Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Fresh shrimps dumpling

Ingredients :
5 shrimps
40g garlic chives
15g celery
10g chicken breast meat,fresh cloud ear fungus ,golden mushrooms
3g ginger
2g spring onion
5pcs dumpling skin
1 mushroom
1/4 carrot

Seasoning :
1/4 tsp cornflour
1/4 tsp pepper add to tastes salt ,soy sauce

Method :
1. Chop finely mushrooms ,garlic chives ,spring onion and ginger ,then mince chicken breast meat and cut shrimps into halves .
2. Mix well all ingredient with seasoning and then marinate for 30 minutes to form dumpling filling .
3. Take one piece of dumpling skin and wrap with some filling .
4. Place dumpling into boiling water and cook until dumplings float onto the surface .Remove for further usage .
5. Shred carrot ,celery ,fresh cloud ear fungus and golden mushrooms ,then place into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes .Turn to low heat and add in dumplings .Season with salt and pepper .Ready to serve .

Function :
Garlic chives contains coarse fibers which aids bowel movement and defecation while cloud ear fungus nourishes blood and helps to build up your immune system .Golden mushrooms aids metabolism .Prawns and chicken breast meat contains nutrients which can beautify your skin to become firm and radiant .

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Nourish with vegetable oils

Soya ,jojoba ,almond...beauty is nourished by nature .Women have been using vegetables (plant) oils since time immemorial .The unsaturated fatty acids found in these oils nourish the skin wonderfully .

Get into the vegetable oil habit
Because vegetable are beauty product in their pure state ,they provide an intense essence of the fruit ,tree or flower which they come from . Applied to the skin ,they bond with the cutaneous tissue which then draws out fatty acids essentail to its nutrition .Their virtues are many : they reinforce the structure of the corneal layer and they restore the lipidic film to the epidermis .Thus protected , the skin is better hydrated and more resistant to environmental nasties .Whether for body ,hair or skin ,vegetable oil is one of the most sensual treatments you can give yourself .Afer a balt of shower apply to slinghtly damp skin as an alternative to body lotion .

Each oil has its own unique property
Soothing and softening ,almond oil works wonders as a cleanser for sensitive or very dry skin .
  • Jojoba oil regulates the secretion of sebum whilst revitalizing and nourishing the the skin though to the dermis .In its natural form it contains asunscreen of factor 5.
  • Evening primrose oil and borage are both naturally rich in fatty acids and are equally good for skin regeneration and stabilizing the hormones .
  • Apricot kernel oil is good for excessively oily skin .

> Revitalize your skin at the turn of the seasons .Take evening primrose oil capsules in the morning and borege oil at lunchtime for a period of three weeks .This internal treatment will complementthe action of the external beauty regime .

>Certain oils have mythical status in the beauty bible .In Polynesia for example ,monoi ,derived from coconut oil and Tahitian flowers is highly prized .It is said that the women of Polynesia owe their soft ,lissom skin to this oil .They are known to spend hours massaging their skin with oils bought from the local market .

* Concentrated fruit-kernel oils possess multiple virtues .

*Three or four times a year ,combine external and internal beauty treatment .




Monday, March 10, 2008

Understanding the nature of food

After finding out your body nature ,you still need to understand the medicinal properties of food and their nature to help boost your health .

1. Food which is cold in nature
Five grains cereal : buckwheat , barley (yi mi ),mung bean ,wheat
Seafood and meat : duck meat ,clam ,cockle ,winkle ,crabs ,squids
Vegetables : klep and seaweek ,spinach ,celery ,chinese cabbage ,
mushrooms ,bitter gourd ,cucumber ,towel gourd ,winter
melon ,bamboo shoot ,tomato ,brinjal ,lotus root
Fruits : watermelon ,banana ,grapefruit ,mangoesteen ,coconut ,kiwi
Others : fermented black beans ,tofu ,green tea ,black tea

