Autumnal Foods To Include In Your Diet For Glowing Skin

In the same way the seasons change, along with our wardrobes, so should the food you eat! 

Take back control of your skin health from the comfort of your own home. According to traditional Chinese medicine, we should eat relative to our health, the current season and your unique body. Welcome to the Yin & Yang diet, a diet which has been tried and tested for thousands of years. As the colder temperatures draw forward, we need to nourish our bodies to warm and build up the immune systems, to achieve the perfect balance. 

Let us explain… ‘Cold’ foods such as fruits and salads are ‘yin’ foods, these cool us down and may leave us vulnerable to illnesses. In autumn and winter seasons, we should opt for ‘yang’ foods which provide warmth to our body and energise us. A good place to start is buying fresh produce from farmers markets to ensure you're eating products in season and making healthy hearty dishes. 

You Are What You Eat

Eat lots of squashes, like butternut and pumpkin that are rich in wrinkle fighting and sun protecting beta-carotene (Although don't rely on this, a high quality SPF is always an essential). To get more Vitamin A in your diet, these foods are key for healthy skin. They keep your skin PH more acidic to fight bacteria and promote cell renewal for a healthy hydrated glow.

Easy And Healthy Recipes To Share With You

We’ve talked to a good friend of ours recently, the lovely Ting-Yin Lu, who is a well-known columnist in Asia, also an artist, trained barista, lifestyle influencer and an absolute healthy-eating expert! She has shared two easy, healthy recipes with us for this season and we hope you will give it a try too!  

Ting’s told us: “Human senses are actually extremely sensitive. When the temperature and humidity fluctuate, or when the environment around us changes, our body and mind are both taking the hit. Luckily, when our body or mental status are showing signs of distress, we can definitely find solutions in nature to nurture ourselves. Minimum seasoning with less or no salt and oil, allowing your taste buds to enjoy the natural flavours. This is something I always encourage people to do, as less additives would reduce the burden on your body - keeping what you eat clean. Great meals do not need to be complicated! ”

# Recipe 1 : Pan Fried Sea Bass

Ingredients: 

• 2 Sea bass fillets
• 5 small radish, half carrot, half celery, thinly sliced
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 slice of lemon
• A bunch of watercress
• 150g cooked rice
• Black pepper to season as you please

How to make it:

• Wash radish and carrots in boiling water very quickly - a step to cleanse. Drain and keep them on the side. This is just to soften them a bit, we certainly don’t want over cooked veg!
• Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Once it’s very hot, lay the sea bass fillets gently in the pan  with the skin side down first. There is no need to add oil as the sea bass skin is rich in natural oil already! Cook for 3 minutes, but remember, don’t touch them at this stage! Then gently turn them over to cook for another 2-3 minutes, season with a little of black pepper.
• You can now plate up your rice, sea bass, and garnish with radish, carrot,  celery, watercress, spring onion and squeeze lemon juice on top to give a fresh flavour.

# Recipe 2 : Pumpkin & Chicken Risotto (or no chicken if you prefer!)

Ingredients: 

• 1 chicken breast with skin if possible
• Half small pumpkin, cut into medium dice
• Half onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Quarter red pepper, cut into small dice
• 800ml boiled water
• 1 small glass of milk
• 150g risotto rice
• Black pepper to season as you please

How to make it:

• Heat a non-stick medium sized saucepan on medium-high heat. Once it’s very hot, lay the chicken breast gently in with the skin side down first. Cook for 5 minutes, or until browned. Then turn over, cover and cook on the other side for 7-8 minutes or until almost cooked through. Season with black pepper. Remove from the pan, then cut it into bite-size pieces. 
• No need to add extra oil as the chicken skin has already released oil from frying earlier. Add crushed garlic, onion, red pepper and pumpkin all in the pot and stir fry gently. Once they are soft but not browned, add the rice. Stir well to coat in the mix for about 1 min.
• Now add half a cup of the water and stir every now and then until it has all disappeared into the rice. Carry on adding and stirring in a large splash of water at a time, until you have used up all the water – this will take about 20 mins.
• Check the rice and pumpkin are cooked. If it isn’t, add a splash more water, and carry on cooking for a bit. Once the rice and pumpkin are soft enough to eat, gently stir in the chicken and milk for a further 2 minutes. Job done!

Here at Wǒ, we believe that to achieve glowing skin, first need to understand what impacts your skin. Our diet and lifestyle are two of the many key elements to our skin health and we encourage you to take our Skin Diagnostic to learn more about it! To support your journey, we have more articles in Our Journal for you, just jump in! You can also tell us in the comments box below if you have a particular topic of interest which we can help you with.

Now, let’s get cooking!

Author: Lily Scales