Dear,

May all the sweet magic Of Christmas conspire,
To gladden your hearts And fill every desire!

New is the year, new are the hopes and the aspirations,

new is the resolution, new are the spirits and forever my warm wishes are for u.

Have a promising and fulfilling new year.

Anna

>>========================

Anna's Nature Regimen and Recipe Express

-- Keep your life close to the nature

>>========================

China's five-thousand years of culture and history reserved precious regimen. I'm digging out and would like to share with you. So this website,including this e-zine is not only about Chinese recipes, it's more about healthy life style.

Visit our website: www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com

>>========================

DEC. 25th,2008

Issue #12

Table of Content:

1. Jing, Qi, Blood and Body Fluid(III)-Blood

2. Notes for Self-Made QI-Blood Supplement Paste

3. Some Recipes to Prevent/Cure Cold in Holiday

a. Ginger Brown Sugar Tea
b. Scallion White Porridge
c. Perilla Leaf Porridge

4. Some Recipes to Prevent/treat Acute Gastroenteritis in Holidays 

>>========================

1. Jing, Qi, blood and body fluid(III)- Blood

In Western medicine, the nutrients that we need are sugar, fat, protein, water, trace element, vitamin, in which sugar, protein and fat are substances that provide us with energy.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the substances that maintain our life activities are Jing(Essence), Qi, blood, body fluid.

Blood is vital to the maintenance of life, mainly composed of the nutrient Qi and body fluid.

The basic substance for producing blood is essence, including the congenital essence(kidney-essence) and the acquired essence (food nutrients). Thus deficiency of kidney essence will make it difficult to produce blood. Meanwhile, if the spleen and the stomach are normal in functions, they can absorb sufficient food nutrients to produce blood. If the spleen and stomach are weak in absorbing food nutrients, the production of blood is inevitably reduced.

The transformation of the essence into blood is in fact a process of Qi-transformation. The heart and the lung involve in such a process. The liver regulates Qi activity and influences Qi-transformation in the whole body with its dredging and dispersing function, also exerting certain effect on the production of blood.

The functions of blood are to nourish and moisten the body. Blood contains the nutrient Qi, so it can nourish all the organs in the body. Through the meridians, blood transports nutrient substances to all parts of the body to nourish the five Zang-organs, the six Fu-organs, the five constituents, the five sensory organs and the nine orifices. Blood contains fluid, so it can moisten the viscera and the body. When the fluid flows out of the vessels, it moistens the orifices and lubricate the joints.

Blood is the important material base for mental activities. If blood is sufficient, there will be sufficient vitality; if blood is deficient, there will be dispiritedness; if blood is in disturbance, there will be mental disorder. The deficiency of heart blood,or/and deficiency of liver blood will cause palpation, insomnia, and dreaminess, etc.

Blood is propelled by the heart to circulate in the vessels. Other internal organs are also involved in the circulation of blood, including the lung, the spleen and the liver.

The factor that directly acts on blood circulation is Qi. For instance, heart-Qi propels blood to circulate; lung-Qi assists the heart to propel blood circulation; spleen-Qi commands blood; liver-Qi regulates the circulation of blood by dredging and dispersing Qi. If heart-Qi is insufficient, blood will become too weak to circulate; if lung Qi is insufficient, there will be no opportunity for blood to disperse; if spleen-Qi is insufficient, it will be difficult for the spleen to command blood; if liver-Qi fails to dredge, it will lead to stagnation of Qi and stasis of blood. Qi is Yang, blood is Yin.

>>======================

2. Note for Self-Made QI-Blood Supplement Paste

In last issue,I suggested that we should eat some foods which can supplement Blood and QI in winter, and introduced a recipe for self-made QI-Blood supplement paste. Here's some supplement explanation.

The biggest feature of TCM is holism. That means our diet should be made according to our own constitution, age, health conditions, living and working environment, etc. So you also should make your own supplement paste according to your own situation by adding or reducing material.

Taking my Mom and I as examples.

Our health condition:

Mom, very weak,with light hypertension,coronary artery disease,etc.

Me, in my golden age, basically healthy, a little Qi deficiency, a little afraid of cold.

At the beginning, Mom and I eat the same paste. Two weeks later, we had different result. Mom felt very well. Her complexion gets well. It seems she is lighting up. Before this, she was always pale, laziness.

