What Are Vegetables That Cool Your Body?
Vegetables that cool your body are great to be eaten during hot summer months. Do you know any vegetables that cool your body?
First of all, think about vegetables that can be grown and harvested in your backyard during summer. Tomatoes and cucumbers are the vegetables that cool your body. Another way to identify vegetables that cool your body is how they grow. Vegetables that grow above ground will cool your body. For example, lettuce and spinach will cool your body. Finally, leafy vegetables that are white, green and dark green will cool your body.
Here is a list of some of the vegetables that cool your body when eaten.
- Lettuce
- Cabbage, including Napa cabbage
- Spinach
- Japanese leafy greens, such as Komatsuna
- Cucumber
- Tomato
- Celery
- Bean Sprouts
- Eggplant
- Bitter Melon
- Okra
Are Vegetables That Cool Your Body Good For You?
Vegetables that cool your body will help you when you lost your energy because of the heat. But, it is not a good idea to keep eating those vegetables during summer. Balance is important! Remember, keeping your body warm improves the metabolism and immune systems. Therefore, it works great for diet.
You do not have to buy many vegetables to accommodate both. Why? Those vegetables that cool your body down can be transformed to vegetables that warm up your body. How? You may already be doing it. It is pressing, fermenting, and heating! For example, Napa cabbage can be pressed to make Asazuke (Japanese pickles), fermented to make Kimchi (Korean pickles), or heated to make a stir-fried dish.
Let’s cook 500 calories set meal with vegetables that cool your body!
500 Calories Set Meal: Stir-fried Pork Kimchi
Total 472 Calories
Main: Pork Kimchi Stir Fry
Side 1: Tofu Cucumber Tomato Salad
Side 2: Celery and Cucumber salad
Soup: Cold Okra Corn Soup
Steamed Mixed Grain Rice
All recipes are made for 2 servings. This printable recipe box will allow you to change the serving size to adjust the recipe.
Main: Pork Kimchi Stir Fry
218 Calories
Kimchi is must-have food for Korean people. The main ingredient is Napa cabbage. Napa cabbage is no longer a vegetable that cool your body because it is fermented! Kimchi is almost like Japanese Asazuke (lightly pickled Napa cabbage), but in a spicy way. Believe me Kimchi is popular in Japan. They are normally mild enough for children and elderly people to eat. Even my mom eats because it’s healthy, of course!
Kimchi has so many health benefits. It has lactic acid bacteria that reaches to intestine and regulate the function. Plant base lactic acid bacteria is stronger than animal base lactic acid bacteria. For example, Kimchi contains 100 times more lactic acid bacteria than yogurt.
It contains good amount of vitamins, mineral, amino acids and dietary fiber. The back stage ingredients are garlic, ginger, green onions, and red pepper powder. They should be recognized for their supporting roles. They are medicinal plants that help to strengthen the immune systems. Red pepper powder contains spicy component called capsaicin. It stimulates nerves of the brain and promotes brown fat tissue. When brown fat tissue becomes active, not only it improves the metabolism, but also make the body to be prone to lose weight!
Kimchi helps to prevent from spiking the blood sugar and storing fat in the body. No wonder Korean people eat rice with Kimchi. It is so versatile, you can eat with rice, noodles, and even bread!
Kimchi can be purchased at the grocery store. It is normally located in the produce refrigerator section. Or you can make a trip to an Asian store for more varieties.
- 180 g pork
- 50 g onion
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 100 g kimchi Korean pickled Napa cabbage
- Cut onion and pork into thin strips.
- Combine sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and sesame oil in bowl.
- Add pork and onion into the bowl and mix well. Leave it for 15 minutes.
- Stir fry in pan.
- Add Kimchi and cook for a few more minutes.
Side 1: Tofu Cucumber Tomato Salad
53 Calories
Japanese people like to eat Hiyayako. It is a cold tofu dish with topping. Just like a baked potato with topping. Typical topping is grated ginger, minced green onion, bonito flakes and soy sauce. Why don’t I make salad out of it with vegetables that cool your body? It turns out tofu salad is more colorful. It’s prettier and healthier, too!
- 100 g tofu
- 40 g cucmber
- 40 g tomato
- 2 g bonito flakes
- 4 teaspoon ponzu Japanese citrus soy sauce
- Dice tofu, cucumber and tomato.
- Place lettuce, tofu, cucumber, and tomato in order.
- Sprinkle bonito flakes and pour Ponzu when you serve.
Side 2: Celery and Cucumber Salad
23 Calories
One of vegetables that cool your body is celery. So why is celery served with chicken wings? Is it because you get break from spicy food? Or because it is filling to make up for the small meat portion from the chicken wings? Besides vegetables sticks, you have less chance to eat raw celery. Celery and cucumber, these ordinary vegetables make a wonderful dish. And it is an easy fix. This dish goes with a spicy food like Pork Kimchi Stir Fry.
- Slice celery in diagonal against grain. Slice cucumber.
- Mix mayo and soy sauce in bowl.
- Add vegetables in the bowl. Mix well and leave it for 30 minutes before serving.
Soup: Cold Okra Corn Soup
18 Calories
Have you seen okra flower? It’s comes with large soft yellow peddles and looks ornamental. When you slice okra, it has a star shape. It’s slimy but fun food. When you put in soup, it thickens the liquid. You don’t even need potato starch to make it happen.
Okra is a summer vegetable and of course one of the vegetables that cool your body. In addition, okra has great benefits for your diet. The slimy texture called pectin is soluble dietary fiber. Not only it works for intestinal environment but also it slows down sugar absorbed into the body. People who tend to gain weight because blood sugar level range fluctuates. Okra prevents from the fluctuation. Okra also contains beta-carotene which is antioxidant. Furthermore it contains vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 that promote the metabolism.
Roll okra over salt before washing. The step is to remove thin hair and pointy texture outside (it means they are fresh!). It also removes green raw taste. Do not cut before washing or boiling. Don’t let the precious soluble dietary fiber run away!
- Roll okra over salt to remove outer texture. Boil water in large measuring cup. Add okra and leave for one minute. Drain.
- Slice okra after cooling down. Add okra, corn, dashi and soy sauce into cup.
- Place in refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
Steamed Mixed Grain Rice
160 calories
Click here to learn how to make tasty grain rice.