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How to Save Money, Time and Nerves When Shopping for the Week

You leave work tired and hungry and head to the nearest supermarket with a growling stomach. When you see the full shelves, you feel a bit overwhelmed and you start to think: What am I going to cook tonight? Sometimes ingredients that are actually still in stock at home end up in the shopping basket, or you reach for a quick frozen pizza again. It quickly becomes clear: something has to change in shopping behavior! We will help you here and explain how you can save money, time and nerves when shopping for the week.

The advantages of a planned weekly shop are obvious: you save time and money, eat more balanced and less food falls victim to the rubbish bin. With a menu plan for the week and a well-thought-out shopping list (or a corresponding app on your smartphone), you can do your weekly shopping without impulse purchases and endless bills.

5 tips for successful weekly shopping

With our 5 helpful tips and a practical example for a successful weekly shop, nothing can go wrong!

But before you can go shopping for the week, you first have to clarify what should/must be in the shopping cart:

Tip 1: The stocks of staple foods should be checked regularly before you go shopping. Because standing in the supermarket and not knowing whether you still have enough pasta at home for the planned spaghetti Bolognese not only costs nerves and time but also money.

Tip 2: Setting a menu plan for the whole week in advance before going shopping prevents deliberations and discussions in the hectic everyday life and every family member knows exactly what to eat on which day.

It is also a good idea to make a list of dishes that all family members enjoy eating again and again. These favorite foods can then be regularly incorporated into the menu plan. Of course, it is also great fun to browse cookbooks or food blogs together and try out new recipes.

Once it is clear what needs to be bought, it is time to write the shopping list, which ideally should not be written when you are hungry:

Tip 3: A shopping list that is clearly visible on the fridge, or an app on your smartphone that you always have at hand, is particularly useful for everyday NORMAL writing down the groceries that have run out. These foods from the list can then easily be supplemented with the ingredients required for the weekly menu plan.

It is particularly practical to build up the finished shopping list in the order in which they can be found in the supermarket (e.g. first the fruit and vegetables, then the dairy products, last the bread and pastries).

Tip 4: The most efficient way is to do your weekly shopping in a supermarket that you already know well because here you will find what you need unerringly and without hesitation. The basic purchase in the supermarket can then be supplemented, for example, with individual products from the market. Most discounters already have a large range of organic products and a great selection of top-quality fresh fruit and vegetables.

Tip 5: Even small animals make a mess: When shopping for the week, it is definitely worth paying attention to discounts and promotions and planning them for the purchase. For example, if the butter is on sale right now, more of it is bought and frozen in stock for the coming weeks.

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Food

Grocery Check: Is It Still Possible or Does It Have To Go?

My yogurt is not old!

It happened to me again recently. A yogurt from almost prehistoric times was hidden in the back of the refrigerator. Since it still looked normal from the outside, I was brave and opened it. Lo and behold: everything is perfect, put it in the breakfast muesli!

But not everyone is that brave. Around 206,000 tonnes of food ends up in the garbage in Austrian households every year, even though it is still edible. Most are thrown away unchecked, simply because they’ve passed their sell-by date.

Greenpeace food check

In a long-term test that began in January 2017, the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, on behalf of the ORF’s “Mother Earth” campaign, found that food has a much longer shelf life than the best-before date (MHD) would have us believe.

Eight foods were examined, including eggs, yogurt, cake, salami, and soy yogurt, which were 14 days past the specified best-before date. The tested yogurt in particular achieved an amazing result: even 26 weeks after the best-before date, it was still perfect and edible! Soy yogurt, smoked tofu, eggs, salami, cake, and cheese also held up surprisingly well. A vegetarian sesame dip was the earliest to give up, but this was still ok two weeks after the best-before date.

Best before date (MHD) is not the same as to use by date

By the way: The MHD is not the expiry date! Only a few perishable foods have a real expiry date (use-by date), e.g. B. Fresh meat and minced meat. The pack then says “Use by…”. In addition, the MHD is given far too short by many manufacturers in order to avoid liability issues.

Determine the shelf life of food

So we rely on common sense and our five senses. An exceeded best-before date is by no means a reason to throw away food. If you smell it, pay attention to the consistency and taste a little of it, it is usually easy to determine whether it is still edible.

Foodless is more

In order not to waste food in general, Greenpeace recommends not to go shopping when hungry, not buying excess food, and, above all, avoiding perishable multipack offers.

