Tag: <span>cooling food</span>

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I’m sure by now everyone has noticed, the heat has officially set in this summer. It’s time to cool off with some delicious fruits and vegetables that actually help lower your bodies temperature and keep you nice and hydrated. The raw food diet is probably the most ideal diet for summer time as everything yummy is in season, lower in price, and there is no need to turn on that hot stove or oven to whip up a delicious meal. Nature provides an abundance of foods this time of year to help keep us cool and nourished. Many fruits and veggies that have a shorter season like summer squashes, cucumbers, and melons come into their full glory during the hottest months, and have the most cooling effect. Some cooling vegetables include crunchy lettuces, mixed baby greens, celery, crisp sunflower greens and sprouts, and broccoli which make great salad fixings. Chop up some fresh corn into your summer salads as well, I have certainly been enjoying that lately. For a light dressing try a high quality extra virgin olive oil like bariani, and our brand new coconut vinegar and coconut aminos. Combine with minced fresh herbs and a pinch of salt and our salad will be rawkin and ready to go.

Aim for high levels of juicy fruits during the summer. Melons of all kinds are amazing, watermelon being especially cooling to the system. Try also different varieties like galia, crenshaw, canary, Tucson cantaloupe, and casaba. Some of these melons are so sweet and delicately flavored and textured that they nearly melt in your mouth. Keep your melons in the fridge once ripe to avoid spoilage and to heighten their cooling effect on the body. Make sure to load up on lots of tomatoes, fresh bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow summer squashes too, as these are cooling fruits that will make great bases for savory meals when fruit isn’t hitting the spot. You can make veggie chips out of the summer squashes by simply marinating in a little olive oil, salt and herbs and dehydrating until crisp. Also, one of my ultimate summer meals is zucchini pasta, which is so light and flavorful, even your cooked food friends will be amazed that it is raw and so easy to make. Great for summer potlucks and family meals.

Here are just a few of my favorite summertime recipes:

Cilantro-Lime Watermelon Juice- (Brrr…this juice is SURE to cool you off quickly)

1/3-1/2 of an organic seeded watermelon- chilled in the fridge. Rinse outer rind thoroughly because you will be juicing the rind as well. The rind of the watermelon is very mild in flavor and packs a punch of minerals, and will help balance the sweetness of the flesh.

1 handful fresh cilantro

juice of 1 whole lime

3 handfuls fresh sunflower greens

Optional- 3 large lacinto kale leafs (black dino kale)

Juice together and serve right away.

Cool Cucumber Dill Soup

3 cucumbers peeled

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 whole avocado

2 tbs fresh dill

2-3 tbs bariani olive oil or Ruth’s hemp seed Oil

a few pinches Bali sea salt to taste

Simply blend above ingredients until very smooth, garnish with a bit of fresh dill and chunks of avocado. This soup is amazingly light, refreshing, and yet filling Great with flax crackers for a light evening meal.

No Heat Pasta

*Spiralize both green zucchini and yellow summer squash for a nice color variation

Summer Noodles:

2 zucchini, 1 yellow summer squash spiralized

sun dried tomato Sauce:

2 medium heirloom tomatoes

1 cup sun dried tomatoes- soak for a few hours to soften

1/4 cup bariani olive oil

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

fresh herbs to taste such as oregano, sage, and thyme

A few pinches of Bali sea salt

-Optional- 1 clove garlic (will increase the heat element of this dish)

hemp seed Pesto:

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup bariani olive oil, hemp oil, or pumpkin seed oil.

1 cup packed basil

1/8 cup lemon juice

A few pinches of Bali sea salt to taste

Optional- 1 clove of garlic.

Both of these sauces can be blended until smooth or left a bit chunky in a food processor depending on your preference. spoon onto zucchini noodles, garnish with fresh basil leaves

Follow your bodies natural gravitation towards light, refreshing raw foods this summer to stay balanced and active. Also remember to drink plenty of fresh, pure water along with your fruits and vegetables to ensure our body is perfectly hydrated even as the temperatures rise.

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Source by Alex Malinsky

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During pregnancy, the baby is like a parasite and will take all the nutrients that he requires from you. If your diet is sufficient in nutrients for both, it does not cause any problems. If on the other hand your diet is insufficient for both, then your recovery after the birth will take longer and if you still do not replenish your body stores during the confinement period, you may remain weak for a long time. This is probably why our elders make such a lot of fuss about eating well during the confinement period.

