Nowadays, office ladies are constantly exposed to computers, piles of documents as well as great pressure. As a result, many of them have digestive problems such as diarrhea and constipation, leading to the extremes of being too slim or too fat. If you have such problems, don’t worry. Mash fructus cannabis(火麻仁) into powder. Mix the powder with rice and water. Then simmer the mixture until it becomes congee. A daily dose of the congee can free you from digestive problems. Tasting slightly sweet, fructus cannabis has the property of soothing nerves, strengthening muscles and lubricating digestive system and thus benefiting the whole body. With its rich nutrients including unsaturated fat acid, protein, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and lecithin(卵磷脂), fructus cannabis congee is a winter preference. 

Red date

Red date is commonly used in Chinese medical practice, for it is propitious to spleen-invigorating, energy-boosting, blood-producing and skin-nourishing. According to scientific studies, red date contains the most amount of vitamins among the fruit family for which it is crowned as “living vitamin pill”. It has been proved that Vitamin C can restrain the oxidization of skin, reduce the amount of melanin(黑色素) and prevent pigmentation(色素沉着). One of the key functions of Vitamin A is that it can stimulate and regulate the metabolism of epidermal cells as well as prevent cornification(角化). What's more, Vitamin A helps retain moisture of skin. A plus of Vitamin E can slow down and even reverse the aging of skin. Vitamin E, crowned as “fountain of the youth” and featuring its anti-oxidization and anti-freeradical property, can improve blood circulation of skin. Vitamin B can regulate the secretion of sebaceous gland. With all these miracles the vitamin family are able to make, it is no wonder the saying goes “three red dates a day, keep old age away.”
　　
　　Honey
　　
　　Regular intake of honey keeps your face young. That’s the wonder honey, the so called beauty fountain, is able to make. With abundance of bioactivators, honey helps nourish the skin which is essential in winter days when the skin tends to be dry. The 47 microelements contained in honey, including zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium and kalium,  are key to the fitness of our body and skin. That’s why honey becomes an universal favorite. It is said that Hippocrates, originator of the western medicine, had sworn a daily dose of honey and thus enjoyed a life of 107 years. Honey can be enjoyed alone, or with other tonics such as red date, longan, walnut, and medlar.

　　Beauty gelatin
　(nourish the skin and beautify the complexion)  
　　Polygonatum500g, honey 250g. Chop the polygonatum into small pieces, add water and simmer for three times. Fish out the dregs and add in the honey. Then let the mixture coagulate. Take 30g each morning and evening.

　　Immortal congee( slow down aging and wipe out wrinkles)
　　Tuber of multiflower knotweed 30g, rice 60g, 20 red dates. Peel the tuber, slice it and simmer it for its juice. Add the rice and red dates into the juice and cook the mixture in earthen pot. When it boils, add proper amount of brown sugar. Take the congee in the morning and evening(don’t eat anything beforehand). 7-10 days serves as one course of treatment. Allow a 5-day break between the courses.

　　Longan & Medlar
　　Longan tastes sweet, with the property of soothing nerves, nourishing the body and helping blood-producing. It is a best choice for women who suffer from weakness and insomnia. Add sugar candy into longan and cook the mixture till it coagulates. Take a spoon of the coagulation each morning and evening. According to ancient recordation, medlar has the function of “boosting energy, beautifying complexion…and helping longevity.” Liu Yu Xi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty praised it to be “the fountain of longevity”. In this highly competitive society, many are troubled by fatigue. But don’t get frustrated, the medlar tea can beat fatigue and perfect your life.
　　
　　Lotus seed and longan soup(nourish and beautify your skin)
　　Lotus seed 30g, Semen Euryale’s(芡实)30g, Jobstears seed(米仁)50g，longan 8g. Add in water 500ml, simmer for 1 hour, then add in honey.
　　
　　Walnut & Sesame
　　Walnut is praised as the fruit of longevity by common folks, for its property of strengthening the body and brain and improving the complexion. It is said that the secret of Ci Xi (A queen in the late Qing Dyansty) being able to keep a young face lies in walnut. Black sesame contains rich amount of cystin(胱氨酸) and Vitamin B and Vitamin E. and thus it is said to be the best food for improving coarse skin. Both sesame and walnut contains rich amount of Vitamin E and unsaturated fat acid, which can nourish the brain and skin and therefore slow down aging and boost energy. The mixture of walnut and sesame is the best choice for those who have a fragile nerve, weak body and dry skin.
　　
　　Walnut & Sesame & Milk( strengthen the brain and nourish the skin)
　　Sesame 1 teaspoon, walnut 10g, milk 200ml, soybean powder 2 spoon, honey 1 spoon. Mash the sesame and walnut into powder, put all the ingredients into blender to make juice.
　　
　　Pumpkin seed & Peanut & pigskin

Hormone is the key to women’s biological balance and fitness. Lack of hormone will lead to menses disorders, which affects the fitness of skin, breast and the whole body. According to recent scientific studies, there is a substance similar to hormone in pumpkin seed and soybean. In “Ben Cao Gang Mu”, a famous medicine work by Li Shi Zhen, Li says pumpkin seed is propitious to “regulating body liquids and boosting energy”. If your suffer from lack of hormone, you can try pumpkin seed. If you have a flat breast, don’t be frustrated, try the peanut&pettitoes(猪手) soup, which contains rich collagen and often used in Chinese medical practice to help breast feed in the post-natal period. The eight amino acids and other nutrients such as calcium, iron and Vitamin E included in peanut can also help improve breast condition. The mixture of peanut and pigskin can work out wonders for those with breast problems. This recipe also helps prevent wrinkles and aging by nourishing the skin. Due to the dryness and coldness of winter, the secretion of sweat and grease is restrained, leading to dry and wrinkled skin and even chaps. So to nourish the skin should be the priority for ladies, and the best choice should be pigskin. Why? In “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing”, it is recorded that pigskin can regulate blood flow and nourish skin. Scientific studies have also proved this. It has been discovered that pigskin contains great amount of collagen and hardened protein which help lock moisture in the skin. Regular intake of pigskin can improve the elasticity and condition of skin and prevent dry and wrinkled skin. The amount of fat of pig meat doubles that of pigskin, so you don’t have to worry about weight gaining concerning eating pigskin. Donkey-skin gelatin(e jiao) is a preference for women in Chinese medicine. It is a commonly used for it’s able to help blood-producing and skin-nourishing, which can be compared to the function of pigskin.
　　
　　Fermented beancurd & Peanut & pettitoes

Pettitoes, peanut 60g, fermented beancurd latex 100g, wine 1/2 glass, salt 1 teaspoon. Rinse the pettitoes in boiled water. Chop it into small pieces. Add all the ingredients into pot and simmer till it is boiled.