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The quality of olive oil depends largely on a very specific factor. With our life hack you do everything right when buying olive oil.

Olive oil is not just olive oil. The quality of the popular edible oil depends on various criteria. In another article, we have summarized ten tips for you on how to recognize good olive oil.

In general, we recommend looking for organic quality when buying olive oil. You can be sure that the oil is not contaminated with chemical-synthetic pesticides. In addition, by consuming organic products, you support ecologically sustainable agriculture that treats the earth’s natural resources with care. The organic seals from Demeter, Bioland, and Naturland are particularly recommended, as they stipulate stricter criteria than the EU organic seal.

Additionally, you can recognize the quality of olive oil with the following simple method.

Olive Oil Lifehack: How to recognize good quality

This life hack is very simple: you can already tell from the packaging when you go shopping whether an olive oil is of high or inferior quality.

Simply note the following information:

Olive oil in a clear glass or plastic bottle is a no go. This has to do with the fact that vegetable oils are very sensitive to light, heat and air. These environmental influences very quickly trigger an oxidation process in the olive oil. The result: Rancid olive oil with drastically reduced levels of healthy nutrients such as antioxidants and polyphenols.
The quality of olive oil suffers even more in plastic bottles – whether they are dark or transparent. This is because the chemicals in the plastic, such as plasticizers, migrate into the oil over time. This not only changes its taste, but is also potentially harmful to health, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.
Olive oil in metal packaging should also be consumed with caution. According to consumer advice centers, metals can become detached here over time, migrate into the oil and impair its quality. In addition, metal packaging is often coated with the plastic bisphenol A, which can also be released into the oil and is even potentially harmful.

Olive Oil Lifehack: Conclusion

You should definitely avoid packaging made of plastic, metal or clear glass when buying olive oil.

According to a study, dark bottles made of green or amber glass are the most suitable containers for olive oil. If you then at least pay attention to the organic seal and the addition “extra virgin”, you can be pretty sure that the olive oil in your shopping basket is of good quality.

Eating fish regularly is a matter of course for many people. But there are a few things that you should urgently pay attention to: from avoiding overfished species to pollution and aqualtur – we’ll explain what you need to know.

Eating fish is considered healthy and many find fish fingers, fish fillets or smoked fish delicious. However, when we look for information on the origin of fish on the Internet, the pleasure is quickly over: many species are overfished, there are repeated reports of pollutants in fish, aquaculture is not a good alternative and the seals can hardly be relied on. Should we therefore give up fish altogether? In fact, there are many good reasons to eliminate fish and other seafood from our diet.

If you still want to continue eating fish, you should at least keep a few things in mind. In the following you will get an overview.

Eating sustainable fish – without overfishing

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost 35 percent of the world’s fish stocks are now overfished. Around 60 percent are already being used to the maximum, so more is not possible without also being overfished. The fish guide from the WWF and the new fish guide from the consumer advice centers will tell you which species can still be fished sustainably in which fishing areas. Unfortunately, Greenpeace’s fish guide, which has long been considered particularly strict, has not been reissued in recent years.

In the last published version in 2016, only carp was recommended without reservation. The WWF and consumer advice centers take a similar view today: Here, too, carp from European aquaculture has a green rating.

According to the WWF, you can eat some other types of fish if they were fished in certain fishing areas (FAO) and/or with certain fishing methods. For example:

Arctic sea shrimp from the Northeast Pacific off Canada (FAO 67), caught with traps
Tropical shrimp from Southeast Asia or Europe from aquaculture
Halibut from Europe from aquaculture
Herring from the Northwest Atlantic off the USA (FAO 21), caught with purse seines, and from the Northeast Atlantic (FAO 27), with numerous exceptions
Pacific salmon from the Northeast Pacific off Alaska and Canada (FAO 67)
Brown trout from Austria from aquaculture
Mussels from Europe from aquaculture or linen culture
Nile perch or Victoria perch from Lake Victoria in Tanzania (wild caught)
Rainbow trout from Denmark from aquaculture
Char from Europe from aquaculture
Anchovy from the NE Atlantic in Bay of Biscay (FAO 27) from pelagic otter trawls or purse seines
Hake from the Northeast Pacific off Canada and the USA (FAO 67), caught with pelagic otter trawls
Coley (saithe) from the NE Atlantic off Iceland (FAO 27) caught with gillnet gillnets or bottom longlines
Western Pacific tuna (FAO 61, 71) caught with hand lines or fishing lines
Tuna (Yellowfin) from the Eastern and Southwest Pacific (FAO 77, 81) caught with hand lines or line lines
Tuna (albacore) from the Pacific (FAO 61, 67, 81, 87), and from the Northwest and Northeast Atlantic (FAO 21, 27) caught with hand lines, fishing lines or trolling
Catfish (African and European) from aquaculture (closed recirculation systems, pond systems) in Europe