Wherever you are in the world, everyone will try and tell you what to eat and if possible how to eat it. The most important thing to do is follow your own body’s needs. Whatever you eat, do make sure that you have a good balance of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and water in every meal.

Just remember the following pointers:

1. If you are breast feeding whatever you eat will be transferred to your baby via your breast milk therefore it is important that you eat a balanced diet so that your baby will get the right nutrients for optimum growth and development.

2. Some food does cause the baby to become ‘windy’ or have loose stools. If you find that your baby is suddenly quite unsettled, try and think of what you ate during the last 12 hours. Avoid that food for a few days and then try again. If the same happens again, then you should avoid that particular food for a while and re-introduce it into your diet by taking a very small amount and see how baby reacts then slowly increase the amount so that baby gets used to the food.

3. You may find that your appetite is slightly low especially during the first week. This is normal as your body is readjusting to its non-pregnant state both physically and mentally therefore it is better to have small frequent meals instead of the normal 3 big meals a day.

4. You need to drink plenty of fluids in order to make sufficient breast milk and if you are forbidden to drink water, you can get the amount of fluid from other sources such as soup.

So what should you eat?

Most Eastern cultures believe that your body is cold after delivery therefore you should avoid cooling or cold food but eat a lot of yang or ‘heaty’ food to warm the body up. However, if you are normally a yang person, eating too much ‘heaty’ food may cause rashes and fever. In this case it would be better to reduce the amount of ‘heaty’ food and eat more neutral food. If you are normally a Yin person, you should not have any problems eating ‘heaty’ food (lucky devils). The following table gives you a quick review of the types of food to eat or avoid.

Types of food to avoid

‘Cooling food’ for example: banana, cabbage, cucumber, coconut and Chinese cabbage

Contribute to mother’s poor blood circulation and stomach ache in the baby if you are breastfeeding. Salt as a condiment and salty foods in general are to be rejected, too, in the belief that use reduces breast milk production

‘Acidic food’ for example: pineapple, mango, lemon, lime

Contribute to excessive lochia in the mother and diarrhea in the baby.

Too much ‘Heaty food’ for example: chilli, pepper, spices, tonics, spirits and medicines.

Contribute to diarrhea in the baby and maternal headaches

‘Windy food’ for example: jackfruit, tapioca, pumpkin, onions.

Contribute to baby being colicky and may cause indigestion for mother and baby.

Poisonous food such as prawns, shellfish, crab, eel, ginger

Delay healing of the mother’s wound and may cause allergies and eczema in the baby. These foods may cause stomach upsets and vomiting

Type of food recommended

To improve milk production

Chicken, squid, clams (small varieties), fish (especially carp), millet, mutton, pork, rice wine, sea slug, soybean milk mixed with powdered walnuts, wheat cakes, wheat noodles with egg, green papaya

To provide strength to the mother so she recovers quickly from the exertion of labor.

Chicken, frog, Panax ginseng, licorice extract and razor clam

What you eat also depends on what you believe in and who cooks for you. If it is your mother or MIL you may not have many choices. I have seen women quarrelling and not talking to each other because of this issue. Try and work out a compromise which is acceptable to both parties. Use a persuasive and logical approach instead of confrontation.

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Source by Cecilia Koh

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Eczema can make life a misery for children as well as adults with red, dry, thick and scaly skin that is constantly itching. For many people, eczema is triggered off by an allergic reaction to specific foods and avoiding these foods can relieve the symptoms. Chinese dietary therapy is a holistic system of treatment, part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which looks at diet in a completely different way from our western diets. Here I will give you my Seven Chinese Foods secrets that will help your eczema and change your life.

1. Avoid cow’s milk

Often eczema can be triggered off by cow’s milk which is a common food fed to children. Cow’s milk is very damp in nature and if your child’s digestive system is compromised can cause itchy skin, rashes and oozing and weeping lesions. Milk is not a common ingredient in a Chinese diet and is used sparingly. However, in the West we tend to over consume milk which is why more and more people are experiencing an allergic reaction to it. If your baby is suffering with eczema then you really should look for an alternative. Possible replacements are soy or goat’s milk which are less damp forming.