Here you will find the best recipes with yogurt (also with expired ones!). If your expired yogurt is still good, why not try this quick yogurt poppy seed cupcake or these fabulous savory pickled yogurt balls.

By the way: Leftovers from cooking also have a right to further use and don’t have to go into the bin uneaten 😉 Even when cooking with leftovers, you can still prepare wonderful meals!

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Cooking Tips

Garden Party: Tips for Food, Drinks and Decoration

You can easily make your garden party sustainable with our ideas. We give you tips for the food, the drinks and the decoration.

A successful garden party primarily includes good food and refreshing drinks. You should make sure that you choose seasonal, regional and, if possible, organic quality in order to make your menu sustainable and environmentally friendly.

For your garden party, you can use our seasonal calendar for vegetables and fruit as well as the organic seals from Demeter, Bioland and Naturland, which stand for strict criteria in organic farming and animal welfare.

Garden party: tips for food and drinks

These snacks and drinks are ideal for your garden party:

Food: If you grow your own in your garden, you can use your own fruit and vegetables to make delicious food for your party. Raw vegetables with homemade dips for vegetables, quick salads or finger food are particularly suitable for this (tip: finger food recipes). Make sure to use local foods that are in season at the time of your celebration. If you want to grill, then you will find more tips here: Grilling, but sustainable: 10 tips from charcoal to vegetarian.
Drinks: It is also important for the drinks at your garden party not to forego regionality. Of course, nothing beats domestic tap water, which is the most sustainable drink. For the warm summer months, however, homemade ice tea, various homemade lemonades and other summer drinks are also available.
Little waste: You should produce as little waste as possible during your garden party. You can achieve this by avoiding unnecessary packaging – especially plastic. If you need straws, skewers for finger food or similar, you should use them in a reusable form (glass straws are available at **Avocadostore, for example). Glass bottles are also recommended for drinks, which you can either return as deposit bottles or continue to use yourself after the party.

Sustainable decoration for your garden party

With creative decoration you can give your garden party a unique atmosphere. Your celebration will be particularly sustainable if you recycle or upcycle old and used materials for your decoration. Here are a few ideas:

Flowers as a natural decoration: If you throw a party in your own garden, not so much decoration is necessary. After all, your plants and trees create a unique atmosphere in your garden. If you are still in the process of planting your garden, wildflowers are worthwhile. They not only make your garden shine in bright colors, but you can also use them for a salad.
Sustainable lanterns: When night falls, glowing tea lights bring cosiness to your garden party. You can make these yourself in a sustainable way. For this you can recycle old jam jars as well as cardboard and paper remnants or natural materials such as leaves. With our instructions you will be able to make a lantern. Alternatively, you can also make new candles yourself from old leftovers.
Lanterns as light decorations: Fairy lights and lanterns are as much a part of a garden party as the Christmas tree is at Christmas. You can make your garden particularly beautiful and sustainable with handcrafted lanterns. They are a great way to recycle old packaging or toilet paper rolls.

More ideas for your garden party

These tips can also help you when planning your garden party:

Sustainable children’s corner: If you invite guests with children to your garden party, a sustainable children’s corner makes sense. Depending on the age of the children, this can consist of a sandbox made of wood (tip: build your own sandbox) or a mud kitchen. There is also a whole range of movement games for children that can be fun. A painting corner is also welcome. You can, for example, lay out “scratch paper”, which would have ended up in the waste paper anyway. More useful information: The best colored pencils without poison, paint or solvents.
Make short journeys sustainably: Your celebration will be particularly sustainable if you point out to your guests that they can also reach your garden on foot, by bicycle or by public transport and should avoid using the car if possible. It is best to show directions and the departure times of any nearby trams or buses on your invitation card.

Reusable crockery: If possible, do not use disposable crockery for your garden party. This is often made of plastic and produces an unnecessary amount of waste. Instead, you should use normal crockery and cutlery – and only use more environmentally friendly reusable crockery in an emergency. If you don’t have enough dishes for a larger celebration, you can certainly borrow some from friends or family members. If you want to buy new tableware, it is worth doing without plastic tableware and choosing wooden ones instead.

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Food

10 Foods You Shouldn’t Store in the Fridge

Tomatoes, lemons etc.: These foods do not belong in the refrigerator

Storing food properly is almost an art – and the refrigerator is not always the best solution. Not everything stays fresh longer in it. Many foods are harmed by the cold, some simply do not need it cool.

