Eating New Year dishes can help you gain muscle and lose fat! Nutritionists teach you how to make your own "good muscle, easy fat loss" New Year's Eve dinner

The Spring Festival is approaching, and the whole family happily reunites to welcome the Year of the Rabbit. Gathering around the fire with relatives and friends to enjoy the delicious food and the feast of New Year dishes is a focus that cannot be missed. According to statistics from the National Health Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, nearly 40% of the population gained weight during the Lunar New Year, with an average increase of 1.7 kilograms. The nutritionist at Taichung Veterans General Hospital teaches you how to make your own slimming New Year dishes that "build good muscles and help lose fat". After eating delicious New Year dishes, you can keep your belly from bulging and still stay slim.

A nutritionist from the Nutrition Office of Taichung Veterans General Hospital demonstrated ten New Year’s Eve dishes that can help you maintain good muscles and lose fat. (Photo provided by Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

Sufficient protein nourishes good muscles, low fat and low sugar can reduce fat easily

Gaining muscle mass depends on moderate exercise combined with adequate protein and carbohydrates. The World Health Organization recommends more than 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, including aerobic and resistance exercise, to reduce body fat and muscle loss. In terms of diet, protein is the main raw material for muscle synthesis, and carbohydrates can promote insulin secretion and help muscle synthesis. Studies have shown that during weight loss, adequate protein intake can effectively retain muscle, while the reduction of body fat requires avoiding excessive intake of carbohydrates and fat.

Foods suitable for muscle gain and fat loss

Choosing white meats such as fish and chicken that are high-quality protein and low in fat can avoid excessive intake of saturated fatty acids; soybeans and their products are complete plant-based proteins that are low in fat and cholesterol-free, and are also a great source of protein; whole grains, which have not undergone multiple milling steps, can retain more dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, which helps stabilize blood sugar and assist protein synthesis in muscle. For example: brown rice, oats, Purple sweet potato, pumpkin and other ingredients; and foods rich in ω-3 unsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil, camellia oil, walnuts, almonds, salmon and mackerel can reduce inflammation and regulate blood lipids; finally, don’t forget to pay attention to the cooking method to avoid inadvertent intake of excessive oil, try to use low-oil cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, braising, stewing, and baking, and use more natural ingredients such as tomatoes, coriander, red dates, mushrooms and other materials to enhance the flavor of the dishes.

The nutritionist from the Nutrition Office of Taichung Veterans General Hospital teaches you how to make ten homemade New Year dishes that will help you maintain good muscles and lose fat. (Photo provided by Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

Keep your muscles healthy and lose fat easily with these 10 dishes to enjoy a slimming New Year

Gaining muscle and losing fat during the Chinese New Year holidays is not out of reach. The Nutrition Room of Taichung Veterans General Hospital has launched ten "good muscle, easy fat loss" slimming New Year dishes. They are based on low-fat and protein-rich chicken and soy products, paired with sea bass, shrimp and squid containing high-quality fatty acids, and made with low-oil cooking methods such as steaming, grilling, and stewing. For dessert design, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a 3-4:1 ratio of carbohydrates and protein after exercise, and a multi-grain version of snow cake is made. Purple sweet potatoes, which are whole grains, are combined with milk rich in protein and calcium to promote muscle synthesis after exercise. The Nutrition Department of Taichung Veterans General Hospital invites the public to prepare New Year's dishes to "maintain good muscles and lose fat easily". The new year should start with "a perfect body with solid and toned figure".

New Year's Eve Dinner Menu (for 8 people)

1. Heavenly blessing good luck - braised meat jelly platter

Ingredients: 120g pork tendon, 120g pork skin, 2 marinated eggs, several kelp rolls, 4 pieces of dried tofu, 25g white radish, 25g red radish, 180g bok choy, 1 pack of marinated buns, some sugar and green onions

practice:

1. Remove the fat from the pig skin and put it in water with the pig tendon. Add rice wine, green onion and ginger and boil to remove the fishy smell. Take it out

2. Add the pig skin and pork tendon to water, rice wine, soy sauce, stew bag, sugar, green onion and ginger in an electric cooker.

3. Crush the pork tendon and skin into a mold and flatten it. Pour in the marinade and refrigerate. Remove from the mold, slice and serve.

4.Braise the kelp rolls, dried tofu and white radish, cut the white radish and carrot into strips, roll them into the kelp and cut into sections

5. Finish after plating

1. Heavenly Official’s Blessing for Good Luck – Braised Meat Jelly Platter (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

2. The front rabbit is like a brocade, so rich-tea-flavored bean curd rolls

Ingredients: 8 pieces of wet bean curd skin, 50 grams of wet mushrooms, 50 grams of mung bean sprouts, some tea leaves and some white sesame seeds

practice:

1. Chop the mushrooms and mung bean sprouts and stir-fry until fragrant. Soak the tea leaves in water and extract the tea juice.

