Mooncakes don’t make you fat, and hawthorn tea can help you lose fat and relieve greasiness

When the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, delicious mooncakes are always irresistible, but the calories are too high, so be careful: the moon is round, the mooncake is round, and your face is even rounder! Nutritionists point out that paying attention to the calorie labels on mooncakes and sharing them with friends and family as much as possible is the only way to avoid consuming too many calories. In addition, you can prepare simple medicinal herbs such as hawthorn, black plum, green tea, licorice, osmanthus, etc., and boil two cups of hawthorn tea, which can effectively burn fat, digest food, and promote salivation and relieve greasiness.

Nutritionist Zhou Qianqin recommends two hawthorn teas, which are just right for pairing with mooncakes without making you fat. (Photography by Huang Zilun)

Two Hawthorn Teas to Relieve Greed and Reduce Fat

Zhou Qianqin, a nutritionist at the Linsen Branch of Taipei City United Hospital, said that people should avoid consuming too many calories. When purchasing mooncakes, in addition to paying attention to the manufacturing date and shelf life, they should learn to read nutrition labels and understand the product content, ingredients and calories. Based on an adult's daily basal metabolic rate of 2,000 calories, after deducting the calories from three meals, it is best to control the amount of mooncakes you eat to less than 300 calories. However, one mooncake usually contains more than 400 or 500 calories. It is better to call on a few relatives and friends to share it together.

In addition, you can prepare simple medicinal materials such as hawthorn, black plum, green tea, licorice, osmanthus, etc., and boil two cups of hawthorn tea to help burn fat and digest food. According to traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn tastes sour and sweet, is slightly warm in nature, and enters the spleen, stomach, and liver meridians, and has the effect of reducing fat and digesting food. If eating too much sweet and greasy food causes indigestion, you can drink more hawthorn tea, which can also clear the blood fat accumulated in the blood and activate blood circulation. Share two homemade teas for everyone to taste:

★ Osmanthus and sour plum soup

The ingredients for osmanthus sour plum soup include 1 liang of black plum, 1 qian of hawthorn, 2 qian of licorice, 2 qian of osmanthus, and 1 gauze bag. The method is quite simple. First, wash the black plums, hawthorns and licorice, put them into a gauze bag and boil them in 2000cc of water over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Finally, add osmanthus to enhance the flavor and turn off the heat. Let it cool before drinking.

Osmanthus and sour plum soup (Photography by Huang Zilun)

★ Hawthorn Green Tea

The ingredients of hawthorn green tea are 50 grams of hawthorn, a small amount of green tea leaves, and a gauze bag. After washing the hawthorn and green tea, put them into the gauze bag and boil them in 2000cc water over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. After cooling, you can drink it.

Hawthorn Green Tea (Photography by Huang Zilun)

Nutritionist Zhou Qianqin mentioned that both hawthorn green tea and osmanthus sour plum soup can be refrigerated, but it is best to avoid adding ice cubes to prevent the taste from becoming diluted. In addition to the two hawthorn teas mentioned above, cassia seed tea, barley tea, herbal tea, etc. are all very suitable for pairing with sweet mooncakes.

【Nutritionist’s Tips】

Nutritionist Zhou Qianqin added that because hawthorn is acidic, it can easily stimulate gastric acid secretion. Therefore, people with fragile gastrointestinal tract, acid reflux, and prone to stomach pain should avoid drinking too much. In addition, it is recommended that after enjoying a barbecue dinner, you may wish to invite three or five relatives and friends to go for a walk outdoors. In an hour, you can burn an extra 100 or 200 calories. Why not do it?

★ "Degreasing and Relieving Grease" Homemade Chrysanthemum and Tangerine Peel Pu'er Tea