Store tomatoes in the fridge? Please do not!

Tomatoes lose their aroma in the refrigerator and can mold more quickly. It is best to keep them in the cellar or in the pantry – a temperature of around 15 degrees is ideal.

If a cool room is not available, tomatoes are still better off at room temperature than in the fridge. This also applies to other types of vegetables that contain a lot of water, such as cucumbers, peppers, aubergines and zucchini.

Food that doesn’t belong in the fridge: Bread

Bread is best stored at room temperature in air-permeable containers. Without air, moisture builds up and the bread starts to go moldy.

Clay pots are ideal for storage. Wooden bread boxes are also recommended, as bread dries out less quickly in them.

Olive oil does not belong in the fridge!

Olive oil can become flaky in the refrigerator. This is reflected in the warmth, but it doesn’t have to be.

Protected from light at room temperature (e.g. in a cupboard), olive oil keeps for many weeks – by then a bottle is usually gone anyway.

Lemons better not in the cold

Lemons and other citrus fruits don’t tolerate cold – after all, they come from warm regions. Lemons, oranges, grapefruit, etc. do well at moderate room temperatures, but they prefer it a little cooler.

You should store citrus fruits openly so that they have contact with air.

Garlic and onions

Garlic and onions are best kept in a cool, dark and dry place, such as the basement. It’s too cold for them in the fridge.

If you don’t have a cool room available, it’s best to store garlic and onions in a clay pot that gives them enough room to “breathe”.

Avocados shouldn’t be in the fridge

Like bananas, avocados are usually bought unripe. “Hard” avocados should be left to ripen and soften at room temperature. It is best to eat up ripe specimens as soon as possible.

Store bananas in the fridge?

Bananas quickly get brown spots in the fridge because the cold damages their cell tissue. They will keep for about three to four days at room temperature if you protect them from direct sunlight.

This also applies to other exotic fruits such as mango, melon or pineapple – better not in the fridge.

Booze

Anyone who has spirits such as vodka, whiskey or other spirits with more than 35 percent at home does not need to store them in the refrigerator. Sealed bottles last practically forever.

Even when the bottles are open, it takes time for the alcohol and aroma to evaporate. Storage in the basement or at room temperature without direct sunlight (e.g. in a cupboard) is sufficient.

Tabasco etc

In addition to chilies, hot sauces usually only contain vinegar and salt – these are excellent preservatives. That’s why Tabasco & Co. don’t have to be in the fridge even when they’re open.

In a light-protected place (in the cupboard) they last for many months.

Store honey in the fridge? Unnecessary!

Honey hardens in the fridge and is difficult to spread. When stored tightly closed, dry, and protected from light (e.g. in a cupboard), honey usually keeps for years without losing quality.

Also, if you keep honey free of foreign bodies, you can eat it practically forever.

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Cooking Tips

Eat Turnips Raw: Delicious and Healthy Raw Food

You can eat turnips raw or cook them. The tender vegetable is often underestimated, but you can use it in a variety of ways in the kitchen. We give you tips for buying and using.

Eating turnips raw: that’s what matters

Turnips come in white and purple colors. In order to be able to process the vegetables, you do not necessarily have to cook them: turnips can also be eaten raw. However, it is important that you peel them first. After all, this type of vegetable has a fairly hard skin.

In the raw state, you can eat turnips with their slightly spicy taste particularly well in a salad or as a raw vegetable with a delicious dip. The leafy greens are good for seasoning, for example in soups or salads. Cooked, the turnips taste particularly good with hearty recipes, such as in soups or on tarte flambée.

Buy turnips: you should pay attention to this

If you want to eat turnips raw, they taste particularly delicious when they are fresh. If the vegetables look plump and have crisp leafy greens, this indicates good quality. It is best to look for a meaningful organic seal, for example from Demeter or Naturland. Then you can be sure that the turnips come from an organic farm that works without chemical pesticides.

If you can’t use the turnips right away, you can keep them in the fridge for another three to four days. Also keep in mind that the main season for turnips is very short: it lasts from May to June. You can find other seasons, also for other types of fruit and vegetables, in our Utopia seasonal calendar.

The turnips probably originally come from India, from where the Romans brought them to Europe. They are now grown in tropical countries as well as on European soil. With your purchase, support regional vegetables with a shorter transport route and CO2 consumption.