2. Mix the tea juice into the stir-fried ingredients, add vegetarian oyster sauce and pepper salt to enhance the flavor

3. Spread the wet bean curd skin flat, roll in the stir-fried ingredients and steam until cooked

4. Finish after plating

2. The front rabbit is like a brocade, so rich-tea-flavored bean curd rolls (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

3. Good fortune and prosperity – Scallion pork rolls

Ingredients: 8 slices of pork loin, 50 grams of green onions, barbecue sauce, and some Korean kimchi

practice:

1. Marinate the tenderloin slices with kimchi juice and garlic, wrap them with green onions, brush the surface with barbecue sauce and bake in the oven until cooked.

2. Place kimchi on the plate and it’s done

3. Good fortune and prosperity – Scallion pork rolls (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

4. Steamed sea bass

Ingredients: 850g sea bass, 150g Chinese tofu, red pepper, onion, ginger as needed

practice:

1. Cut red pepper, ginger and green onion into strips, cut tofu into strips, and cut open the fish.

2. Place tofu and fish on a plate and steam until cooked. Add red pepper, ginger and green onion.

3. Mix soy sauce, minced garlic, onion, lemon juice and ketchup to make tomato sauce and pour it over the dish.

4. Steamed sea bass (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

5. Golden Branches and Jade Leaves with Hundred Flowers-Five Flavors Squid

Ingredients: 300g squid, 20g cucumber, 50g purple onion, cherry tomatoes, coriander and five-spice sauce as needed

practice:

1. Slice the cucumber, shred the purple onion, and cut the squid into flower slices and blanch them

2. Mix ketchup, sugar, soy sauce, and rice wine, then add onion, ginger, and garlic to make five-flavor sauce

3. Arrange on a plate and pour the sauce over it.

5. Five-flavor squid (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

6. Good Luck and Drunkenness - Shaoxing Drunken Shrimp

Ingredients: 12 large white shrimps, 30 grams of green vegetables, Shaoxing wine, angelica, red dates and wolfberries

practice:

1. Prepare a pot of water, add Shaoxing wine, wolfberry, red dates, angelica, and salt, bring to a boil and let cool for later use.

2. Remove the shrimp whiskers, put them into water, boil them until cooked, then cool them in ice water

3. Marinate the cooked shrimp in the sauce from step 1 and serve.

6. Good Luck and Drunkenness – Shaoxing Drunken Shrimp (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

7. Wish you a prosperous life and may all flowers bloom - Steamed colorful vegetables

Ingredients: 150g each of green broccoli and white broccoli, a few fresh mushrooms, 100g each of purple yam, white yam and corn shoots

practice:

1. Cut purple yam and white yam into sections, cut mushrooms into crosses, and cut corn shoots into half.

2. Place the ingredients in a steamer, heat and steam until cooked, then brush with a little olive oil.

7. Wish you a prosperous and prosperous life – Steamed colorful vegetables (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

8. Good luck and longevity - longevity vegetables

Ingredients: 200g mustard greens, 50g scallops

practice:

1. Slice the longan vegetables and soak the small scallops in water.

2. Boil the vegetables in boiling water with a little sugar and salt and chill

3. Heat the pan and sauté ginger and garlic, then add longan vegetables and small dried scallops, stir-fry and serve.

8. Good luck and longevity – Longevity dishes (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

9. Golden Rooster Congratulates Good Fortunes – Red Date Chicken Soup

Ingredients: 2 kg whole chicken, 30 g red dates, 30 g ginkgo, 120 g king oyster mushrooms, wolfberry, ginger as needed

practice:

1. Blanch the whole chicken and cut the king oyster mushrooms into dice

2. Add ginkgo, red dates, wolfberry, ginger and whole chicken to the pot, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add salt and rice wine to taste and it’s done

9. Golden Rooster Congratulates Good Fortunes – Red Date Chicken Soup (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)

10. Purple Air from the East Snow Fun – Purple Sweet Potato Milk Snow Cake

Ingredients: 140g purple sweet potato, 500ml milk, 20g sugar, 20g corn flour, coconut milk and shredded coconut as needed

practice:

1. Steam the purple sweet potato slices until cooked, mash them into a paste, add milk, sugar and corn flour and mix well

2. Pour the ingredients into a square plate and refrigerate until completely solidified.

3. Cut into pieces and sprinkle with shredded coconut before serving.

10. Purple Air from the East Snow Fun – Purple Sweet Potato Milk Snow Cake (Photo courtesy of Taichung Veterans General Hospital)