2. Avoid damp forming foods

Not only is cow’s milk damp forming, but other foods can be extremely damp forming as well. Interestingly, some of these foods are common triggers for eczema such as wheat and peanuts. Other damp forming foods include orange juice, bananas, sugar, cheese and other dairy products.

3. Stop the greasy food

Fried, greasy foods are extremely damp forming and warm in nature. Eczema is Yang (warm) in nature which means that if there is an excess of heat in the body it will cause symptoms such as redness, inflammation and thirst. Cooking methods such as roasting, grilling, baking, deep frying, stir frying and sautéing are all yang cooking methods. It’s preferable to boil, simmer, stew, braise or steam your food as these cooking methods are more yin in nature. Foods cooked in this way are cooler in nature and more nourishing to the body and skin.

4. Eat more cooling and nourishing foods

To treat eczema, you need to reduce redness, inflammation and itching of the skin by clearing heat. As well you should moisten dryness and strengthen the qi (vital energy) and blood. Cooling and moistening foods include grapefruit, lettuce, seaweed, watermelon, cucumber, celery, barley, beancurd (tofu), pears, strawberry, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and tomatoes.

Excellent foods to strengthen qi and blood are dark, leafy green vegetables, dark red fruits and vegetables such as beetroot, kidney, aduki beans and blueberries. Meats such as liver, kidneys and chicken are all qi and blood strengtheners. A fantastic start to the day would be to have a bowl of oat porridge sprinkled with a few dates.

5. Avoid raw and ice cold foods

Too many raw and chilled foods (as opposed to cooling foods) can damage the digestive system. The digestive system requires warmth or digestive fire to function and a prolonged and excessive use of raw or ice-cold foods will eventually weaken this digestive fire. You may have noticed that the Chinese do not eat many raw or ice-cold foods for this reason.

6. Balance your flavors

We have often heard that too much of one thing is bad for you and this is true in a Chinese diet. In most Chinese recipes you will find a balance of flavors – salty, sour, bitter, sweet and pungent. For example, salty foods (seaweed, pork, fish) regulate moisture balance, drain excess moisture and stimulate digestion. Too much salt, however, will dehydrate the body and cause dryness. Sweet foods (sugar, bananas, milk), mildly stimulate the circulation of qi and blood, moistening and benefiting dryness. However, eating an excess of sweet foods will lead to the formation of damp and heat which can cause eczema. Therefore, a balanced diet including all the flavors is beneficial. You can increase or decrease a particular flavor according to your needs.

7. Chew slowly and enjoy your food

Quite often eczema is caused by emotional stress. When we are stressed we tend overeat, under-eat or not enjoy what we are eating. Do not eat when angry because this affects the movement of qi and can cause it to stagnate. Qi stagnation over time can cause a build up of heat which can manifest as skin rashes and inflammation.

The Chinese know the benefit of chewing slowly and with concentration, so forget the television or reading while you’re eating – just focus on your food. Every mouthful should be chewed thoroughly since this helps our digestive system to work more efficiently.

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Source by Vicky Massey

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Everybody will ask you to eat only ‘ healthy’ food and avoid cold or cooling food as your body is cold after childbirth. This applies to the 3 main races in Malaysia but sometimes, what is considered ‘healthy’ may be ‘cooling’ for another which increases our dilemma. The best option is to try out the food as far as your culture and religion advices and learn to substitute the ingredients wherever possible to suit your taste. I am afraid that my culinary expertise is limited to Chinese and Western food so I can only talk about this type of food at this moment in time.

Traditional Chinese confinement food consists mainly of old ginger, rice wine, sesame oil, black vinegar, some warming alcohol, lots of meat especially kampong chicken and lean pork, white fish such as white pomfret and some vegetables.

Apparently, you are supposed to eat 30 chickens, 12 bottles of rice wine and 15 kilos of old ginger root during this period. Whether you can achieve this target is up to you but I find that most women nowadays cannot manage it. On average, if you do practice what is recommended, the cost could easily be about RM 1000.00 ++ just for the food only.

Food to avoid during the first week only

Ginger – Delays healing of wounds and increase risk of jaundice in baby. Substitute with peppercorn or garlic.

