Though the weather may be nice and the sun is warm during the day (which is a good time to go out and get some sunlight), the overall atmosphere is still cold, especially during the early morning and at night. Also, with the Shelter In Place still going on, and the long working hours in front of the screens, the body stays in a certain position for long hours. Therefore, it’s important to set apart time to do light exercises and stretches to promote good circulation, prevent muscle loss, and keep the body warm.
All the different kinds of tips mentioned in the past few posts are all good ways to keep the body warm so you can have a strong defense mechanism to fight off the cold.
As we come to the end of Winter and at the transition into Spring, we need to be more balanced on our diet and not be focused only on full nourishment.
Selecting foods that are more warming and mild to help strengthen the Spleen and Stomach as well as replenish Qi and Blood. ie. Chinese yam, pumpkin, sweet potato, white radish, carrots, etc. Also, make sure to take in nutrients from all food groups.
Teas such as longan + dates (jujube) + goji tea, ginger tea, and barley tea are great choices.
Best to stay away from cold, raw foods as well as foods that are overly greasy and heavy. Portion out the amount of food you eat to avoid overeating.
Ingredients:
- herbal pack:
6 grams of he shou wu (tuber fleeceflower root)9 grams of huang qi (astragalus)3 grams of chuang xiong (ligusticum striatum)3 grams of du zhong (eucommia)3 grams of huai shan (dioscorea alata)3 grams of dang gui (angelica sinensis)6 grams of goji1.5 grams of gui zhi (ramulus cinimmoni)6 jujube3 grams of baked licorice roots
- 500 grams of chicken drumsticks
- 6~9 shiitake mushrooms
- 9 slices of ginger
- 1 cup of rice wine
- a pinch of salt
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, make sure to soak them in water prior to cooking.
- Rinse all the herbs and place them into a cotton pouch (sealable) for later use
- Cut chicken into equal chunks (for example cut each drumstick into 2 or 3 chunks), quickly boil them in hot water for a few minutes, and wash off the impurities.
- In a new pot, place the herbal pack, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger in.
- Pour in the rice wine and then fill with water to cover all ingredients
- Cook with medium heat until boiling before turning to small heat to cook for 30 minutes.
- Turn off heat to let simmer for 20 minutes
- Before serving, add in some salt to enhance the taste.
It is important to keep the neck and head area warm at all times when in a low temperature environment. For our female friends, it’s best to keep the abdomen area warm; the low back area for our male friends.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that Winter time is the peak period for colds and respiratory system related diseases. If you feel your nose begins to itch or sneeze, you can lightly massage the two sides of the nose with your index finger (there are two acupressure points Yin Xiang and Bi Tong located in that area) to help relieve the symptoms.
Most importantly, moving the body, drinking enough water, and getting good quality sleep are the basics to keeping the body rejuvenated.
In Chinese traditions, to welcome the Spring, every household will start doing a full house cleaning. There’s the saying “out with the old and welcome the new”, so by doing a house clean, it symbolizes getting ready to welcome the new year.
For this solar term, we would like to introduce 5 kinds of blends to welcome the new year. You can put them in roller bottles to carry with you and apply on the chest, neck, temples, and wrists to lighten up the mood and bring good luck. Of course, you can also diffuse them in the room as well.