The WWF and consumer organizations agree that you should never eat the following wild fish:

european eel
all shark and ray species
orange roughy, alfonsino
Bluefin tuna
In contrast to the WWF, the consumer advice centers also generally advise against mussels, North Pacific, southern and Atlantic bluefin tuna, Markele, sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, redfish and squid.

Wild Fish Seals give you additional hints as to which fish you can eat. The most well-known is certainly MSC, but some organic associations such as Naturland now also have seals for wild fish. At the end of the article we will introduce you to the most important seals.

Wild-caught fish: The method of catching is crucial

So when you want to eat wild fish, it’s not just about where it was caught. The “how” is also crucial. Greenpeace has a list of the different trapping methods and their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some examples:

Trawl nets: These sometimes huge bag-shaped nets are one of the most popular fishing methods in deep-sea fishing. There are trawls that are pulled over the bottom and those that can fish the sea between the water surface and the bottom. The problem with trawl nets is that there is sometimes a lot of bycatch. In addition, bottom trawls rip up the bottom, destroying coral reefs that are extremely important as ecosystems, among other things.
Gillnets: These fine-mesh nets are so called because fish get caught in them with their gills. One type of gillnet is a gillnet that is placed vertically in a fixed location. Unlike trawl nets, gillnets have less bycatch and leave less damage to the surrounding ecosystem. On the other hand, the fish often hang in the mesh for days before the nets are hauled in. Unlike gillnets, driftnets float around. They are now banned as they often cause large amounts of bycatch, but driftnets are still used in illegal fishing.
Purse seines: The ring-shaped nets are placed around a school of fish to enclose it. This method is often used to catch tuna. The problem is that tuna and dolphins often travel together. Fishermen therefore like to locate and circle dolphins. In the meantime, however, there are firm rules that dolphins that are caught must be released immediately.
Fishing: There are different types of fishing. They usually consist of a short line with a hook that has a bait on it. Fishing is considered to be particularly gentle because bycatch can be recognized immediately and released again and because ecosystems are hardly damaged.
Traps: Fish traps are nets with openings just large enough to allow the desired species of fish to enter but not exit. This can avoid a lot of bycatch.

Aquaculture fish: the better alternative?

Anyone who thinks that you can hardly eat wild fish without major concerns, but you can eat fish from aquaculture, is unfortunately wrong. Neither endangered stocks nor by-catch are an immediate problem for farmed fish from aquaculture. Nevertheless, aquaculture is unfortunately not the ultimate solution, as this form of farming brings with it its own problems:

A big problem is that the fish are often fed fishmeal made from wild fish. Despite aquaculture, the fish stocks are massively affected.
Since many fish are kept in a confined space in aquaculture, the floor beneath them is covered with a particularly large amount of fish excrement. In addition, the fish are often treated with antibiotics. The use of chemicals puts additional strain on the surrounding ecosystems. This is especially true for farms whose water is in direct exchange with seawater.
There are fish farms in tropical and subtropical waters, for which mangrove forests have to give way. These forests are the habitats of many species and also spawning grounds for many wild fish.
When fish escape from aquaculture, they can transmit rampant diseases to wild fish there. In addition, farmed fish are often kept in places where they are not native. When they mix with native stocks, they can upset the delicate balance of ecosystems.
For these reasons, you should not eat fish from aquaculture without hesitation. As in the case of wild fish, seals such as the ASC and Naturland seals can also offer you orientation. You can get more information at the end of the article.

Eating fish – is it really healthy?

