Kampo Pharmacist Ai Okubo's Cell-Revitalizing "Food as Medicine Recipes" for July

[July 2024]
Surprising?! "Beauty & Cold Prevention Recipes" with Peaches that Warm the Body

The long summer has begun. During this season, focus on consuming foods that aid digestion, limiting foods that burden the gastrointestinal tract, and chewing thoroughly. Regularly avoiding cold foods that chill the stomach and intestines also helps prevent summer fatigue.
Don't rely solely on easy-to-eat noodles like somen. Make sure to get enough animal-based foods like meat and seafood to replenish minerals lost through sweat and to provide protein and B vitamins for stamina.
When you feel sluggish, use coconut oil as a cooking oil for a quick energy boost. When you feel mental fatigue, add flaxseed oil to your salad.

◆This Month's Key Ingredient

Peach

Despite the intense heat of summer, discomfort caused by body chills from air conditioning is also serious. You may experience cold shoulders and feet, swelling, constipation, stiff shoulders due to poor circulation, headaches, and menstrual pain. In such cases, peaches are recommended. They are the only summer fruit that warms the body and are rich in vitamin C, which has high antioxidant properties, vitamin E, which promotes blood circulation, soluble dietary fiber, which regulates bowel movements, and potassium, which helps reduce swelling.

◆Recipe Introduction

Grilled Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Peach Sauce

An elegant dish featuring sautéed chicken, which contains imidazole dipeptide to alleviate fatigue, paired with a sauce that exquisitely blends the sweetness of peaches and the aroma of myoga.

→Check out the video for instructions

Ingredients (for 2 servings)
Chicken　　　　　　　　　300g
Salt　　　　　　　　　　2 pinches
Black pepper　　　　　　　generous amount
Peach　　　　　　　　　　1/2
Garlic　　　　　　　　　　1 clove
Myoga (Japanese ginger)　　　3
Olive oil　　　　　　　　　1 tablespoon

A)
Vinegar, Miso, Ground sesame seeds　　1 tablespoon each

Instructions
① Mix the seasonings in A well.
② Season the chicken with salt and black pepper, then sauté it in a frying pan. Once cooked through, transfer to a plate.
③ Sauté the diced peach and minced garlic in olive oil.
④ Add A to ③ and heat over low heat until the peach is tender and syrupy. Finally, mix in the shredded myoga.
⑤ Pour the sauce over the chicken on the plate and serve.

Point
* Arranging with your favorite vinegar, such as wine vinegar, is also recommended.

 

Peach and Celery Marinade to Balance the Autonomic Nervous System

This season, the autonomic nervous system tends to be unbalanced due to the effects of UV rays, air conditioning, and low atmospheric pressure, which can make some people overly sensitive. Balance your mind and body with celery, which regulates the autonomic nervous system, and mushrooms, which work on the gut-brain axis.

→Check out the video for instructions

Ingredients
Peach　　　　　　　　　　　　　1/2
Celery　　　　　　　　　　　1 stalk
White mushrooms　　　4
Vinegar, Olive oil　　　　　　　　　1 tablespoon each
Salt, Black pepper　　　　　　　　to taste

Instructions
① Cut the peach into bite-sized pieces. Mince the celery leaves and cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces. Slice the white mushrooms.
② Put all ingredients and seasonings into a bag and gently massage.
③ After marinating for about 10 minutes, it's ready.

Point
* Pink peppercorns can also be added.

 

Profile

Ai Okubo

Pharmacist and Kampo counselor. Studied Kampo medicine, medicinal cuisine, and oriental beauty at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, becoming the first Japanese person to obtain an International Certified Traditional Chinese Medicine Beautician qualification. After managing Kampo pharmacies, dispensing pharmacies, and beauty salons, she is now involved in product development, writing, and corporate consulting as an expert in medicine and beauty, including Kampo medicine and medicinal cuisine.

Official Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/aivonne85/

Official Twitter:https://twitter.com/Ai_loveflower