- Black spruce (8 drops)
- Angelica rotundifolia (1 drop)
- Lemon (8 drops)
- Orange leaves (2 drops)
- Patchouli (1 drop)
- Jojoba Oil (10ml)
- Pink lotus essence (1 drop)
- Safflower Burmese Gardenia Extract (1 drop)
- Ganges Holy Land Attar (3 drops)
- Clementine (10 drops)
- Red Magnolia Attar (3 drops)
- Jojoba Oil (10ml)
- Blue Lotus (1 drop)
- Blue Cypress (5 drops)
- Orange Blossom (3 drops)
- Lemon Verbena (5 drops)
- Vetiver Attar (5 drops)
- Jojoba Oil (10ml)
- Pink lotus (1 drop)
- Rose (5 drops)
- Geranium (5 drops)
- Ylang Ylang (1 drop)
- Tuberose (1 drop)
- Sweet orange (5 drops)
- Jojoba Oil (10ml)
- White lotus (5 drops)
- Cotton jersey (10 drops)
- Wild Chamomile (5 drops)
- Sweet pine (10 drops)
- Lemon Myrtle (5 drops)
- Jojoba Oil (10ml)
由於接近春天，在大寒時期的食補需轉成以平補的方式為主。除了選擇溫性食材外，還可多攝取一些健脾益胃、補氣養血的食物，如山藥、南瓜、地瓜、白蘿蔔、紅蘿蔔等，並均衡攝取各類營養素。搭配茶飲可用桂圓紅棗枸杞茶、薑茶和大麥茶。
禁忌：生冷、油膩厚重之品，切勿暴飲暴食
材料：
中藥材包：何首烏 6克、黃耆 9克、川芎 3克、杜仲 3克、淮山 3克、當歸 3克、枸杞 6克、桂枝1.5克、紅棗 6顆、炙甘草 3克
雞腿 500克
香菇 6～9朵
生薑 9片
米酒 1杯
鹽 適量
- 若用乾香菇，需要將其泡水備用
- 將需要使用到的中藥材洗過後裝入藥材包內備用
- 雞腿切成大小適當的塊狀，川燙後洗淨雜質
- 將藥材包、雞肉、香菇、薑片一起放入鍋中，加入米酒和適量的水蓋過所有材料
- 用中火煮滾後加蓋，轉小火煮約30分鐘，關火再燜20分鐘即可
- 起鍋前加入少許鹽巴調味，養生雞湯就可以上桌囉
在低溫下，大家需要注意頭頸部的保暖，女性朋友尤其要特別保暖腹部，男性朋友則是要保暖腰部。另外冬天也是感冒或是呼吸系統疾病的高峰期，如果開始感覺鼻子癢或是打噴嚏，用食指輕輕按壓鼻翼兩旁的迎香穴和鼻通穴可以緩解症狀。還有就要多活動身體及保持充足的睡眠。
傳統習俗裡為了迎接春天的到來，通常家家戶戶都會做大掃除，代表將舊年不好的運氣去除，來迎接新年新氣象。因此推薦五款汰舊換新精油配方，大家可以裝在滾珠瓶裡隨身攜帶，在需要好運氣的時候用來塗抹於胸口、腹部、太陽穴或是手心聞嗅～
- 好元氣
黑雲杉 (8 滴)圓葉當歸 (1 滴)檸檬 (8 滴)橘葉 (2 滴)廣藿香 (1 滴)荷荷芭油 (10ml)
- 好招財
粉紅蓮花原精 (1 滴)紅花緬梔原精 (1 滴)恆河聖土Attar (3 滴)克萊蒙橘 (10 滴)紅玉蘭Attar (3 滴)荷荷芭油 (10ml)
- 好事業
藍蓮花 (1 滴)藍絲柏 (5 滴)橙花 (3 滴)檸檬馬鞭草 (5 滴)岩蘭草Attar (5 滴)荷荷芭油 (10ml)
- 好桃花
粉紅蓮花 (1 滴)大馬士革玫瑰 (5 滴)大根老鸛草 (5 滴)完全依蘭 (1 滴)晚香玉 (1 滴)甜橙 (5 滴)荷荷芭油 (10ml)
- 好學習
白蓮花 (5 滴)棉衫菊 (10 滴)野洋甘菊 (5 滴)穗甘松 (10 滴)檸檬香桃木 (5 滴)荷荷芭油 (10ml)
24節氣就這樣進入了最後一個篇章，感謝大家陪伴我們一起走過這段時間～但是這不代表24節氣系列就到此為止了喔！我們還是會持續和大家分享養生知識和相關的內容，敬請期待～請大家繼續支持我們！記得Follow我們的FB、IG和Podcast～有任何問題和想法也歡迎和我們分享。最後，祝福大家有個快樂的農曆新年～
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