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Food

Vegan Lard with Onions: This is How It Works

You can easily make vegan lard with onions yourself. We use kidney beans as a healthy base. We show you a delicious recipe for vegan lard.

Lard is an animal fat that is commonly used in cooking and frying. Butter lard or onion lard is also very popular as a spread. Since lard consists entirely of fat, it is considered very unhealthy. It also contains a lot of saturated fatty acids, which, according to the German Nutrition Society, can have a bad effect on the cardiovascular system and promote lipid metabolism disorders. Therefore, more and more people are turning to vegetarian or vegan lard.

Vegan lard with onions is mostly made from vegetable fats like margarine. We avoid using too much fat in our recipe. Our onion lard is prepared with white beans. These are very healthy as they are rich in protein and fiber. They provide important proteins, especially for a vegetarian and vegan diet. We show you a vegan recipe for delicious onion lard.

Vegan lard: the recipe

Ingredients:

2 onions
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 pieces of bay leaves
2 pieces of cloves
0.5 teaspoon
400 g kidney beans (one can)
40 ml water
1 tsp soy sauce
1 pinch(s) of salt
1 pinch(s) of pepper
0.5 tsp marjoram

Directions:

Peel the onions and chop them finely. Heat the rapeseed oil in a pan and fry the onions in it.
Add the bay leaves, cloves and allspice. Let everything simmer for another five minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove.
Drain the white beans and put them in a measuring cup with the water and soy sauce.
Using an immersion blender, mash the beans until they have a mushy consistency.
Pick the cloves and bay leaves from the pan. Stir the onions into the bean paste.
Depending on the desired consistency, you can further puree the lard with the onions. If you prefer coarser pieces, this step isn’t necessary.
Season the lard with salt, pepper, and marjoram to taste. Pour the finished onion lard into a mason jar.

Vegan lard: tips for preparation

The vegan onion lard is ready in just 15 minutes. You can prepare it ahead of time and store it in the fridge. The lard can be kept for several days in this way. With the following preparation tips, the lard is not only delicious, but also sustainable:

When shopping, pay attention to the organic quality. The Demeter seal, the Bioland seal and the Naturland seal are particularly recommended, as they represent strict guidelines.
Buy preferably regional and seasonal ingredients. In this way you can support local providers, avoid long transport routes and reduce CO2 emissions. White beans originally come from tropical areas. However, Europe is now one of the main growing regions. Since they grow all year round, you can prepare the onion lard for every season. Onions are in season in Germany from June to October. But you can buy them all year round from German storage. You can find out when which fruit and vegetables are seasonal in Germany in our seasonal calendar.
You can refine and vary the vegan lard with different ingredients. For example, chickpeas or kidney beans are an alternative to white beans. Garlic, chilli or cumin also give the lard a whole new taste.
The vegan onion lard is delicious and versatile. You can use it to fry for stir-fries or stews. It also tastes delicious as a dip or as a spread. Sometimes lard is also used in baking recipes.

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Cooking Tips

10 Vegan Foods That You are Guaranteed to Have at Home and That Will Fill You Up

A vegan diet does not necessarily mean just eating salad or relying on substitute products. Because you probably have these ten vegan foods at home anyway – and you’ll get really full of them.

If you want to eat vegan, you now have a large selection of vegan substitute products that are produced as an alternative to animal food. It’s a nice option, but it doesn’t have to be. Because many foods are already vegan anyway and you probably already have them at home. This is handy if you want to cook something without having to shop for it first.

Make sure that all food is regional and of organic quality. In this way you avoid long transport routes and chemical-synthetic pesticides and do something good for yourself and the environment. We can particularly recommend the Demeter, Bioland and Naturland seals, because they follow stricter criteria than the EU organic seals.

Red lenses

Small but fine: Red lentils can be the basis for many delicious dishes. Rich in proteins and minerals, they provide you with a lot of energy. In addition, they are already cooked after 15 minutes of cooking time – perfect when you need something quick.

Tomato passata

Tomato passata is easy to make yourself. All you need is onions, garlic, a carrot, celery, tomatoes, olive oil, and basil—just veggies you probably already have at home. You can find a detailed recipe here: Make Passata yourself.

Store-bought passata is also often vegan, which you can easily recognize by the vegan logo printed on the bottle or pack.

You can use the passata to make a refreshing tomato soup with oat milk right now in summer. You can also use it directly as a sauce for pasta or on pizza.

