After the beginning of the midsummer, it is suggested for middle-aged and elderly people: eat less refined white rice and flour, and eat more of these 5 miscellaneous grains to have a stable summer!
There is a saying among the common people: “In mid-July, halfway through the twelfth lunar month, the elderly are trembling with fear.” It means that after entering the dog days, the scorching sun, the hot weather, coupled with the onslaught of heavy rains, in this hot and humid environment, even young and middle-aged people are exhausted. The elderly, whose physical fitness is already poor, have an even harder time enduring the dog days. The elderly with conditions like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes feel like time drags on endlessly. This is why the elderly often say, “No sickness in the summer makes one weak.”
In such circumstances, we need to actively respond instead of passively accepting it. We can get help by adjusting our diet. Besides drinking plenty of water and eating fresh fruits and vegetables more often, we can also eat less high-sugar refined white rice and flour and eat more miscellaneous grains. These miscellaneous grains are rich in dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Consuming them helps promote digestion, supplement nutrients, keep the intestines moist and facilitate bowel movements, thereby eliminating toxins from the body. After the beginning of the midsummer, it is suggested for middle-aged and elderly people: eat less refined white rice and flour, and eat more of these 5 miscellaneous grains to have a stable summer.
1. Job’s tears (also known as coix seed).
Job’s tears, a highly nutritious ingredient, primarily produced in the water towns of the Jiangnan region of China, is rich in various amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, and minerals. Consuming it can provide the body with energy, meet the nutritional needs during normal metabolism, and maintain the normal functioning of various organs. It serves as a preventive measure, aids digestion, nourishes the spleen, stops diarrhea, benefits the kidneys, stabilizes essence, and dispels dampness.
Recommended dish: [“Crystal Sugar Osmanthus Job’s Tears Soup”]
Main ingredients: Job’s tears, osmanthus honey.
Seasoning: Crystal sugar.
Instructions: 1. Job’s tears can be bought with or without the husk. It is more convenient to buy them without the husk. Thaw and rinse them for later use.
2. In a pot, add water, melt crystal sugar in the boiling water, then add the job’s tears. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.
3. Drizzle in osmanthus honey, turn off the heat, let it cool slightly, and enjoy the delightful taste. Of course, individuals with diabetes should avoid adding sugar.
2. Corn.
Corn is a seasonal vegetable in the summer, known as the “golden staple food” for its rich content of various vitamins, trace elements, anthocyanins, dietary fiber, and other nutrients. It is considered an ideal coarse grain for enhancing brain health. Consuming more corn can benefit middle-aged and elderly people by invigorating the spleen, delaying aging, lowering blood sugar, improving skin beauty, promoting bowel movements, and delivering multiple health benefits.
Recommended dish: [“Stir-Fried Minced Pork with Corn”]
Main ingredients: Corn, pork, green and red peppers.
Seasoning: Cooking oil, salt, scallions, ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce.
Instructions: 1. Clean and dice the pork, marinate it with salt, starch, and light soy sauce. Remove the corn kernels, then chop the green and red peppers.
2. Heat oil in a pan, sauté the pork until it changes color, add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, then stir in the corn kernels.
3. Stir-fry until the corn is cooked, add a little light soy sauce for color, then add the peppers. Stir-fry, add some water, bring to a boil, season with salt, and serve.
3. Black rice.
Black rice is a type of rice with richer trace elements compared to regular rice, especially iron, calcium, zinc, and selenium. With the hot weather in summer causing nutrient loss through sweat, consuming black rice can help replenish these lost nutrients in the body.
Recommended dish: [“Black Bean Black Rice Congee”]
Main ingredients: Black beans, black rice, white rice.
Seasoning: Crystal sugar.
Instructions: 1. Wash the black beans and soak them. Clean the black rice and soak it as well. Utilize the soaking water for cooking.
2. Put the soaked black beans and black rice in a rice cooker, add white rice and water, then start cooking the porridge function.
3. After about an hour of cooking, add crystal sugar in the last 5 minutes, then serve when done.
4. Mung beans.
Mung beans are excellent for clearing heat and relieving summer heat. They contain nutrients such as proteins and lecithin, offering a smooth and delicate texture. Mung beans are often used to make soups for cooling down in hot weather. Consuming mung beans during the humid summer can relieve irritability, promote diuresis, reduce blood sugar, and have good therapeutic effects on cardiovascular diseases.
Recommended dish: [“Mung Bean Lily Bulb Soup”]
Main ingredients: Mung beans, lily bulbs.
Seasoning: Crystal sugar.
Instructions: 1. Wash the mung beans and soak them in advance. Clean the lily bulbs and set aside.
2. In a pot, add the soaked mung beans, then water. Boil on high heat until the mung beans can be easily crushed, then add the lily bulbs and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until the ingredients are softened. Add crystal sugar for sweetening. Once the sugar melts, remove from heat.
5. Buckwheat.
Buckwheat is a dual-purpose grain with medicinal properties, rich in protein, iron, manganese, zinc, and dietary fiber compared to common grains. Eating buckwheat has significant antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cough suppressing, asthma relieving, and phlegm dispersing effects. Buckwheat is typically consumed as buckwheat noodles.
Recommended dish: [“Buckwheat Noodles”]
Main ingredients: Buckwheat, cucumber.
Seasoning: Cooking oil, salt, scallions, light soy sauce, vinegar, chicken stock.
Instructions: 1. Boil water in a pot, add buckwheat noodles. When the water boils again, add a couple of times more cold water, cook until the noodles float, then remove from heat.
2. Prepare chopped scallions in a bowl. Heat oil in a pan, pour it over the scallions, release the aroma. Add salt, light soy sauce, vinegar, and chicken stock, mix well.
3. Drizzle the scallion oil over the noodles, then add shredded cucumber. Mix well and enjoy.
This is the dietary principle for middle-aged and elderly people during the dog days. Friends, what do you like to eat during the dog days? Do you have any good recommendations? Feel free to share in the comments section, let’s share and learn from each other. Thank you for reading, new food updates every day. Today’s sharing ends here. If you found it useful, give it a like, share it, and don’t forget to follow for more. See you tomorrow.
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