2.Food which is neutral in nature
Five grains cereal : corn .soy bean ,black bean ,peanut ,rice ,oat ,red bean ,
,cashew nut ,sesame
Seafood and meat : pork ,chicken meat ,frog meat ,carp ,shark ,shark fin ,
scallop ,abalone
Vegetables : water spinach ,amaranth ,mustard cabbage ,cabbage ,
potato ,yam ,carrot ,spinach ,peas ,lotus seed ,baby bak choy
, cauliflower
Fruits : orange ,starfruit ,sugar cane ,apple ,grapes ,pineapple ,
dragon fruits ,papaya
Others : egg , cloud ear fungus ,bird nest ,honey ,cocoa ,cow milk ,
goat milk ,soy milk

3 .Food which is warm in nature
Five grains and cereal : glutinous rice ,chinese sorghum ,walnuts ,hyacinth
bean ,chestut
Seafood and meat : mutton ,prawns ,eel ,esa bass ,cod fish ,hair tail ,
pomfret ,sea cucumber
Vegetable : chinese chives ,choy sum ,onion ,ginger ,spring onion ,
chillies ,pumpkin ,onions ,mustard cabbage ,coriander
Fruits : papaya ,longan ,durian ,haw ,cherries ,guavas ,kumquat
, litchi
Others : vinegar ,pepper ,wine ,coffee ,chocolate ,peanut ,oil

Understanding the medicinal properties of medicine
Cuisine combined with medicine can nourish our body to prevent and cure different type of illness .There are 4 type of medicinal nature with 5 different tastes .
4 medicinal nature
They are cold ,cool ,nuetral and hot nature which are also known as the 4 chi .Illness can be classified under the weakness due to cold and weakness due to hot .Most medicine can be categorized under the cold in nature and cool in nature .The medicine to cure cold illness is hot in nature and vice versa .Warm and hot ,cool and cold do differ in their degrees .Neutral medicines are neutral in nature .
5 tastes
They are acrid ,sourness ,sweetness ,bitterness and saltiness .Different tastes have different function .
5 colours
This refer to the colour of food and their relationship with the internal organs of the body .Green coloured food - liver ,red coloured food - lung ; black coloured food - kidney .You can choose according to the needs of your body type of food required .

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Find the answer in plant extracts

When the body is in need of equilibrium there is nothing more effective than nature .Beauty finds the answer in fields and meadows . Each essential oil possesses its own specific properties and has its own place in cosmetic use .Sage ,rosemary ,thyme ....plants make us beautiful.

Essential oils
Essential oils are the extracts of aromatic plants .These perfumed liquids contain active ingredients which are concentrated up to a hundred times .Powerful and varied ,they have attracted the interest of numerous cosmetic laboratories thanks to their versatility and the varying degrees of strength with which they work to oxegyenate and regenerate the skin .The combination of several different essential oils reinforces the action of each one separately .You can even prepare your own beauty products according to your own particular wants .Remember that the areas in the brain which register the scents of the emotions are found .So by using aromatic plant oils you will enhance your outer and your inner beauty simultaneously .

Your beauty ritual
The key feature or the essential oils is their ability to be absorbed rapidly into the epidermis and the deeper layers of the skin .They stimulate the circulation of the blood ,eliminate toxins and speed up recovery according to the active ingredients used .A word of warning ; essential oils are highly concentrated and require care in their use .Start by mixing the product (7 drops) into a tablespoon of oil .Then apply delicately to the face and neck taking care to avoid the eye area .

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Do You Understand Your Own Body

Most people just eat indiscriminately .Actually ,both food and Chinese medicine have their own individual nature .The nature of food and Chinese medicine should complement each other to boost our body five organs and also their inter-relationships with each other .Different people have different types of body nature ie cold ,heaty,weak and in nature .As such not all food are suitable for everybody .To be able to eat healthily ,with vitality and beauty require careful consideration in the selection of food .Listed below are the commonly seen types of body nature to enable you to easily identify your own body nature to eat healthily and beautifully .

