“Beginning of astonishment as the three dog days end, encountered the time of the beginning of autumn,” in the blink of an eye, over half of the three dog days have passed, and August 7th will usher in the beginning of autumn, as the saying goes, “summer nourishes the heart, autumn nourishes the lungs.” After the beginning of autumn, attention should be paid to diet, adapting with the season and eating in a timely manner. The period before and after the beginning of autumn will be even drier and hotter, and the human body is prone to experiencing ‘autumn dryness’ due to the deficiency of heart and lungs.
The climate changes of each season affect the human body. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that autumn dryness harms the lungs, so the period after the beginning of autumn is a key time for nourishing the lungs and preventing dryness. For good health, everyone should remember to adjust their diet, eat more foods that nourish the lungs and clear dryness, nourish yin and produce body fluid, recommended to eat the ‘3 whites and 2 yellows,’ all are good ingredients for nourishing yin and lungs, most suitable for consumption during the transition from summer to autumn.
Eat more ‘3 whites’:
1. Lily
Lily is rich in autumn narcissus alkaloids, vitamin B, as well as various minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients, which help people clear the heart and nourish the lungs, reducing heat and dryness. Making a soup with lily, eggs, and rock sugar helps to nourish without drying, light yet not bland, eliminating ‘autumn dryness’ while increasing nutrition.
Recommended dish: Lily and Egg Soup
Ingredients: Eggs, lily, wolfberries, rock sugar
1. Clean the lilies and soak them in warm water for half an hour, soak the wolfberries for about 5 minutes as well.
2. In a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, put in the soaked lilies, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the lilies are soft.
3. Beat the eggs and pour into the pot, stir with chopsticks until the eggs float up, add a suitable amount of rock sugar, wolfberries, and stir until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat.
2. Lotus Root
After the beginning of autumn, the dry climate makes it easy to get overheated. Lotus root can clear heat and moisten dryness, nourish the stomach, and nourish yin, beneficial for health. Stir-frying it with shrimp and snap peas is rich in nutrition, delicious, making it the most suitable small stir-fry dish for the beginning of autumn.
Recommended dish: Shrimp, Lotus Root, and Snap Pea Stir-Fry
Ingredients: Shrimp, lotus root, snap peas
1. Clean the shrimp, peel and devein, slice the lotus root, wash the snap peas, and slice the ginger.
2. In a bowl, add the shrimp, a small amount of starch, cooking wine, a few slices of ginger, and some salt, mix well, marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Boil water in a pot, blanch the lotus root slices for about 1 minute, then remove and drain, blanch the snap peas until cooked, then remove and drain.
4. Heat the wok with oil, when the oil is 60% hot, stir-fry the shrimp until they change color, then add the snap peas and lotus root, stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute.
5. Add a spoon of oyster sauce, adjust seasoning with salt and chicken stock powder, pour in a little over half a bowl of water and starch to thicken, stir-fry for a moment and serve.
3. Pear
As the old saying goes, ‘one pear moistens three autumns,’ the air is dry after the beginning of autumn, making the mouth, nose, or throat uncomfortable. Therefore, it is advisable to eat more pears at this time. Pears are sweet, juicy, can replenish body fluids and the required vitamins. Cooking them together with Chinese yam, longan, and other health ingredients into a sweet soup nourishes yin, benefits the lungs, and soothes the throat, very beneficial for health.
Recommended dish: Chinese Yam and Pear Soup
Ingredients: Pear, Chinese yam, longan, red dates, wolfberries
1. Peel the longan, soak in clean water, wash the red dates and slice for soaking, wash the wolfberries, peel and wash the Chinese yam, cut into small pieces.
2. Put the red dates and longan in a pot, pour in water, simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the chopped Chinese yam, pear pieces, wolfberries, boil for 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
Eating more ‘2 yellows’:
1. Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are soft, sweet, and nutritious, containing protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and more. The protein content is 7 times that of rice. The beginning of autumn is a good time to eat sweet potatoes, steaming them into small cakes that are fragrant and soft, having them as breakfast every few days to feel full and nourished.
Recommended dish: Sweet Potato Almond Pancakes
Ingredients: Sweet potatoes, flour, milk, yeast, baking powder, sugar
1. Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them, steam in a steamer for 15 minutes, cool after steaming, then put them in a food processor when about 60 degrees, add about 100g of milk, 3g yeast, 3g baking powder, and the right amount of sugar, process until a thick batter.
2. Slowly add flour to the sweet potato milk batter, stirring to form lumps, then knead into a dough, seal with plastic wrap, let it ferment in a suitable place for 1 hour.
3. Remove the fermented dough, knead it on a cutting board to release air, roll it out to about 5mm thickness, use a cup of appropriate size to cut them into round cakes.
4. Press the small cakes, place them in a dry and oil-free non-stick pan, cover and let them ferment for another half an hour until they expand.
5. Pan-fry the cakes, flip when one side is golden brown, fry until both sides are golden brown, then serve.
2. Pumpkin
“Autumn arrives, pumpkins are popular,” the pumpkin in the beginning of autumn is the ‘number one dish for autumn nourishment.’ It is rich in various nutrients, warm in nature, sweet in taste, and has the effects of tonifying qi, benefiting the lungs, invigorating the spleen, and tonifying deficiencies. Steamed into pumpkin cakes, they are golden and irresistible, fragrant and sticky, loved by both adults and children.
Recommended dish: Pumpkin Cakes
Ingredients: Pumpkin, glutinous rice flour, sugar, milk
1. Wash the pumpkin, peel, slice it, steam in a steamer for about 15 minutes until cooked, then put it into a food processor to make a puree, no need to add extra water.
2. While the pumpkin puree is still hot, add 3 spoons of sugar, mix well, then slowly add glutinous rice flour until it forms a sticky dough.
3. Divide the dough into pieces, roll them into balls, then press them into a cake shape. Make sure the thickness is even to ensure even cooking.
4. Heat oil in a pan, fry the pumpkin cakes over low heat until both sides are golden brown, then serve.
——Laojing Says——
During the period from the end of the dog days to the beginning of autumn, the weather is hot and dry, making the body prone to overheating. Therefore, it is necessary to replenish water in daily life, add soups to meals, and if possible, make dishes like silver ear fungus soup, mung bean porridge to regulate the body. Also, pay attention to changes in emotions, do not let the environment make you irritable and avoid harming the body due to anger.
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