Eating fish is generally considered very healthy. They contain, among other things, some vitamins, minerals, many proteins and omega-3 fatty acids. However, fish not only absorb harmless substances from the water: there are repeated reports that fish are contaminated with various pollutants. Here is the most important information:

Most wild fish are caught so young that they are hardly contaminated with pollutants. An exception are older predatory fish, such as tuna and sharks (which you shouldn’t eat anyway). From a certain age, however, these must be regularly checked for pollutants such as mercury, lead or cadmium. Nevertheless, you should eat such fish only rarely, if at all, and avoid them completely during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
A special case are herring and salmon from the northern Baltic Sea: some of them are heavily contaminated with the toxin dioxin.
There are also reports of pollution in farmed fish. Ethoxyquin, which is probably carcinogenic, is particularly problematic. It is banned almost everywhere in the food industry, but may still be added to fishmeal as an additive until 2020. In 2018, both Stiftung Warentest and Öko-Test found increased ethoxyquin concentrations in tests on farmed salmon, but no longer in 2021.
In recent years, reports of microplastics in the sea have repeatedly attracted attention. A study of fish from the North Sea and Baltic Sea has shown that more than five percent of the fish have microplastics in their digestive tract. In North Sea shrimp, even 63 percent were affected. It is not yet clear whether the microplastics are harmful to humans, even in these concentrations. One problem is certainly that plastic often contains harmful plasticizers and that many plastics can bind and accumulate some toxic substances very well.

Eat better fish: Seals offer orientation

MSC: The oldest seal for fish from sustainable wild catches is the MSC seal, which was founded in the late 1990s. MSC stands for Marine Stewardship Council. The seal was initiated by Unilever and WWF, but acts independently according to official information. Around 3,000 products in Germany now bear the MSC seal. The key points of the seal are that no stocks may be overfished and that gentle fishing methods such as fishing or traps must be used. Unfortunately, however, MSC does not make any specifications for animal welfare and inadequate for working conditions. In addition, a test by Stiftung Warentest has shown that stocks can sometimes be overfished and MSC cannot always trace the path of its certified products.
Naturland (wild catch): The Naturland seal for wild fish sets stricter rules. There are also regulations on fair working conditions. So far there are some fishing areas with certified fish in Germany, off the Azores and in Tanzania.
ASC: The counterpart to the MSC seal for farmed fish is the seal of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, from which around 1000 products are now available in Germany. ASC-certified farms must be located in suitable locations, the water quality must be checked regularly and the use of antibiotics should be limited. However, fishmeal and genetically modified soy are permitted as food.
Naturland (aquaculture): Naturland is once again imposing stricter rules: the fish need enough space, the surrounding ecosystems must be protected, fishmeal may only be used from the remains of edible fish, genetic engineering is not permitted.
Bottom line: fish with the ASC and MSC seals is better than fish that is not certified at all. But it is even better if you want to eat fish, if possible rely on organic associations such as Naturland – even if unfortunately not many types of fish have been certified by them so far. Otherwise, the purchasing guides from Greenpeace and consumer advice centers offer good orientation.

Ultimately, the most important thing is that you treat fish for what it is: a luxury that should only end up on the table occasionally, if at all.

Did the vegan dish taste like nothing the other day? It doesn’t have to be! Vegan cuisine can be creative and tasty – if you follow a few tips.

Regardless of whether you have just started eating vegan, have been a fan of vegan cuisine for a long time, or just cook vegan every now and then – sometimes you may have the problem that vegan food tastes bland.

We will explain how you can prevent this and how you can use small tricks to cook particularly delicious vegan food.

Spices add flavor to your vegan food

Whether vegan or not: If you don’t season your food, it will taste bland. You can bring your vegan dishes into very different worlds of flavor if you use different spices.

Get to know spices

In addition to salt and pepper, you can use fresh or dried herbs, individual spices such as turmeric and chillies or ready-made spice mixtures, such as curry powder. Over time you will figure out how to use the spices properly. For example, you should sauté curry powder so that it develops its full aroma. You can use other spices to marinate ingredients before cooking. For example, it is worth marinating tofu. If you want to add a smoky flavor to your dishes, you can use smoked salt or smoked paprika. It tastes very good in a vegan goulash, for example.

See if you can find a weekly market near you that offers spices so you can smell them or taste them too. This is how you find out what you like best. If possible, look for organic spices to avoid contaminating the environment with chemical-synthetic pesticides.

