Introduction: Dog days, for middle-aged and elderly people: eat less watermelon, eat more “4 treasures,” be full of energy, and smoothly enter the dog days
With the arrival of the dog days, the temperature gradually rises, and people’s dietary habits are quietly changing. Especially for middle-aged and elderly people, dietary regulation in summer becomes particularly important.
In this hot season, although watermelons and peaches are delicious, they are not suitable for excessive consumption by middle-aged and elderly people due to their cold nature and tendency to generate dampness. So, what should middle-aged and elderly people eat in summer? I will recommend four suitable ingredients for summer consumption, helping you go through the peak summer with vitality.
1. Mung Beans – Clear heat, detoxify, relieve summer heat, diuretic
Mung beans are a common cool summer food, known for clearing heat, detoxifying, relieving summer heat, and diuretic properties. Moderate consumption of mung beans in summer can not only reduce body heat but also help the body eliminate excess water and toxins.
Recommended Recipe: Mung Bean Soup
Ingredients: mung beans, rock sugar, water
Steps:
Clean the mung beans, removing impurities and bad beans.
Put the mung beans in a pot, add enough water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat.
Stir occasionally during simmering to prevent sticking.
When the mung beans are cooked and the soup thickens, add rock sugar to taste.
Continue simmering until the rock sugar completely melts, then remove from heat.
2. Wax Gourd – Diuretic, reduces swelling, lowers fat
Wax gourd is a summer seasonal vegetable known for its diuretic, anti-swelling, and fat-reducing properties. Consuming wax gourd in summer can help the body eliminate excess water and toxins, reducing the body’s burden.
Recommended Recipe: Wax Gourd Pork Rib Soup
Ingredients: wax gourd, pork ribs, ginger slices, salt, water
Steps:
Clean the pork ribs and cut into small pieces; peel and deseed the wax gourd, then cut into pieces.
Put the pork ribs in a pot, add enough water and ginger slices, bring to a boil over high heat, then skim off any foam.
Simmer over low heat until the pork ribs are cooked through and the soup turns white.
Add the wax gourd pieces, continue simmering until the wax gourd is cooked through and the soup is rich.
Season with salt to taste, then remove from heat.
3. Coix Seed – Benefits the spleen, removes dampness, beauty and anti-aging
Coix seed is a common summer ingredient known for benefiting the spleen, removing dampness, and promoting beauty and anti-aging effects. Consuming coix seed in summer can help the body eliminate excess water and dampness, improve skin texture, and delay aging.
Recommended Recipe: Coix Seed Red Bean Porridge
Ingredients: coix seed, red beans, rice, rock sugar, water
Steps:
Clean the coix seed, red beans, and rice separately, then set aside.
Put the coix seed and red beans in a pot, add enough water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat.
Stir occasionally during simmering to prevent sticking.
When the coix seed and red beans are cooked and the soup thickens, add the rice and continue simmering.
Simmer until the rice is cooked and the porridge is thick, then add rock sugar to taste.
Continue simmering until the rock sugar completely melts, then remove from heat.
4. Lotus Leaf – Clears heat, relieves summer heat, lowers fat and blood pressure
Lotus leaf is a common plant in summer, known for its unique fragrance and health benefits, making it a summer health treasure. Lotus leaf clears heat, relieves summer heat, lowers fat and blood pressure. Moderate consumption of lotus leaf by middle-aged and elderly people in summer can help the body eliminate excess heat and dampness, lower blood pressure and fat levels.
Recommended Recipe: Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken
Ingredients: lotus leaf, glutinous rice, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, lotus seeds, red dates, ginger slices, salt, soy sauce, cooking wine, ground pepper, cooking oil
Steps:
Clean the lotus leaf and set aside; soak the glutinous rice for 2 hours; cut the chicken into small pieces; dice the shiitake mushrooms; clean the lotus seeds and red dates.
Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, soy sauce, cooking wine, ground pepper, and ginger slices for 10 minutes.
Heat cooking oil in a pan and stir-fry the chicken pieces until they change color.
Add the diced shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry until cooked through.
Mix the soaked glutinous rice, lotus seeds, red dates, and the cooked chicken and mushrooms evenly.
Put the mixed glutinous rice into the lotus leaf, wrapping it into a chicken shape.
Steam the lotus leaf chicken in a steamer over high heat for 40 minutes.
With the peak summer coming, middle-aged and elderly people should pay more attention to their diets. Eat less cold-natured and damp-producing fruits like watermelon and peaches, and consume more mung beans, wax gourd, coix seed, and lotus leaf to clear heat, relieve summer heat, diuretic, anti-swelling, spleen benefiting, and dampness removing.
Through proper dietary regulation, middle-aged and elderly people can go through this hot summer energetically. I hope the ingredients and recipes I recommended can provide valuable references for your summer diet. Have you learned all of them?