Fish – Causes foul smelling lochia or discharge.

Alcohols which are recommended for consumption during the confinement month are: Brandy, Yomeishu, rice wine and Guinness Malta because they are ‘yang’. If you are a non-drinker, this sudden consumption may cause alcohol rash, redness in the face and heart palpitations, so do take it easy. Alcohol does go to the baby through breast milk, so if you want a good night’s sleep, drink the alcohol after your dinner. The content of alcohol is reduced during cooking therefore you might consider adding it to your food during cooking instead of drinking it neat. Guinness Malta is non alcoholic and has high iron content therefore is suitable if you are anemic. Pulut rice is rich in iron therefore is used to make rice wine for postnatal nursing mothers. The rice is low in fat and free of cholesterol with high dietary fiber to reduce risk of heart attack and diabetes. It is better known as Shaoxing wine.

Drinks

It is believed that iced or cold drinks may cause severe shock to the system and further weaken the ‘cold’ body therefore it is strongly recommended that boiled warm teas are consumed throughout the day as they are supposed to help heat up the womb. For those who do not believe in these teas you may try drinking Chamomile tea which is beneficial for the baby as well, because it helps to reduce wind

Soups

Soup is a nutritious replacement for water. You can use any meat for stock. The meat supplies fat that is essential for extraction of fat soluble nutrients. Drinking soup about 1 hour before breastfeeding may help to increase milk flow. Chinese soups are usually clear and easier to drink compared to creamy western soups and it is less fattening.

Below are some food ingredients that you might want to add to your diet during the postnatal ‘confinement’ month.

Boxthorn fruit or Chinese wolf berry is best known to correct poor eyesight and eye strain. Used in conjunction with other herbs it is effective for improving energy and strength

Chinese angelica root or dong kwai is supposed to nourish the female organs, alleviate menstrual pain and prevent hemorrhage.

Chinese yam (wai san) used in conjunction with meat and other herbs aids digestion, regulate sugar level and control inflammation of the uterus. The dried variety must be soaked for at least 15 minutes before use to remove the powder

Solomon’s seal (yok chuk) is used to alleviate many ailments especially those affecting the throat and lungs

Sesame oil, besides being rich in Vitamin E, Iron & Calcium, helps heal the womb and rid it of “dirty residual blood”.

Chestnuts invigorate vital energy. Resolves fatigue depression and irritability. High in phosphorous, selenium and calcium

Black vinegar is made from glutinous rice and lowers ph of food. It leaches calcium from bones cooked with it, therefore it is used to prepare high calcium food especially for breast feeding mothers and it also relieves a windy abdomen.

Dill has antibacterial and antispasmodic properties. It is a warming herb which aids digestion, gets rid of gas, encourages lactation, freshens the breath and soothes colic. It is the main ingredient in Gripe water.

Almonds and walnuts contain leucine and isoleucine which are amino acids that regulates growth, blood sugar and wound healing.

Malay confinement food is the same as normal but with a lot of jamu which is basically natural herbal remedies used internally and externally for health and beauty. Make sure the products are registered with the Ministry of Health and that they are locally produced

Kani seeds contain antioxidants to promote youthfulness, tighten vaginal muscles, prevents excessive discharge, odour and itchiness. It firms the breasts and promotes healing of the reproductive system after childbirth.

Gallanggal is a member of the ginger family and it functions as an antibiotic. It warms the body, cleanses the blood, improves appetite, reduces wind and energizes the muscles.

Pegaga leaves increases energy, helps ease sleeping problems, improves blood circulation.

Turmeric functions as an antibiotic and promotes a healthy circulatory system.

Drumstick leaves are rich in proteins, vitamin C and A, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, potassium and other minerals. Because of their nutrients and ability to encourage milk flow, they are a valuable food for survival in impoverished countries.

The most important thing to remember is that you must be comfortable with what you eat. Do not force yourself to eat something that you do not like or will cause problems later. Although you are ‘in confinement’ you are not a prisoner per se.

