The Beginning of Winter (Lidong) is the first solar term of winter, marking the start of the season. With temperatures dropping significantly, it’s important to focus on health and wellness. Winter is also a good time for tonifying the body, as it replenishes the energy lost due to the cold, nourishes qi and blood, and replenishes deficiencies. So, what should you eat to nourish yourself during the Beginning of Winter? Here are some recommended medicinal diets for this season. Let’s take a look.
What foods are good for health on the day of Lidong (the beginning of winter)?
1. Tomato and Sugar Lotus Root
Ingredients: 2 tomatoes, 1 lotus root, and sugar to taste.
Instructions: Peel the tomatoes, boil the lotus root in boiling water (3 to 5 minutes), put both in a plate, and sprinkle with sugar.
Efficacy: Strengthens the spleen and stomach, promotes the production of body fluids and quenches thirst.
II. Cistanche and Mutton Porridge
Ingredients: 30g of Cistanche deserticola, 150-200g of mutton, appropriate amount of rice, a little salt and MSG.
Instructions: Wash and slice the mutton, put it in a pot with water and cook until done. Add rice and cistanche to make porridge, and season with salt and MSG before serving.
Efficacy: Warms the interior and strengthens yang; tonifies the kidneys and replenishes essence. Suitable for lower back and knee pain, impotence, seminal emission, and sallow complexion due to kidney deficiency.
III. Black Sesame Porridge
Ingredients: 25g black sesame seeds, 50g japonica rice.
Instructions: Roast black sesame seeds until cooked, grind them into powder and set aside. Wash the rice and cook it together with the black sesame seeds in a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until it becomes porridge.
Efficacy: Nourishes the liver and kidneys, and strengthens the five internal organs. Note: This formula is more suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with weak constitutions and has the effect of preventing premature aging.
IV. Steamed Old Duck with Cordyceps
Ingredients: 5 pieces of cordyceps, 1 old male duck, appropriate amounts of rice wine, ginger, scallions, and salt.
Instructions: Remove the feathers and internal organs from the old duck, rinse it clean, put it in a pot of water and bring it to a boil until foam rises to the surface, then remove the duck. Split the duck’s head along the neck, put in cordyceps, tie it with thread, put it in a large bowl, add rice wine, ginger, scallions, salt, and an appropriate amount of water, then put the large bowl in a pot and steam it for about 2 hours until the duck is cooked (or you can use a steamer).
Efficacy: Nourishes deficiency and replenishes essence, nourishes yin and assists yang. This formula uses cordyceps as the main ingredient to assist kidney yang and replenish essence and blood; old duck is used as an auxiliary ingredient to nourish yin and replenish deficiency. One ingredient focuses on tonifying yang, while the other focuses on tonifying yin. When used together, they form an authoritative medicinal diet that nourishes deficiency and replenishes essence, nourishes yin and assists yang.
Two key principles for nourishing the body:
I. Dietary health maintenance during the Beginning of Winter focuses on increasing calorie intake.
The cold winter weather affects the body’s endocrine system, increasing the secretion of hormones such as thyroid hormones and adrenaline. This promotes and accelerates the breakdown of the three major energy-providing nutrients-proteins, fats, and carbohydrates-to increase the body’s ability to withstand the cold. However, this also leads to excessive heat loss. Therefore, winter nutrition should focus on increasing energy intake. It is advisable to eat more lean meat, eggs, fish, dairy products, beans, and foods rich in carbohydrates and fats.
Second, one should not blindly “nourish” oneself during the winter solstice.
While nourishing the body for winter, it’s important to allow the digestive system time to adjust. It’s best to start with gentle, gradual supplementation, such as stewed beef and red dates, peanuts with brown sugar, or ginger, red date, and beef soup. Drinking hot porridge is also a good choice for winter health. For example, “Laba porridge” helps increase calories and nutrients. Wheat porridge nourishes the heart and relieves irritability; sesame porridge benefits essence and yin; radish porridge aids digestion and resolves phlegm; walnut porridge nourishes yin and strengthens essence; poria porridge strengthens the spleen and stomach; and red date porridge benefits qi and nourishes yin, etc.