Spelled flour

Not only is it healthier than wheat, its hard shell also makes it easier to do without pesticides: spelled. Fortunately, wheat and spelled can be used in a similar way as flour. You can easily replace wheat flour with spelled flour.

A quick recipe with spelled flour is pan bread. You can prepare it in just 20 minutes with just a few vegan ingredients. Vegan spelled waffles are ideal for the coffee table: They are also ready in a short time. They are a healthier alternative to cakes, biscuits and the like and taste particularly delicious with seasonal fruit.

Potatoes

It is one of the staple foods in Germany: the potato. With a similar carbohydrate content as pasta or rice, it has only half as many calories.

The tuber can be used in many ways: you can make your own fries, for example. You don’t need much for these and they are healthier than frozen fries. Another delicious recipe is smashed potatoes. They taste delicious and can be garnished with various vegetables.

Quinoa

Filler and energy supplier: quinoa. The so-called pseudo-grain is gluten-free and can be eaten with vegetables or sauce instead of pasta and the like.

A summery recipe with the pseudocereal is a quinoa salad that tastes delicious and fills you up, but is not heavy on the stomach. But you can also make a sweet snack from quinoa, namely in the form of quinoa bites.

Chickpeas

It goes particularly well with meatless diets: the chickpea. Because the legumes contain many proteins that the body can otherwise get from the meat. Your body can also benefit from the high fiber content of chickpeas.

In oriental cuisine, chickpeas are often made into hummus or falafel. But the legume also tastes very good in curry.

Bananas

Many swear by bananas. And not without reason: because although they contain a lot of carbohydrates and fructose – also in comparison to other fruit – the banana is not unhealthy. Because it is rich in vitamins and provides energy.

If you get bored with bananas as a simple snack, you can also use them to make banana chips. The chips are also perfect as a topping for muesli. Or you make a simple dessert: a vegan chocolate cream. A slightly more unusual variant is the banana soup.

Note: Only buy bananas in moderation, because they have been transported long distances. Through food sharing, however, you can often save bananas that would otherwise have ended up in the trash.

Oatmeal

Gluten-free, healthy, low-calorie: oatmeal is a typical breakfast and gives you the energy you need for the day. This is also due to the high vitamin and mineral content of the grain. By the way: Oat flakes are also gluten-free (pay attention to the label on the pack). Therefore, you can eat them even if you have celiac disease.

One of the most popular oat dishes is porridge. Since you can vary the toppings – for example fruit or pieces of chocolate – very flexibly, you have variety every day. Those who prefer a hearty breakfast can prepare the porridge with vegetables. But oats also taste delicious when baked: It is not without reason that the so-called baked oatmeal – i.e. porridge from the casserole dish – is currently the trend breakfast on Tik Tok.

Coconut milk

It is true that coconut milk is high in calories and fatty acids and it does not necessarily score well with its CO2 balance, which is why you should not buy it too often either. However, it offers a good vegan substitute for cream or crème fraîche and it should not be missing in many Asian dishes. If you want to do without store-bought coconut milk, you can easily make it yourself.

A simple dessert is the coconut milk rice. You can prepare it with just four ingredients and garnish with seasonal, fresh fruit or fruit puree. In Indian korma, a mild curry with ginger and cauliflower, coconut milk is important for taste and texture. And if you want a fruity cool down in summer, you can make your own watermelon ice cream with coconut milk.

Cornmeal

Whether for thickening sauces, for making desserts or for tortillas and nachos: corn flour can be used in many ways. It is also gluten free. But be careful: In contrast to spelled flour, you cannot simply replace wheat flour with corn flour. That’s why other types of flour always have to be mixed into cornbread.

But even if you don’t want to bake bread, you can use cornmeal in your kitchen – for example to make tortillas yourself. Or you can make your own nachos. You can also replace potato flour with corn flour in the dumpling dough.

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Cooking Tips

Drink Meal: Why It’s Not a Good Idea

In order to lose weight, many resorts to drinking meals. You had better let that go. The reasons for this and more sensible alternatives can be found in this article.

This is how drinking meals work

When it comes to losing weight, there are now many different ways – from low-carb diets to low-fat diets to drinking meals. They all promise success within a short time.

Drinking meals work as follows: A distinction is first made between ready-packaged products and drinking meals, which you mix yourself with a powder and water or milk.

