The Soup Queen

Amaranth or Chinese spinach is a leafy vegetable streaked with red. If you make a soup with amaranth, your soup will look red! But don’t worry. The colour is all natural and is really good for your health. I always remember this soup because as a child, I’ve often been persuaded to drink it so that I would grow strong like Popeye the Sailor Man! Only when I grew up that I realized Popeye’s spinach and Chinese spinach were totally different! Amaranth is called ‘een choy’ in Cantonese or ‘bayam’ in Malay. It is good for women particularly as it contains iron for blood-building and folic acid for women who intend to get pregnant. But amaranth like spinach contains oxalic acid too so it may not be too suitable for those who cannot digest too much oxalic acid. According to Wikipedia, the high content of oxalic acid prevents calcium absorption and this vegetable should not be taken by people with kidney problems, gout or rheumatoid arthritis. Reheating this vegetable is also not encouraged b...

Today I looked up a recipe for nourishing lungs and found this simple dessert soup. I’ve been feeling out of sorts for the past two days, itchy throat, blocked and stuffed nose and sniffles all about. These symptoms indicate that my lungs were weak and if you have problems with your lungs, you will also have constipation because the nose, lungs and large intestine are interconnected, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can use acupressure to relieve the stuffed nose, like I did. Press with your fingers both sides of your nose, on your cheeks. You can also press on the ‘third eye’, the area between your eye brows. Or press both sides of your nostrils, near your eye area. These will help clear your sinus a bit or at least allow you to breathe easier. The other point is behind your head, near your ears. Feel for a soft spot on both your left and right and press to get rid of the stuffy nose. You can also massage your jawline to stimulate the lymph glands so they can work overti...