I just wrote a blog earlier today about The Blue Buddha and Tibetan medicine. (which you can see here- http://www.shangrilacraft.com/index.php/11-tibet-and-buddhism/65-the-blue-buddha-tibetan-medicine) The Blue Buddha is known as the medicine or healing Buddha. One of main points that Tibetan medical healers or doctors believe is that almost all health problems come from poor eating habits and from bad choices and habits. This really got me thinking about how people here in China eat, how people at home eat and my eating habits.
Most people here in China do most of their grocery shopping daily or every two days. They go to wet markets and buy the freshest fruits and vegetables, eggs that were collected that same day and meat the was cut that day. And of course everything is eaten with steamed rice.
My husband and I don't eat a lot of meat, but when we do it is fresh from the butchers and cut that same day. We do eat a lot of beans. We buy them dry at the market and soak them over night, then cook them in the mornings. No chemicals or preservatives added and they taste so fresh.
Our vegetables are never more than a few days old and except for soy and vinegar, we don't use any sauces. Dairy is not used to much in Asia, so we really stay away from milk, creams and cheeses. And of couse anything prepackaged, canned or boxed we stay away from. At first this was mostly because they don't carry western food or brands at most stores, just specialty shops, but you really pay a lot for those. Now even if we do see them, we just don't want them anymore.
Occasionally, we do get cravings for something back home, my husband always wants nachos and chicken wings. We can get chicken wings here, but never spicy enough. But, one thing that is really rare to come across is a good taco, burrito, enchilada or anything else Mexican.
So, I decided to make my own. I started looking up recipes online for tortillas from scratch and homemade salsa and I was completely shocked! Nearly every recipe I found was just opening cans and bags of premade stuff and dumping them together. I just don't think that counts as homemade. Nothing in these recipes was fresh at all.
Now when I made tacos, I make the dough, roll the tortillas and cook them myself. Only a couple of ingredients and you know its fresh and no preservatives. I also do the same with the salsa, only fresh veggies and some lemon juice. Tacos have never tasted better. Have you ever looked on the ingredient list for salsa? It's huge and a lot of those things are just going to make you feel pretty lousy.
About a year ago I started trying out the green detox smoothies. We have them for breakfast, just a lot of vegetables, our favorite fruits and a bit of water. They might be a crazy color, but they taste great and make you feel amazing!
A couple of years ago, when we went back to Canada for a visit, we went to a few different grocery store just to look around. I was really surprised at the amount of premade, prepackaged and microwaveable foods. The fresh produce section seemed so small and to be honest, not so fresh.
Many people say this is because of Canada's climate and cold snowy winter. But, we have spent some time in Japan and Korea, both during the winter and I think food is fresher and diets are healthier in both countries compared to North America. Korea and Japan had similar ways of eating and of course their diet changes according to the weather and seasons. In the winter people in both countries eat a lot of soups and most vegetables are hearty or root vegetables, like cabbage, carrots, yams, potatoes and of course they are both giant fish fans.
The Tibetans believe that almost all health problems come from poor eating habits and from bad choices and habits. Just from looking at a 'normal' meal at home and now what I eat, I see and feel a really big difference.
As they say in China, 慢慢吃, Màn man chī.
When you are served your meal, Chinese people say 慢慢吃, Màn man chī. That translates to eat slowly.
慢慢吃, Màn man chī!
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