Summer Cooling Salad: A Perfect Balance for Summertime Menstruation

Summertime brings the heat, and with it, the craving for cooling, refreshing foods to help cool you down. However, too many cold foods can be tough on your digestion according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This easy summer cooling salad features seasonal produce that helps cool the body down while incorporating ginger, a warming herb known for its digestive benefits. 

Cycle Syncing

This salad is particularly beneficial during the ovulation phase, which corresponds to summertime in TCM. During this time, a balanced body can tolerate more cooling and raw foods. It’s a quick and simple recipe so you can spend time enjoying life instead of cooking. 

Ingredients

Servings: 4-6  

Salad:

• 3 cups of arugula
• 1-1 ½  cups watermelon, cubed
• 1-1 ½  cups cucumber, chopped 

Dressing:

• 1 cup basil
• ⅓ C olive oil
• 1 lime juiced
• 12 squeezes of Elix’s Ginger Aide
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions

Dressing

1. Add olive oil, basil, lime, salt, and pepper to a wide mouth jar and use an immersion blender to blend until desired consistency. If you want a thinner consistency add water by the teaspoon.   
2. Add in Ginger Aide and blend for a few seconds to combine. 
3. Feel free to adjust the ratio of ingredients to your taste preference, this ratio is a good starting point. 

Salad

1. Chop watermelon and cucumber into small pieces 
2. Combine with arugula 
3. Add dressing to salad to taste 

TCM Benefits of Ingredients

• Arugula: Known for its peppery taste, arugula is known to help keep your Qi flowing smoothly.
• Watermelon: Highly cooling, watermelon clears heat and alleviates thirst, making it ideal for hot summer days.
• Cucumber: Another cooling ingredient, cucumber helps clear heat and promotes hydration.
• Basil: With its aromatic properties, basil is said to promote Qi circulation, and also balances out temperature with its warming properties.
• Lime: Lime is believed to stimulate digestion and clear heat, adding a refreshing zest to the salad.
• Ginger: A warming herb, ginger supports digestion by maintaining digestive fire, preventing Qi stagnation, and alleviating symptoms like bloating and digestive upset.

Why Ginger 

Ginger keeps the digestive fire strong, making sure you’re digesting your food instead of it just sitting there stuck, leading to what TCM calls Qi Stagnation. It’s like a traffic jam in the body and can lead to symptoms like - bloating, digestive issues, fatigue, mood swings/irritability, as well as a wide range of PMS and menstrual symptoms. Elix’s Ginger Aide is preserved with sustainable organic glycerin, which also adds sweetness without any added sugar. 

Herbs for Summertime 

Sometimes food therapy isn’t enough and more targeted support is needed. The heat of summer can create more heat within our body, a major pattern diagnosis in TCM that can lead to an increase in period symptoms. Heat in TCM is likened to inflammation. It can also be the root cause behind symptoms like irritability, anxiety, heavy periods, insomnia, painful cramps, acne, and clots. By taking Elix’s free Online Health Assessment your personalized Cycle Balance herbal formula will include herbs that help keep you balanced, so if heat is an issue for you, your formula will contain some cooling herbs for balance.

Summer Salad 

Try this summer cooling salad in addition to your personalized Cycle Balance formula to keep your body and cycle balanced during the hot months. And perfect for your ovulation phase, as it balances cooling ingredients with warming ginger for optimal health. Enjoy this refreshing simple salad to keep you balanced and living life to the fullest!

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This article was reviewed by Zoey Gong.

Zoey Gong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine nutritionist, food therapist, and chef. Her recipes have been featured in various publications, including the cover of Food & Wine magazine in the February 2023 issue. She’s the author of The Five Elements Cookbook: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine with Recipes for Everyday Healing, where she guides readers in the basics of TCM through encyclopedic entries on common ingredients and 50 nourishing recipes.