For me, I had a little pimple on my skin. So I redid the paste. I didn't use Erjiao and rice wine, using black rice, black bean,black sesame seeds, Chinese date, longan, walnut. I even added some dried grape. The procedure is:

1.Soak black rice and black bean for one night. Grind into powder. Don't throw away the water used for soaking.

2.Grind all the above material(Chinese date needs to be remove kernel in advance)into powder.Put all the powders in the above water(which was used for soaking black rice and black bean)

3.Mix and stir well, place on the drawer of a steamer, steam for 1 hour.

I eat half a small bowl at breakfast.

I take black rice and black bean as main. Chinese date is warm in nature and is widely used in supplementing blood and Qi. So I add more Chinese date. I tend to have more bowel movement if eating too much black sesame seeds, so I add less black sesame seeds. The ratio of black rice,black bean,black sesame seeds, Chinese date, longan, walnut,dried grape are 3:3:1:2:1:1:1.

Thus,like me, you can also make Qi-Blood supplement paste according to your own health conditions by using these stuff.

>>======================

3.Some Recipes to Prevent/Cure Cold in Holiday

a. Ginger Brown Sugar Tea

Ingredients:

10g ginger,

15g brown sugar

Procedure:

1. Cut ginger into threads, place in a heatproof cup,add in boiling water, cover for 5mins.

2. Add brown sugar, stir well, serve with warm.

Lie down to have rest after drink. There will be sweat coming out.

Remember, must drink with warm.

Suitable for cold,especially those who are aversion to cold. It can be used to prevent cold. If you go out side,catched by rain or snow,or feel cold, drink some hot Ginger Brown Sugar tea in time, you won't get cold.

b. Scallion White Porridge

Ingredients:

60g white rice

5 flakes of ginger, chopped

5 scallion

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Procedure:

1. Soak white rice in water for 30mins.(If you are in a rush,omit this step,but you have to cook longer time)

2. Add water in a pot, bring to a boil, add rice,continue to boil over low heat until thoroughly cooked(about 20mins).

3. Add ginger, scallion, vinegar, stir well, boil for additional 10mins.

4. Add soy sauce or salt to taste.

Serving Methods: Serve with warm until a little sweating.

c.Perilla Leaf Porridge

Ingredients:

50g rice

10g perilla leaves(Zi Su Ye in Chinese)

Procedure:

1. Clean rice, add water and rice in a cooker,cook into porridge.(about 30mins)

2. Add perilla leaf, continue to cook 10mins. Serve.

>>=====================

4. Some Recipes to Prevent/Treat Acute Gastroenteritis in Holidays

a. Mixed Hawthorn Tea

10g green tea

6g honeysuckle,

6g rose flower

3g jasmine

3g tangerine peel

3g liquorice

3g hawthorn

Put the above material in a big cup,add boiling water�i400ml), cover, marinate for 30mins. Drink as tea.

Suitable for Gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and food stagnation,etc.

-------------
b. Soy Sauce with Tea

9g green tea,

30ml soy sauce

200ml water

add 200ml water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, add tea, soy sauce. Bring to a boil again.

Drink 2-3 times each day.

Suitable for acute gastroenteritis, food stagnation,and stomach distending pain.

---------------

c. Clove with White Cardamom Seeds Powder

15g clove,15g white cardamom seeds. Dry, grind into powder, mix well.

Serving Methods: 3 times a day, 5g(about a teaspoon�jeach time. Serve with warm water.

Suitable for gastroenteritis due to cold-wet�Cvomit and diarrhea.

-------------

 
d. Ground Peppercorn and Ginger Porridge

50g rice

800ml water

10g peppercorn

Procedure:

1. Grind peppercorn into powder. Cut ginger into threads.

2. Add water in a pot, bring to a boil. Add rice,peppercorn powder, ginger threads.

3. Continue to cook for 30mins over low heat. Add salt and sesame oil to taste.

Serving methods: Serve with warm, 1-2 times a day.

Suitable for spleen cold-deficiency, abdomen cold-pain, vomit due to stomach cold.

>>=====================

Hi, ,any suggestion,idea to my newsletter? Welcome and appreciate

>>================