Introduction: A year's plan starts in spring. Spring is not only the beginning of the year but also the best season for health preservation. At the same time, spring is the season when all things grow, offering a variety of fresh, seasonal foods that are not only delicious but also nutritious and highly beneficial to human health. For spring health preservation, eating seasonal foods with "spring" in their name is the best choice. Let's learn more about them together:
Spring Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are hailed as the "treasure among vegetables." Spring bamboo shoots have a light, fresh, and tender flavor, and there is a saying that "a banquet is not complete without bamboo shoots." Eating spring bamboo shoots in moderation can help with bowel regularity. The E. coli in the intestines can synthesize the cellulose from bamboo shoots into vitamins needed by the human body. It can also combine with cholic acid, a cholesterol metabolite in the intestines, to form indigestible composite waste that is excreted from the body, helping with detoxification and beauty.
Bacon and Bamboo Shoot Soup
Spring Crucian Carp
Crucian carp eaten in spring is both tender and not greasy, making it the best time of the year to eat this fish. Crucian carp is highly nutritious, rich in high-quality protein that is easily digested and absorbed by the human body. It has the effects of strengthening the spleen and promoting urination, harmonizing the middle jiao and stimulating the appetite, invigorating blood and unblocking the collaterals, and warming the middle jiao and directing qi downward. Crucian carp is excellent for nourishing and treating weakness of the spleen and stomach, edema, ulcers, bronchitis, asthma, and diabetes.
Spring Chives
Chives are also a seasonal spring food with excellent effects of warming the middle jiao, promoting qi circulation, dispersing blood and detoxifying, warming the body, and strengthening the stomach. Chives are rich in calcium and iron, which are of great significance for the formation of bones and teeth and for preventing iron-deficiency anemia. Eating chives in spring can also help generate yang qi, which has the effect of boosting the spirit and resisting springtime drowsiness.
Stir-fried Chives with Tofu Skin
Toon
The tender sprouts of toon can be made into various dishes, with the new branches and tender leaves in spring having the best taste. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that toon has a bitter taste and a cold nature, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting urination, inducing diuresis, strengthening the stomach, and regulating qi. The unique flavor of toon also has the effect of stimulating the spleen and appetite, and increasing the desire to eat.
Spring Shepherd's Purse
Shepherd's purse is a delicacy among wild vegetables. Its tender stems and leaves are used as a vegetable, with a delicate and fresh fragrance. It contains various amino acids and has the effects of harmonizing the spleen, clearing heat, promoting urination, reducing swelling, calming the liver, stopping bleeding, and improving eyesight. There are many ways to eat it, suitable for both meat and vegetable cooking, such as stir-frying, making soups, and cold salads. Dishes like shepherd's purse dumplings, wontons, buns, spring pancakes, and shepherd's purse tofu soup are fragrant, delicious, and have a unique, tender, and fresh flavor.
Shepherd's Purse and Wheat Meal