Anyway, I'll continue sharing with you TCM and healthy Chinese recipes here. I hope I will finish my book soon(About holistic Chinese diet and food therapy). In fact, I've been studying and trying to show you how to apply Chinese food therapy in daily life.

Chinese food therapy, or Chinese nutrition diet, or Chinese dietary diet is very a small part of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM). Below is Treatment tools and methods of TCM:

Natural Therapeutic Methods:

·         Regulating Emotions

·         Environment, daily life and clothing

·         Life cultivation with the diet (Dietary Therapy, Food Therapy)

·         Therapies with sports

·         Therapies with recreation

·         Loutrotherapy

Techniques:

·         Acupuncture Therapy

·         Chinese Tuina Therapy (massage)

·         Traditional Chinese medicines

·         Moxibustion

·         Cupping Therapy

·         Scrape Therapy

In ancient China, doctors would try food first when treating disease. Only when food didn't work would they try medicine.  Chinese food therapy is to improve human organism by making use of food attribution. It has benefited Chinese people for generations. 

But Chinese food therapy is based on TCM. Only after you learn TCM basics such as Yin Yang, five elements, qi(chi), blood, may you know your body and the symptoms, and apply food therapy accurately.

For example, Yin means moisture, cold, water, fluid while Yang means sun, heat, dry,etc.  Yin deficiency people lack body fluid. They tend to have dry mouth, feverish palm and soles, poor sleep, and/or constipation, etc. They fear heat but like cool.  They tend to suffer diabetics and hypertension when getting old. But if you live a healthy lifestyle and eat right food you can adjust your body type and avoid chronic disease. Foods for yin deficiency people include most vegetables and fruits, tofu, duck, etc. These foods have cooling or nourishing yin effect.  They should avoid grilled food, spicy food, beef, lamb, and chicken. These foods generate heat.

======================================

Two vegetarian recipes

a. Stewed Green Bean with Potato

Cook and Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb green bean,

3 potato, medium

1 carrot, small

2 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon ginger, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon onions, chopped

2 tablespoon olive oil

Procedure:

1. Wash green bean, cut into 4cm long if it's too long.

    Peel, dice potato. Dice carrot.

2. Heat oil in a wok, add garlic, ginger, and onion. Stir fry till fragrant smell comes out.

    Add in potato, carrot, and green bean.

    Stir fry about 3mins in medium heat. Add dark soy sauce and 2 tablespoon hot water.

3. Continue stir fry till soy sauce color evenly mixes with the vegetables.

4. Add 1/3 cup of hot water. Cover, simmer for 5-10 mins.

   Stir fry frequently. Add water if it becomes dry.

5. Repeat step 4 till green bean cooked and the potato tastes mashy. Serve with steamed rice.