There are many ways to eat bitter melon. The most common methods are dry-frying and stir-frying, which can easily destroy the vitamins in it. Bitter melon can also be served cold. Remove the seeds, cut it into shreds or slices, blanch it in boiling water, then rinse it in cold water, drain the water, and according to your preference, you can make various types of cold dishes.

Stir-fried Bitter Melon

Lettuce

Can be divided into leaf lettuce, also known as spring vegetable or lettuce; and stem lettuce, also known as asparagus lettuce or fragrant bamboo. Lettuce is also rich in nutrients, including carbohydrates, carotene, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, and magnesium, and dietary fiber. Lettuce also contains an aromatic hydrocarbon hydroxy lipid, which has a certain preventive effect on liver cancer and stomach cancer in the digestive system.

Asparagus lettuce is suitable for braising, mixing, quick-frying, and stir-frying. It can also be used to make soups and as an ingredient. When blanching asparagus lettuce, be sure to pay attention to the time and temperature. Blanching for too long or at too high a temperature will make the lettuce soft and lose its crisp texture. Squeezing out the water before adding the lettuce to the wok can increase its crispness. However, from a nutritional standpoint, do not squeeze out the water, as this will cause the loss of water-soluble vitamins.

Black Sesame Mixed Lettuce

Oil麦菜

Rich in minerals and vitamins. The carotene content of oil麦菜 is 1.4 times higher than that of asparagus lettuce, its calcium content is twice as high, and its iron content is 33% higher.

Oil麦菜 can be used for cold salads, eaten raw with various seasonings. It can also be stir-fried or used in hot pot, having a unique flavor. Because oil麦菜 is allergic to ethylene, it should be stored as far away from apples, pears, and bananas as possible to avoid inducing reddish-brown spots.

In addition to the bitter vegetables mentioned above, there are many other bitter vegetables, such as bitter vegetable and bitter bamboo shoots, which are all suitable for eating in the summer. Eating some "bitter" in the summer is beneficial to your health. But although bitter vegetables are good, they should be eaten in moderation, otherwise, more is worse than less.

Garlic Oil麦菜