So there is more umami

Yeast flakes, soy sauce or miso paste are very suitable for a more intense umami taste in vegan cuisine. You can also make your own umami spice, which you can use to add a hearty, meaty note to vegan dishes.

Vegetable broth instead of water

When cooking, it’s also a good idea to use vegetable broth instead of water. That gives it more flavor. If you cook vegetables in it, you can turn the broth over afterwards and make a soup out of it.

Sauces for extra taste

You can also serve delicious sauces with your dishes. In addition to classics such as mustard or ketchup, you can also serve chimichurri, a herb sauce, or BBQ sauce with the vegan dishes.

Certain ingredients provide more flavor

Don’t cut out fat when cooking. While you shouldn’t use a ton of it, it’s an important flavor carrier. Fat can bind flavoring substances that are fat-soluble and that only become noticeable when they are absorbed by the fat during cooking. Without any fat, your dishes just taste a bit bland. You can use a wide variety of products for the fat content. Cooking oils, margarine or vegan cream are ideal. But tahini, nut butter or avocados are also good. Depending on what you choose, you can use the products directly in cooking or add them to serve.

Another trick for a particularly intense aroma is using dried or pickled ingredients. For example, dried mushrooms, algae or tomatoes bring a much more concentrated taste to your vegan food. If you soak them before using them, you can use the leftover liquid as well. There is also a lot of flavor in it. Pickled vegetables add more flavors. Try it with olives in the tomato sauce, pickled dried tomatoes with aubergines or pickled peppers as a topping.

If you like onions and garlic, these are also very good for adding more flavor to your vegan cooking. Depending on whether you fry them vigorously, sauté them briefly until translucent or add them raw, they provide different flavors. Just give it a try.

Searing, freshness and a pinch of courage

Another trick for more flavor is to fry ingredients instead of boiling them. Frying also lets you caramelize vegetables slightly, giving them a more complex flavor and texture. Even if you want to make a soup or sauce from it afterwards, it can be particularly tasty to fry onions in a little oil beforehand, for example.

Use as many fresh products as possible when cooking. In an emergency, you can of course also use canned vegetables, but fresh and, above all, seasonal vegetables are usually more aromatic and also ensure a crunchy chewing experience.

And last but not least, you are welcome to experiment with vegan cuisine. Dare unusual combinations of foods and new ingredients. This gives you the opportunity to learn more and find out what you particularly like.

Conclusion: This is not how vegan food tastes boring

Here is an overview of all the tips with which your vegan food will no longer taste bland in the future:

  • Use spices, herbs and salt.
  • You can get more umami with yeast flakes, soy sauce or miso paste.
  • Serve sauce with your dishes.
  • Use vegetable broth instead of water.
  • Don’t forget the fat as a flavor carrier.
  • Use dried or pickled products for an intense aroma.
  • Onions and garlic add heartiness.
  • Fry instead of cooking.
  • Use fresh produce.
  • Be brave and try new things.

While we eat apples all year round, autumn time is clearly also pear time. The fruit is now in season and tastes great either on its own or as an ingredient in savory or sweet dishes. We give you 6 reasons why you should definitely eat pears now.

1. Pears are high in fiber

Pears are among the most fiber-rich fruits. A medium-sized fruit contains about 6 grams of fiber. We should consume around 25 to 30 grams of fiber every day. Eating a pear every day, therefore, makes an important contribution to achieving this goal. Dietary fiber is important for digestion and also keeps you full for longer.

2. Pears are rich in vitamins

Pears contain a lot of vitamins that you can use in the autumn and winter time. It is not uncommon for people to catch a cold or the flu during this time. Not only vitamins A and C and various B vitamins are contained in pears, but the fruit also scores with minerals such as sulfur, copper, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and phosphorus.

3. Pears are easy to digest

Pears contain only about one to three grams of fruit acid per liter, so they taste sweeter than apples and are therefore among the most easily digestible types of fruit. Due to their stomach-friendliness, they are particularly suitable for children and babies, but also for sick or elderly people.

4. Pears are low in fat

Although there are lower-calorie types of fruit, pears are very low in fat. The fruits bring it to just half a gram of fat per 100 grams.

