Health Benefits of Ingredients Used In Confinement Meals

Confinement Meals

Are you familiar with the common ingredients in confinement food? What are they? Apart from the herbs, other foods are pretty much the same. 

In Chinese tradition, confinement refers to a one-month period after childbirth where new mothers must follow a set of strict practices believed to help their recovery and future health. Confinement focuses on two main areas – meals and practices. The food consumed during confinement is prepared in a special method, using various herbs and ingredients that promote healing, fight infection and help replenish your body. These meals and practices are also preventive measures for future health problems. Thus many women adhere to these rules strictly.

Here are a number of herbs and ingredients usually used in the preparation of confinement meals and their health benefits :


Old Ginger

Old Ginger

Ginger is one of the most used ingredients in the preparation of confinement meals. Ginger for confinement is normally advised for dispelling “wind” because a mother’s body goes into a “cold” state after childbirth, and she may find traces of “wind” in her body after childbirth. Ginger is known to help eliminate wind and prevent ailments like rheumatism and body aches by keeping the body warm.

It has high healing properties and is ideal for dissipating cold and driving the wind out of the mother’s body. This protects her from severe ailments such as rheumatism and body aches. Old ginger also contains anti-inflammatory properties essential for good health.


Black Vinegar

Black Vinegar

Black vinegar is traditonally known to purify the blood and cleanse the arteries. In confinement meals, black vinegar is used in the popular dish of pork trotters in ginger and black vinegar.


Sesame Oil

Sesame Oil

If you have always used sesame oil in your daily cooking, you might be surprised to know that it is also recommended to use sesame oil for confinement food! Sesame Oil traditionally helps improve blood circulation and suppresses wind in the body. It also has high levels of vitamin E and polyunsaturated fats, essential to the mother’s body. 

When added to dishes, it gives out a strong aroma making the food smells even more appetizing. Most confinement nannies or caterers will use sesame oil while preparing confinement meals. Ancient Chinese and Indian healers have been using oil from refined grains to treat conditions like inflammation and constipation. 


Black Fungus

Black Fungus

Another common confinement ingredient! Of course, black fungus benefits are abundant! It is usually boiled in soups or fried with vegetables, traditionally understood to cleanse the body, and expels stale blood. For health purposes, traditionally, black fungus is often consumed to nourish the lungs, liver and stomach.


Angelica (Dang Gui)

Angelica

Angelica is traditionally used as a herb to enhance blood circulation. It is considered a “heaty” herb that can help keep the body warm. Some women use angelica to reduce menstrual cramps and pains.


Red Dates

Red Dates

Red dates are a superfood traditionally known for enriching and replenishing the blood. It is also considered a “heaty” ingredient and is often boiled with dried longan. Most women only drink red dates and longan tea during confinement to keep their bodies warm.

Mothers who follow this principle usually take longan red dates tea (red dates boiled together with longan) instead of water for hydration and their health benefits. Longan red dates tea is sweet and provides different health benefits, such as keeping your emotions in check, keeping your body warm, and helping treat fatigue caused by childbirth and blood loss.

Red dates can help replenish your blood and restore your immunity to normal levels. Traditional confinement herbal soups are usually prepared with red dates and other herbs. Chinese mothers often consume herbal soup together with the teas to fully utilise the benefits of red dates teas and herbal soups to help them recuperate.

Black Beans

Inevitably, you would most likely lose a lot of blood during childbirth hence the need to eat foods rich in iron, such as black beans and animal liver, to replenish the lost blood. Black beans also contain folate, which is important for the body to produce new healthy cells and tissues during recovery.

All in all, most Chinese confinement foods are well prepared to cater to the nutritional needs of a new mother. Many of the ingredients used significantly boost the mother’s immunity, restore the energy and blood levels to normal, increase lactation, promote healing, and drive out the wind from the body. 

Chinese Wolfberry

The Chinese wolfberry has excellent anti-oxidation properties and traditionally helps in nourishing the liver and kidneys. The Chinese have been using it in confinement foods to strengthen the mother’s weakened immunity and boost her energy levels. It also provides an excellent solution to the mother’s blurred vision.

Dried Longan

Longan brewed with Chinese Wolfberry or red dates is a perfect heating drink, a substitute for drinking water. The tasty fruit is also believed traditionally to reduce tension and improve blood circulation in a new mother’s body. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, confined mothers struggling to fall asleep can use Longan to treat insomnia and reduce stress.

Various Types of Meats

This is probably the part you were looking forward to coming across! Yes, even during confinement, you are highly advised to have plenty of chicken, pork, fish, and beef in your dishes. 

Meat provides a perfect base broth flavour to the confinement soups. Proteins found in most meats are excellent energy sources, especially since you would be trying to restore your body to its previous condition. 

The high levels of fatty acids in fish are good for developing a healthy brain in a young child. Our menu serves a wide range of dishes prepared with various types of meat to cater for various well-balanced and nutritious ingredients for confinement mothers. Check out our Confinement Menu

As you can see, some of the ingredients are pretty common and easy to find, such as ginger and sesame oil, whereas you might not be too familiar with some of them, and that’s okay! That’s what we wrote this for, so you can refer to this list whenever you need to head grocery shopping. You can drop by any next-door herbal shop to get these ingredients.

The above are some of the main ingredients used to prepare confinement food.

Traditionally, confinement dishes were limited to only the recipes passed from for generations as it is believed that those are the essential dishes which can help new mothers recover quicker. Over the years, dedicated teams at Tian Wei Signature, passionate about culinary and nutrition, have explored various ways to make confinement food more interesting. Dishes prepared by Tian Wei Signature have been creatively modified with a twist, making every dish different from the traditional style of preparation. At the same time, this team of dedicated people also make it a point to maintain the essential herbs and ingredients for confinement meals in their dishes so that mothers get the nourishment they need to replenish their bodies.

As frequently mentioned, it is best to leave your confinement meals in the steady hands of those trained and experienced in this field. Let your meals be the least of your worries so that you can channel your energy towards your little bundle of joy.

“Leave the meal planning to Tian Wei Signature while you bond with your newborn.”