At the beginning, to make it easier to start the weight loss process, the drinking meals replace full meals. So you don’t eat anything solid and your number of calories per day remains the same.
Since the daily amount of calories remains the same here, you don’t lose weight at first. It is then slowly reduced because a calorie deficit is crucial to losing weight.
After a certain time, individual self-prepared dishes are added again. It’s usually up to three weeks, but that can vary depending on the meal you’re drinking.
To ensure that drinking meals contain sufficient nutrients, they are subject to the dietary regulation. It prescribes a certain amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, iron, calcium and vitamins. In the phase of losing weight, in which you have a calorie deficit, you move between a minimum of 800 and a maximum of 1200 calories. The individual drinking meals only have a calorie content of up to 400 kilocalories.

If you decide to go on a diet with drinking meals, there are a few things to consider. Drinking meals are not always intended for weight loss or weight maintenance. Some are just meant to replace meals or make sure you’re consuming enough calories when you’re stressed. Therefore, take a close look at a product before you buy it.

That’s why you should avoid drinking meals

As nice as the promises of drinking meals are, there are a few reasons not to use them:

If you continue eating the same way you did before you diet, you’re likely to gain weight again. This is the yo-yo effect. In order to make a difference in the long term, you have to change your eating behavior in the long term. It is also important that you move enough. This aspect often slips into the background in diets with drinking meals.
When drinking meals, there is a risk that you are undersupplied with important nutrients. This can happen if, for example, you equate protein shakes with drinking meals or diet shakes. It’s not the same. Drinking meals are intended to replace meals and therefore contain all the necessary nutrients. Protein shakes, on the other hand, do not contain all the nutrients that the body needs, but mainly proteins and hardly any carbohydrates or fiber. But your body needs it too!
Furthermore, you should always follow the instructions for diet shakes. For example, if you cut your drinking meal in half after a while, you’ll only get half as many important nutrients. After all, a full drink provides you with the necessary nutrients. On top of that, you may be lacking in phytochemicals that you normally get from fruit and veg and that are lacking in drinking time.

Basically, drinking meals provide you with sufficient nutrients. Diets with drinking meals still mean a big change for the body. If this does not receive enough nutrients because the dosage with the drinking meals is not yet running smoothly, it can become unhealthy. For example, if there is a lack of protein, muscles can be broken down during the diet.
Drinking meals often contain little fiber. This can lead to digestive problems.
In addition to drinking meals, you must not forget to drink enough. This can easily happen since drinking meals have a liquid consistency. This can result in dizziness or cardiovascular problems.
Drinking meals are very monotonous in the long run. With solid meals and home-cooked food, you have many more options, despite different tastes in drinking meals.
In addition, there is no social aspect of eating together with friends or family.
In addition, drinking meals are quite expensive.
Drinking meals alone is not recommended. Pay attention to the aspects mentioned above, and if you still want to try a drinking meal, inform yourself in detail and seek medical advice in advance.

These alternatives to drinking meals exist

If you want to lose or maintain your weight, these are sensible alternatives to drinking meals:

Eat more consciously.
move more A good place to start is regular walks.
If possible, only eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are full (intuitive eating).
Eat a balanced diet and only eat sweets in moderation.
Finally, it is important that your health always comes first! Do not be seduced by the ideals of beauty conveyed in the media. Being happy with yourself and your body is the most important thing. Also, every body is unique. For some, one way to lose or maintain weight may work well, and for others, another way.

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Food

Food Study: Vegan Product is the Second Largest Emitter

In a new study, scientists have calculated the greenhouse gas emissions of animal and plant-based foods. The study came to a surprising conclusion: the second largest emitter is a plant product.

All aspects of global food production together produce more than 17 billion tons of greenhouse gases every year. Of this, 57 percent goes to animal-based foods, 29 percent to plant-based ones. This is shown by a study that has just been published by Nature Food.

Beef is the main cause of greenhouse gases

Of all the foods examined, beef production was by far the largest contributor to greenhouse gases – with a share of 25 percent. Rice follows in second place with twelve percent. Rice is such a high source of emissions because when the rice fields are flooded, bacteria that produce methane are created.

Considering only the animal products, after the beef follow in this order:

cow milk
pork meat
chicken meat
For plant products, after rice, follow:

Wheat
sugar cane
Corn

South and Southeast Asia: Region with the highest emissions from food

According to the study, the regions with the most emissions related to food production are South and Southeast Asia. In addition, this region is the only one whose emissions are so high due to plant-based foods and not animal ones. Greenhouse gas emissions were highest in China, India and Indonesia. The reason for this is primarily the cultivation of rice.

