Health Preservation during the Winter Solstice: 4 Recommended Recipes for Wellness

　　Pine nut kernels and walnut kernels – boost energy and strengthen the spleen

　　Dietary adjustments: It is advisable to consume more foods that are beneficial for strengthening the spleen and replenishing the lungs and kidneys, such as yam, corn, sorghum millet, pine nuts, walnut kernels, goji berries, astragalus membranaceus, cordyceps sinensis, lily bulbs, and dodder seeds.

　　Recipe recommendations: Litchi, Yam, and Lotus Seed Porridge

　　15 dried lychees, 15 grams each of Chinese yam and lotus seed, 150 grams of japonica rice. First, wash the first three ingredients, and rinse the japonica rice. Put them all together in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, and then simmer over low heat until it becomes porridge. It has the effect of invigorating qi and strengthening the spleen.

　　Ginger juice added to rice – benefits qi and soothes the stomach

　　Dietary adjustments: Food items such as taro, potatoes, corn, sorghum, sorghum millet, beef, mutton, chicken, goji berries, and morinda officinalis can have the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, as well as regulating the lungs and benefiting the stomach.

　　Recommended medicinal diets: “Ginger Beef Rice”: 100 grams of fresh beef, 5 grams of ginger juice, 500 grams of japonica rice, and appropriate amounts of soy sauce and peanut oil. Chop the fresh beef into small pieces and mash it into a paste. Place it on a plate, then add ginger juice and mix well. After that, add soy sauce and peanut oil and stir again. Rinse the japonica rice and put it into a casserole pot. Add an appropriate amount of water and cook it in the usual way. When the water in the pot is almost gone, add the beef to the rice and steam it for about 15 minutes until the beef is cooked through. It has the effects of invigorating qi and regulating the stomach, as well as tonifying the kidneys and strengthening the spleen.

　　Taro and snakehead fish – nourishing the liver and strengthening the spleen

　　Dietary adjustments: It is advisable to consume more foods that nourish qi and yin, as well as strengthen the liver and kidneys, such as yam, hyacinth beans, lily bulbs, goji berries, taro, black fish, chicken, and duck.

　　Recommended recipes: Taro porridge

　　100 grams of fresh taro, 100 grams of japonica rice, a little sugar. Wash and peel the taro, then cut it into small pieces. Place it together with the washed japonica rice in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked and the porridge is ready. Add some white sugar and cook for a few more minutes before serving.

　　Efficacy: It has the effects of nourishing the liver and spleen and strengthening the kidneys.

　　Lily and Angelica – Nourishing the Spleen and Yin

　　Dietary adjustments: It is advisable to consume more foods that have the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, warming the spleen and stomach, and replenishing yin, such as beef, angelica, carrots, lilies, Chinese yam, ligustrum berries, and mulberries.

　　Recommended medicinal diets: Yam and Mutton Soup

　　500 grams of lamb, 50 grams of Chinese yam, 30 grams of scallions, 15 grams of ginger, 6 grams of pepper powder, 20 grams of rice wine, 3 grams of fine salt, and an appropriate amount of monosodium glutamate. Remove the fascia from the lamb, wash it, make a few cuts on it, and then blanch it in boiling water to remove any excess blood. Wash the scallions and ginger, cut the scallions into sections, and crush the ginger. After soaking the Chinese yam in clean water, cut it into slices 2 centimeters thick. Place the lamb and Chinese yam in a casserole pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then skim off the foam. Add scallions, ginger, pepper, and rice wine, and simmer over low heat until the lamb is tender. Remove the lamb and let it cool down. Cut the mutton into slices and place them in a bowl. Then remove the scallions and ginger from the original broth, add refined salt and monosodium glutamate, stir well, and pour the mixture together with the Chinese yam into the bowl containing the mutton slices. That’s it. It has the effects of strengthening the spleen and kidneys, as well as warming the middle-jiao and lower body.

　　The four different recipes have varying effects on different people; therefore, it is essential to know which recipe is suitable for you before starting any nourishing regimen.