20 days into the midsummer: Be mindful of your diet, remember to eat more of 3 types of vegetables and less of 2 flavors, to build a solid foundation for the upcoming autumn!
As the saying goes, “In summer, there are three periods of extreme heat, with the hottest falling in the midsummer.” Midsummer is the second of the three periods of extreme heat, usually referring to the time from the fourth geng day after the summer solstice to the day before the first geng day after the start of autumn. The duration of midsummer varies each year, depending on how early or late the third geng day occurs after the summer solstice, spanning from 10 days to 20 days. This year it lasts for 20 days, an extended version of the midsummer period. During midsummer, the scorching sun is often accompanied by fierce wind and rain alternately, making people feel as if living in a steamer, enveloped by high temperatures and humidity.
There’s an old saying, “In midsummer, even the healthy become feeble.” During this 20-day period of midsummer, the demand for physical fitness is high. A slight negligence could lead to defeat by the summer heat, posing a challenge for everyone. Whether one can enter autumn healthily and smoothly depends on how well everyone takes care of their health during this time. Apart from staying cool and hydrated, adjusting one’s diet in the three meals is crucial. Firstly, watch what you eat, avoid two particular flavors, and focus on consuming three types of vegetables to lay a solid foundation for the upcoming autumn. Now, let’s see which vegetables to eat more of?
1. Eat more of 3 types of vegetables — bean sprouts, eggplants, sweet potato leaves.
1. Eat more bean sprouts.
Green beans are the cooling ingredient of summer, and bean sprouts are the tender sprouts grown from green beans. During the sprouting process, the content of vitamins and amino acids in bean sprouts is even higher than that of green beans. “Compendium of Materia Medica” records, “Among all sprouting beans, only this type has a unique white beauty; it is considered ordinary by modern people, but was unknown to ancient people.” This means that bean sprouts are white in color, crisp in texture, cool in nature, sweet in taste, and eating them can relieve summer heat, prevent heatstroke, making them ideal for consumption in summer.
Recommended dish: [Sour Cabbage and Bean Sprouts]
Main ingredients: Sour cabbage, bean sprouts.
Seasonings: Cooking oil, salt, garlic, ginger, chicken essence.
Steps: 1. After washing the bean sprouts, drain them. Rub and rinse the sour cabbage, remove excess salt, squeeze out water, and chop it finely. Finely chop the garlic and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and ginger until fragrant, add the sour cabbage and stir-fry evenly. Then add the bean sprouts, stir-fry until cooked, add a little water, and bring to a boil.
3. Season according to the saltiness of the sour cabbage, add salt as needed, then add chicken essence for flavor, and it’s ready to serve.
2. Eat more eggplants.
Eggplants are common summer vegetables, known for their cooling nature that is not too cold, making them perfect for the midsummer period. There’s a saying, “Melon in the first period, eggplant in the second, pumpkin with skin intact in the third.” Eggplants belong to the melon family of vegetables, with high water content and rich nutrients, making them versatile and suitable for all ages.
Recommended dish: [Steamed Eggplant]
Main ingredient: Eggplant.
Seasonings: Cooking oil, salt, scallions, garlic, light soy sauce, vinegar, chicken essence, sugar.
Steps: 1. After washing the eggplant, cut off the ends, then slice into long strips. Place the eggplant in a dish and steam over high heat.
2. While steaming, chop the garlic and cut the scallions. Heat oil in a pan, pour hot oil over the garlic and scallions to release the fragrance. Add salt, light soy sauce, vinegar, chicken essence, and sugar, and mix well.
3. After steaming the eggplant, discard any excess liquid, then pour the prepared sauce over it. Serve hot or enjoy it by dipping the eggplant, it’s delicious either way.
3. Eat more sweet potato leaves.
Summer is the peak season for sweet potato leaves, known as the “longevity vegetable” and “vegetable queen.” Sweet potato leaves are neutral in nature, sweet in taste, slightly cool, rich in vitamins and minerals, providing ample nutrients to the body, strengthening physical fitness, and offering various health benefits such as nourishing the blood, replenishing body fluids, supporting spleen function, promoting bowel movements, and boosting energy.
Recommended dish: [Garlic-flavored Sweet Potato Leaves]
Main ingredient: Sweet potato leaves.
Seasonings: Cooking oil, salt, garlic, chicken essence.
Steps: 1. Remove the fine hairs from the stems of sweet potato leaves, wash them thoroughly, drain, and set aside.
2. Crush the garlic into minced pieces, heat oil in a pan, sauté the garlic until fragrant, then add the sweet potato leaves and stir-fry until they are slightly cooked.
3. Season with salt, add chicken essence for flavor, stir well, and remove from heat.
Having discussed the three vegetables to eat more of, now let’s talk about the two flavors to avoid eating?
2. Avoid 2 flavors — cold-natured and spicy flavors.
1. Avoid cold-natured flavors.
On July 25th, we entered the second extreme heat period, and on August 7th, we welcome the start of autumn. It can be seen that the beginning of autumn falls within the second midsummer period, the hottest time of the year and the final period of summer. During this time, it’s advisable not to consume overly cold food or ingredients like watermelon, bitter gourd, raw fish slices, etc., as indulging in such cold-natured foods will lead to the invasion of cold air into the body, resulting in various health issues, making it unbearable. Hence, it’s best to cut back on cold foods.
2. Avoid spicy flavors.
During the midsummer period with intense heat, opt for cool-tempered rather than cold food to dissipate heat and cool down. Eating spicy foods like pepper and chili in the scorching midsummer can cause internal dryness, heatiness, and discomfort, impacting both work and daily life. It’s wise to avoid spicy foods during this time.
This concludes the dietary taboos for the 20 days of midsummer. How to better cope with midsummer? Any more cooling techniques to recommend? Feel free to share in the comments below, let’s share and learn together. Limited in culinary skills, any guidance is appreciated.
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