5. Pears contain Potassium & Calcium

Apples are often compared to pears. When it comes to the calorie balance, apples perform better, because a medium-sized apple has about 68 calories, while a pear has about 73 calories, but the autumn fruit scores points in terms of minerals. In addition to the minerals mentioned above, pears also have plenty of potassium and calcium. They therefore particularly stimulate the metabolism and have a purifying and draining effect.

6. Pears are rich in boron

Pears also contain the important and mostly neglected mineral boron. This is relevant for the body to store calcium. Calcium is particularly important for bone formation.

Is it easy to freeze meat? In principle yes, but you should follow a few rules so that the meat stays fresh and no germs develop.

Freezing meat: the most important steps

Step 1: Pat the meat dry with some paper towels.
Step 2: Take a suitable freezer bag* and make sure that the pieces of meat are as separate as possible and at the same time as flat and dense as possible. The flatter it is, the faster it can be thawed again later.
Step 3: Then pack your meat as airtight as possible to prevent germs and freezer burns. The easiest way to do this is with a vacuum sealer*
Step 4: The meat should be frozen as soon as possible. If you have it, you can use your freezer’s “super frost” function.
Attention: There is something special about minced meat. It is considered to be particularly susceptible to germs. Therefore, the cold chain must be maintained and the meat should be frozen promptly. Also, it should be packed flat and tightly in small portions.
How long the meat can stay frozen depends on the variety

Defrost meat: how to do it!

There are also a few aspects to consider when defrosting, because bacteria and germs can spoil the meat. Also, slow thawing means less liquid is lost, which helps preserve flavor.
Step 1: Plan your next meal ahead of time as it is advisable to leave the meat in the fridge overnight
But if it has to be done quickly, the packaged meat can be placed in cold water. Alternatively, it can be defrosted in the microwave.
Step 2: Drain off the defrosting liquid and pat the meat dry with paper towels.
Step 2: Process the thawed meat promptly.
It is important: Do not refreeze the thawed, raw meat, otherwise the meat loses quality and you risk the development of harmful germs.
Tip: In addition to raw meat, you can also freeze many other foods such as cheese, rice, pasta or butter!

It stands or hangs in almost every household, the kitchen roll. Simply tear off, wipe and throw away after use. We show why this is bad for the environment and what alternatives there are.

Environmental problems and pollutants from paper production

Paper consumption is increasing worldwide. The industrialized nations in particular consume paper in large quantities. Most of it is sanitary paper: toilet paper, napkins, handkerchiefs and kitchen rolls. Every German uses around 19 kilos of hygienic paper a year (as of 2020). The Federal Environment Agency estimates that every fifth tree felled worldwide is turned into paper.

A large part of the paper fibers for our sanitary paper market come from abroad. For example from Brazil – partly from ecologically controversial plantations. Thousands of hectares of rainforest are cleared there for our kitchen rolls and replaced by plantations. We urgently need these forests to preserve biodiversity and for climate protection.

What can you do?

A first step: Use kitchen paper sparingly
Buy recycled products. Look out for the blue angel mark for the eco-friendly kitchen roll. This logo guarantees you that the product really is made from 100% recycled paper and without any harmful chemicals. According to consumer advice centers, the FSC or PEFC seals of quality are less recommended: They only partially guarantee waste paper in products and do not sufficiently take other environmental criteria (such as energy consumption or the use of chemicals) into account.

The ecological balance of recycled paper is definitely worthwhile: products made from waste paper save around 50% energy and 67% water during production compared to those made from fresh wood fibers. And of course they save wood. Recycled paper is definitely better for the environment. But you use a here too

Reuse instead of throwing away

Washable, reusable paper towels are now available. This is either made of fabric or bamboo. Bamboo is currently considered an environmentally friendly raw material. It grows back much faster than wood. But he has other transport routes, as he currently comes mainly from China. Beeswax towels are also offered as a kitchen roll substitute. If you use washable kitchen paper, you definitely produce less waste.

Or simply use long-lasting cotton towels. You can wash them and use them several times

And if you’re using discarded kitchen towels or old t-shirts, you don’t have to buy anything. This is of course also cost-saving. With such upcycling you are trendy and do something for the environment.

Wrongly fueled the car – this has happened to many. This mistake can have expensive consequences. What to do now to avoid the worst.