1. Body cold in nature ( suitable food is hot in nature)
- cold in nature ,fear windiness,usually limbs will feel cold
- complexion and lips are pale in colour
- like to consume hot soup and drinks
- tongue pale in colour with white coating ; mouth feels bland without any odour
- seldom drink water yet do not feel thirsty
- watery stools and urine light in colour

2. Body heaty in nature (suitable food is cold in nature)
- fear heat ,body is usually hot
- reddish complexion and ear
- like to consume cold drink
- tongue is red with yellow coating; mouth feels bitter with mouth odour
- drink frequently yet still feel thirsty
- hard stools and urine is dark yellow in colour

3. Body neutral in nature (suitable food is cold in nature)
- muscular body with strength
- energetic
- loud speech with vitality
- thick tongue have thick coating
- spleen asthenia and is easily troubled

4. Body weak in nature (suitable food is nourishing in nature)
- body is weak due to long illness
- lack energy with weak pulse
- dispirited ,speak listlessly
- tongue is soft and does not have much coating or none at all

Among the four types of body nature ,the poorest nature is the body weak in nature which can be further divided into weakness in blood ,weakness in yang ,weakness in yin ;each with their own individual symptoms.

* Qi-asthenia
Dizziness ,shortness in breath ,fatigue ,sweatiness ,no appetite .abdominal flatulence after eating ,fear cold ,easily contract flu and weak pulse

*Blood-asthenia
Pale and yellowish complexion ,lips and nail pale in colour ,dizziness ,insomnia ,poor memory ,lingerie fear ,numbness of the limbs weak pulse ,light menstruation

*Yang-asthenia
Cold stomach ,cold limbs ,like to consume hot food ,inability to talk loud ,lethargic and like to sleep ,long urination ,thick and pale tongue and weak pulse

*Yin-asthenia
Slender body ,thirstiness ,limbs and heart heat ,rosy cheeks ,dizziness ,insomnia ,heatiness and sweatiness ,constipation ,red tongue without much coating ,weak pulse

Monday, March 3, 2008

Chrysanthemum Drink

Ingredients :
12g dang shen
12g white chrysanthemum
12g tu fu ling
8g licorice root

Method :
1.Boil 200cc water and then add in all ingredients and cook over low heat for 10 minutes .Ready to serve .

Function :
Chrysanthemum aids in reducing heatiness and detoxification ,removes lipids and attains slimming effects .Tu fu ling is for reducing swelling and have a skin whitening effect . Dang shen can revitalizes blood . This is special drink for those who want to white her skin .

Uncover the magic of masks

Hydrating beauty masks are amazing .Because they are highly concentrated and super-absorbent you need only use a tiny amount from time to time to get good results .The secret behind their efficacy lies in the active ingredients which adjust themselves to the needs of the epidermis.

Why should I use a mask ?
Masks can dramatically improve the features no matter how old you are or what type of skin you have .In responding to the need of the epidermis ,they reverse the harmful effects of weather conditions whilst toning and hydrating the skin .For optimum results alternate products which contain different ingredients .Use a clay mask to purify ; a thermal mask to sooth the skin ; vitamin C to revitalise ; apricot oil to hydrate.......

Masking your face in beauty
You should use a mask once a week or more frequently if you love their refreshing and regenerative effect .Aways try to avoid the delicate area around the eyes when applying .Instead apply liberally to the neck- a highly delicate part of the body often overlooked in everyday beauty care .Take care to stick to the time indicated on the product as taking it off too quickly will not give it time to work properly and leaving it on too long can produce the exact opposite of the desired effect - which is ,to enable the skin to adapt to its environment by balancing itself naturally .

. If you have shiny skin ,remove the excess product with tissue or cotton wool.
. If you have oily or combination skin ,it's not necessary to replicate the effects
of the mask with your usual day or night cream .
. Make the most of your beauty session by listening to some peaceful
background music .Choose sounds from nature : birds ,animals ,the sea .
Think multi-sensory .

* Use a mask every time you want a beauty pick-me-up .
* Remember that a mask is twice as concentrated as a day or night cream .
* Choose your mask according to your needs : for soothing , hydrating or
revitalizing .