Introduction: During the hot summer days of the Dog Days, it is recommended that everyone eats less hairtail fish and grass carp, and enjoys three other dishes that nourish both body and mind without wasting money.
In the scorching summer days of the Dog Days, the yang energy in nature reaches its peak, and the human body also enters its most vigorous metabolic period of the year. During this time, adjusting one’s diet appropriately is especially important for maintaining bodily comfort. The old tradition emphasizes “seasonal health preservation,” which means adjusting one’s diet according to different seasons and climatic conditions to adapt to natural changes and achieve a state of yin-yang balance and harmony in body and mind.
Today, let’s discuss why it is advised to eat less hairtail fish and grass carp during the Dog Days and instead focus on three other nutritious, delicious, and affordable foods, to make your summer dining table more colorful and satisfying without spending extravagantly.
1. Why should we avoid hairtail fish and grass carp during the Dog Days?
Characteristics of hairtail fish and grass carp:
Hairtail fish: As a deep-sea fish, hairtail fish are rich in high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and various minerals, making them ideal for nourishment in winter. However, during the Dog Days, the yang energy of the body is elevated, and it can be relatively deficient and cold. Hairtail fish possess a cooler nature, and excessive consumption may exacerbate internal coldness, making it unsuitable to eat.
Grass carp: Grass carp belongs to freshwater fish, with tender meat and rich nutrition, but it is also considered a cold nature food. In the high temperatures and humidity of the Dog Days, the body is prone to damp heat, and eating cold-nature foods may increase internal dampness, so it should also be eaten in moderation.
Dietary principles for the Dog Days:
The diet during the Dog Days should primarily consist of light, easily digestible, and warming foods, avoiding excessive intake of raw cold items. Therefore, when selecting food ingredients, we should lean toward those that can replenish nutrition while also complying with seasonal changes and harmonizing the internal yin and yang.
2. Three recommended dishes for the Dog Days
1. Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup
Nutritional analysis: Lotus root has a sweet and cool taste, but after cooking, its nature turns warm and mild, clearing heat and generating fluids. Consuming lotus root during the Dog Days not only relieves summer heat but also strengthens the spleen and stomach. Paired with pork ribs rich in calcium and protein, it brings both deliciousness and enhanced physical strength.
Cooking tips: Use fresh lotus root, peel and cut it into pieces, and cook it together with blanched pork ribs in a pot with adequate water, simmering slowly until the lotus root becomes tender and the ribs are soft, then add salt for seasoning.
2. Mung Bean and Lily Congee
Nutritional analysis: Mung beans are cool and sweet in taste, helping to clear heat, detoxify, and alleviate summer irritability, making them a great summer dish. Lily nourishes the lungs, relieves cough, and calms the heart, and their combination is very suitable for consumption during the Dog Days.
Cooking method: Soak mung beans for several hours beforehand, rinse the lilies, and place both in a pot with enough water. Boil on high heat and then simmer on low until the mung beans blossom and lilies become soft; add an appropriate amount of rock sugar for seasoning.