Do this if you misfuel

The engine jerks and makes strange noises when driving? The engine warning light comes on or flashes? These can be signs that you have misfuelled. In such cases, switch off the engine and ignition immediately and notify your workshop or a towing service. Because in the worst case, incorrect refueling can lead to an engine defect and thus to a total loss. It often leads to damage to injectors, filters, fuel lines and pumps.

In order to avoid this fatal damage, it is best to act as early as possible. As soon as you realize you are filling up with the wrong fuel, stop filling the tank immediately. Never turn on the ignition or the engine. In the operating instructions you can read what needs to be done now.

How to intervene depends on which vehicle you drive and what fuel was used. If you’ve run diesel into a petrol engine, you might get lucky. In most cases the tank can be pumped out. Depending on the engine and the amount of wrong fuel, it is also possible to drive on slowly and gradually top up with the correct fuel. Nevertheless, damage to the vehicle can occur.

High costs when there is petrol in the diesel

The situation is different if you have filled up with petrol instead of diesel. If the engine has already been put into operation after incorrect fueling, repairs can cost several thousand euros. Total damage to the pump often occurs. Drivers of older diesel cars may be able to get away with it, a small amount of petrol usually does not harm these vehicles. If you haven’t started the engine yet, pumping it out can help.

Of course it can also happen that you make a mistake within the types of petrol. For example, if you fill up with Super E10 instead of E5, you can fill up the rest of the tank with Super Plus if you only have a small amount. This fuel is particularly low in ethanol, so that a harmless mixture can be prepared initially. But it can also be the case here that the fuel has to be pumped out.

If you don’t notice the mistake in time, it can get quite expensive. The towing service alone costs at least 120 euros. In addition, pumping out and rinsing out the fuel system costs about 150 to 200 euros. If vehicle parts have to be replaced, this can even cost up to 3000 euros. Neither the liability insurance nor the partially or fully comprehensive insurance will pay for your faux pas. You can only get the costs reimbursed if you have a motor vehicle protection letter.

Everything that lives must die. But how can you prepare for the inevitable?

What is to be settled?

With every second that passes, the moment of death draws nearer. You suppress it, don’t want to admit it. And yet it is inevitable. Perhaps a visit to the doctor will make you realize the fact that your lifetime is coming to an end. At least now you will realize that life is finite. But can you really prepare for your death?

First of all, it is important to regulate certain things. What happens after death? Is everything settled? Here is a 7-point plan:
Store documents clearly: insurance policies, family book, bank documents and also a list of passwords for online banking, social networks or other online accounts.
Make a will: notary public or handwritten. If handwritten, this should be placed with the documents or officially stored.
Appoint an executor: This means a person who implements the will.
State your funeral preferences: How would you like to be buried?
Declare Pet Inheritance: If you have a pet, who should take care of it after death?
Bequeath objects during your lifetime: It is best to decide who should get what in a discussion group.

The last will

You don’t think about it when you’re young. But when you die, you leave something behind. This often leads to arguments. A will can help with that. It may make sense to write it earlier in life. There are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, it does not necessarily have to be written by a notary, you can write it yourself. But you have to follow certain rules here. And what are the advantages and disadvantages?

The handwritten will
can be written alone. No other person is necessary.
can be written anytime, anywhere. It will not be charged.
can be kept at home or kept at the district court (approx. €75.00).
can be changed, destroyed or revoked at any time.
may be unclear or even invalid because it was written by a layperson.
can be lost, not found or counterfeited.

The notarial will:
Legal advice and legally secure preparation by a notary.
An appointment with the notary is necessary.
The document is officially stored.
A change can be made by a notary. A revocation occurs through withdrawal from official custody.
There are notary fees for the creation and modification.
Official custody ensures that the will is found and not forged.
Married couples can draw up a joint will for inheritance.
Most often, couples with children choose the so-called Berlin will: According to this, the longer surviving inherited everything. Only after his death do the children inherit.
If the testator is very wealthy, the Berlin will can have tax disadvantages.

How do you prepare yourself for death?

But how can you mentally adjust to death? It doesn’t matter if you got a message about the approaching end.