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Source by Cecilia Koh

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When a Westerner hears the term ‘heaty’ or ‘heatiness’, he/she would probably ask what it is. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this is a common concept related to the balancing of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’. Most people, especially the Chinese in Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singaporeans are familiar with this notion of heaty (yang) (as opposed to cooling or yin) as it is a Chinese form of expressing certain set of symptoms or sensations often associated with emotional or physical reactions such as:

o Feelings of irritability;

o Short temper;

o Fever;

o Constipation;

o Flushed face or cheeks;

o Dark yellow urine;

o Sore throat;

o Nose bleed;

o Outbreak of pimples and acne;

o Rashes;

o Mouth ulcers;

o Indigestion.

Excessive “cold” energy in the body, on the contrary, will make us feel weak, lethargic, tired and restless.

The constitution of each person is influenced by congenital factors as well as the acquired lifestlye (e.g diet, stress level, amount of exercise and sleep, living environment), and this varies from person to person. In other words, different foods act upon the human body in different ways and affect our state of health. The body’s metabolism, functioning of organs and organ structure all combine to determine our susceptibility to these heaty and cooling effects of foods.

Examples of cooling and heaty foods:

Cool (yin) Foods:

Bamboo shoot, banana, bitter gourd, clam, crab, grapefruit, lettuce, persimmon, salt, seaweed, star fruit, sugar cane, water chestnut, watermelon, lotus root, cucumber, barley, bean curd, chicken egg white, marjoram, oyster, pear, peppermint, radish, strawberry, tangerine, and yogurt, broccoli, cauliflower, zuccini, corn, tomatoes, pineapple, turmeric.

Neutral (balanced yin and yang) Foods:

Corn, abalone, apricot, beef, beetroot, black fungus, carp, carrot, celery, chicken egg yolk, cuttlefish, duck, fig, honey, kidney bean, lotus fruit and seed, milk, olive, oyster, papaya, pork, potato, pumpkin, radish leaf, red bean, plum, sunflower seed, sweet rice, sweet potato, white fungus, yellow soybean, brussels sprouts, snow peas, sweet potato, taro, dates, figs, raspberries, raisins, sage, rosemary, thyme, brown rice, apple.

Heaty (yang) Foods:

Pepper, cinnamon bark, ginger, soybean oil, red and green pepper, chicken, apricot seed, brown sugar, cherry, chestnut, chive, cinnamon twig, clove, coconut, coffee, coriander (Chinese parsley), date, dillseed, eel, garlic, grapefruit peel, green onion, guava, ham, leaf mustard, leek, longan, mutton, nutmeg, peach, raspberry, rosemary, shrimp, spearmint, sweet basil, tobacco, vinegar, walnut, jackfruit, durian, leek, shallots, spring onion, , apricots, blackberries, black currant, mangoes, peaches, cherry, mandarin orange, grape.

How a food is prepared also matters. E.g Beef is considered as neutral, but if you have it deep fried or grilled, it would be considered as heaty. In addition, there are some interesting broad guidelines to determine whether a certain food is heaty or cooling:

Heaty/yang foods:

o grow under the hot sun;

o are sweet;

o have lots of fats;

o rich in sodium;

o are hard, dry or spicy.

Cold/yin foods:

o grow in little sunshine;

o are salty;

o are lean;

o rich in potassium;

o soft and wet;

The heatiness and cooling effect of foods refer to their capacity to generate sensations – either hot or cold in our body. They do not refer to the state of the food but its effect on our bodies. For example, tea is a cooling food. This means that it generates cold energy in our body. To seek a balance in diet, we can classify food as predominantly yin or yang. Hence, if you eat predominantly yin foods, your body will be capable of producing only cold energy, in contrast, eating predominantly yang foods produces hotter energy. If a person suffers from cold rheumatism, eating foods with a warm or hot energy would be helpful. If a person suffers from acne eruptions due to consumption of fried foods, it is beneficial to eat cooling foods to counter heatiness and relieve symptoms.

The concept of heatiness is not meaningful or relevant in the western medicine paradigm. However, it is believed that there is some parallel to Acid (heaty) and alkaline (cooling) balance, or protons and positive charges (heaty) and cooling (electrons and negative charges). Medicine evolves. Conventional medical doctors in the west has long started to integrate and learn about alternative treatments or medicines and incorporate them into their practice. Today they believe that these new medical approaches are beneficial and effective in many ways.

Source: www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html

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Source by Ruth Tan