Accept that you will die. It’s useless to quarrel with fate. You may think it’s unfair, especially when you get the news that you may not have much longer to live. You must come to the realization that everyone dies. Ultimately, there is nothing unfair about that.
Use your time. Think about what you really want. Go to places you want to see, meet people you love. Is it really important to work even more overtime just to buy yourself things you don’t need?
Eliminate misunderstandings. Remember, this may be the last time you’ll see someone. Forgive all those who have wronged you. Ask forgiveness from anyone you may have hurt.
enjoy It can always be the last meal, the last coffee, the last whiskey. Experience it consciously.
When you lie down to sleep, know that you may not wake up the next morning. reflect on your day. were you happy with it Close your eyes, breathe consciously. Smell, feel the linens, listen to the sounds of the night. And when you wake up, be happy about it. Don’t think about what awaits you that day. Imagine you are born again. take the moment
The world you wake up in will not last forever. Enjoy her. In everything she has to offer you. If you buy a new book, read it consciously. A new pen? It may be that today is the last time you will use it. Appreciate the people and things around you. Everything is impermanent.
Death comes to us all. We can’t stop it, but we can influence whether it frightens us or is ultimately what it’s supposed to be: the end of a life.

Green beans have a reputation for being a very healthy protein bomb. But under certain circumstances, the delicious garden vegetables are poisonous. Even the Bavarian consumer advice center warns.

Why green beans are poisonous

Unlike most vegetables, green beans cannot be eaten raw. They owe this fact to a specific component of the bean: phasin. The toxic molecule is a protein compound that, according to the Bavarian consumer advice center, is found in many types of fruit and vegetables. In comparison, however, raw beans contain a particularly large amount of phasin.

Phasin is actually a substance that is supposed to protect the beans. Plants have a variety of natural defense mechanisms against predators. Some rely on spikes, for example, while others prefer toxic substances. Even though green beans have been cultivated for centuries, they still contain their natural defenses.

The different defense mechanisms of plants do not all work in the same way. Beans and their phasin cause red blood cells to stick together and thus impede the transport of oxygen in the blood. In addition, phasin damages the epithelial cells in the intestine and thus disrupts the absorption of nutrients.

What does eating raw beans do?

The phasin thus hits sensitive areas in the body and can cause significant reactions. However, the reaction to the poison depends on the amount consumed. Eating some raw beans can cause mild stomach upset, intestinal inflammation, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Consuming large amounts of raw beans can also lead to death. According to the Bavarian Consumer Center, the first symptoms appear after about two to three hours. However, signs of bean poisoning can vary in severity.

Because of their low body weight, children are particularly at risk. For them, a very small amount of 5 to 6 raw beans is enough to be deadly. Children should therefore be made aware of the danger if, for example, they play with beans in a garden. Should a case of poisoning nevertheless occur, medical advice must be obtained as quickly as possible, if necessary via the poison control center.

Phasin poisoning is easy to prevent

For all bean lovers, however, the all-clear is clear: fortunately, phasin is not very persistent
Incidentally, the steam cooker often used for vegetables is not suitable for beans. The gentle cooking process does not reach the required temperature to completely destroy the phasin. Green bean blanching water must also be discarded as it contains a significant amount of phasin.

A simple but effective measure against food waste is to store food properly. However, there are many common misconceptions. We explain why your food spoils in the first place – and which common mistakes you should avoid when storing it.

1. Watery vegetables don’t go in the fridge

Vegetables belong in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator – sounds logical, but it’s not always true. In fact, it is a question of the variety: Cucumbers, aubergines and courgettes are among the types of vegetables with a high water content, which lose their aroma in the refrigerator and go moldy more quickly.

They are therefore better kept at room temperature, ideally even in the basement or in a pantry with temperatures around 15 degrees.

2. Please do not store all types of fruit together

Storing fruit correctly is relatively complicated: On the one hand, it is important to distinguish between varieties that ripen later and those that do not. The latter, such as berries, cherries, grapes, should be eaten promptly. On the other hand, it depends on whether the fruits themselves give off the natural gas ethylene, which influences the ripening process, or whether they are particularly sensitive to it.

Examples of cultivars that give off ethylene are apples, apricots, peaches, plums and bananas. Bananas are also sensitive to ethylene, but so are kiwis, pears, watermelons and citrus fruits. These two groups do not belong side by side; unless you take advantage of the effect to let individual fruits ripen faster.

If you don’t quite understand the interactions and just want the fruit to last as long as possible, it’s better not to store it together in a fruit bowl – even if it looks decorative. The same applies to heat-sensitive varieties that go into the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator: make sure that the “neighbors” do not have a negative influence.

3. Kiwis and fresh figs need refrigeration

Tropical fruits usually like it warm and do not tolerate cool storage well. Mangoes, bananas, pineapples and all citrus fruits should therefore not be stored in the refrigerator.

But exceptions confirm the rule: kiwis are also tropical fruits, but they can still be kept in the refrigerator – provided they have already reached their ripeness and do not need to be left to ripen at room temperature. They will keep refrigerated for up to two or three weeks. You should also keep fresh figs in the fridge – but only for a few days. The sooner you eat them, the better.

4. You have to store avocados differently depending on how ripe they are

Long transport routes and high water consumption: avocados are problematic from an environmental point of view and should therefore not be on the table every day – and if they are, then if possible in organic quality. The poor eco-balance of the green stone fruit is one more reason to ensure proper storage and to prevent the precious avocado from ending up in the trash.

Whole fruits that are not yet ripe are best stored at room temperature without excessive exposure to light – note that avocados are also one of the ethylene-emitting varieties and thus allow other fruits to ripen faster.

A ripe avocado that you don’t want to eat right away, on the other hand, is better kept in the refrigerator, where its ripening process is interrupted – this way it will keep for another two to three days. Extra tip: Halved avocados stay fresh longer in the fridge if you don’t remove the pit.

5. Tomatoes and lettuce need separation

A fresh leaf salad can be perfectly combined with tomatoes. However, storing both together in the vegetable drawer of the fridge is not a good idea.

You actually make two mistakes: Tomatoes give off ethylene and make the lettuce wilt faster. Incidentally, as a vegetable containing water, they are not well kept in the refrigerator anyway; they lose their aroma and go moldy faster.

It is better to store tomatoes at room temperature and keep the salad fresh in the fridge – unwashed, wrapped in a damp tea towel or placed in a freshness box.

6. Don’t put milk (products) in the wrong place in the refrigerator

The door is the warmest part of the fridge – and well-suited for ketchup, mustard and the like. However, what has no place there is fresh milk: it keeps around five degrees longer in the middle compartment of the fridge; Yoghurt, quark and cream as well. The top tier is the perfect temperature for butter.

For cheese, the crisper or middle rack is a good choice. However, the most important rule here (apart from cream cheese) is: do not pack airtight! It is better to use a cheese box or special cheese paper for this. However, you can store cheese slices in the original packaging.

7. Bread needs different storage depending on the season

When it comes to bread, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for proper storage. If it’s very hot and humid in the summer, you can actually refrigerate it to prevent mold. Otherwise, dry refrigerator air does the bread no favors and makes it stale.

For the rest of the year you should therefore store fresh bread from the baker at room temperature – a bread box or a ceramic bread pot is ideal for this. Stale bread can also be used wonderfully in delicious recipes.

8. The freezer doesn’t preserve food forever

In order not to waste food, it is a good idea to freeze leftovers before they spoil. So you can store them for a particularly long time – but not indefinitely. What many do not know: food in the freezer lasts for different lengths of time.

You should freeze fruit and vegetables for around 11 to 15 months, beef and poultry can be preserved for 9 to 12 months – fish and fatty meat for only 6 to 9 months. It is best to label containers in the freezer with information about the contents and the date: this way you can keep track of everything.

How does food go bad anyway?

Certain natural changes can spoil our food. The most common of these is microbial: moulds, yeasts or bacteria ensure that food goes mouldy, rots, ferments or becomes sour. Physical influences such as temperature, time or humidity cause the bread to dry out or the lettuce to wilt. And chemical and biochemical changes lead, for example, to fat becoming rancid through contact with oxygen or to enzymes in food breaking down vitamins, colorings and flavorings.

The good news is that when we buy fresh food, we can influence how long it lasts by storing it optimally. For example, the refrigerator slows down the cell metabolism of food and allows microorganisms to grow more slowly. A pantry or pantry protects against sunlight and moisture, delaying spoilage. We just have to learn to use these achievements properly.