With the study, the authors want to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through changed management. Conceivable measures are the reduction of fertilizer use and the use of tillage methods.

In addition, the scientists want to investigate how the food needs of a growing world population can be met while at the same time stopping deforestation.

According to the research team, part of which is based at the University of Illinois, this study is more detailed and comprehensive than comparable studies. Because the authors used data from 171 plants and 16 animal products from more than 200 countries.

In addition, they used computer models to calculate the amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide produced from different aspects of nutrition, including consumption and production.

One study author points out that it is important to find out which reduction targets make the most economic and ecological sense. “You want to do everything,” she says, “but you can’t do everything at the same time.”

Utopia says: This study shows once again that we have to reduce greenhouse gases and that a change in diet makes sense for this. Although rice is mentioned here as the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, a balanced plant-based diet can reduce a lot of CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases.

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Food

Low Histamine Foods: A List

Low-histamine foods are important for you if you suffer from histamine intolerance. We have compiled a list of low histamine foods.

General information on low-histamine foods

If you are sensitive to histamine, there are a few general things to keep in mind:

Histamine is either naturally present in food or is produced when food spoils.
Basically, you should therefore prefer fresh, unprocessed or little processed food.
Perishable, protein-rich foods (especially fish, meat and dairy products) should only be eaten fresh. This means that the cold chain must not be interrupted. A few minutes at room temperature are enough for histamine to form.
Many canned foods and convenience foods contain histamines. Therefore, always inform yourself well about the ingredients and cook yourself if possible.
If you prepare fresh, animal products, you should pay attention to a gentle preparation method. If you want to save leftovers, let them cool down as quickly as possible and freeze them. Only thaw them just before eating.
In restaurants, you can never be sure exactly what is included in the meal. Ask the waiter and choose dishes that consist of foods that are as low in histamine as possible.
Many people who do not tolerate histamine well are also sensitive to sulphites. Therefore, when you buy dried fruit, you should make sure that it is unsulphured. Many finished products also contain sulphites.
The following list does not list every single low-histamine food, but serves as a guide. You should also test for yourself whether you tolerate the food in question – this can vary depending on how severe your intolerance is.

Low histamine foods – vegetables and fruits

Low histamine vegetables:

Types of cabbage: broccoli, kale, red cabbage, cauliflower
Cucurbits: cucumber, squash, zucchini
Nightshade family: potato, pepper
Root vegetables: fennel, carrot, celeriac, parsnip, radish, beetroot, salsify, sweet potato, onion
Leek
chard
rhubarb
Lettuce (all sorts except rocket)
asparagus
Low histamine fruit:

Apple
Berries: blueberry, currant (red and black), jostaberry, blackberry, gooseberry, lingonberry, cranberry and grape
pomegranate
persimmon
lychee
melon (all kinds)
Stone fruit: dates, cherries, mangoes, apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums (only small amounts), sour cherries, plums (only small amounts)

Low histamine foods – grains, nuts and oils

Low histamine cereals and baked goods:

Corn
rice
millet
quinoa
pasta
Wheat, oats, barley, spelled and baked goods made from them (beware of products with yeast, buckwheat, sourdough or wheat germ)
Low histamine nuts and seeds:

products made from coconuts
Hazelnuts (only in small amounts, as they release endogenous histamine)
macadamia
almonds
Maroni/chestnuts
brazil nuts
pistachios
Sesame, linseed, pumpkin seeds
Edible oils are generally considered harmless. You should only be careful with walnut oil.

Low histamine foods – animal products

For the sake of you and the environment, you should only buy animal-based foods that are organic. When shopping, look for the Demeter seal, the Naturland seal or the Bioland seal. This is particularly important if you suffer from histamine intolerance. The SIGHI (Swiss interest group histamine intolerance) recommends the following foods for a low-histamine diet:

Low histamine meat:

fresh and unmarinated meat (pay attention to the date on the package or buy fresh from the butcher.)
if frozen, thaw quickly and use immediately
Fish and seafood low in histamine:

absolutely freshly caught fish or seafood; if in doubt, do without it
if frozen, thaw quickly and use immediately

Low-histamine dairy products and eggs:

Fresh milk products, raw milk straight from the farm
pasteurized milk and UHT milk
butter (sweet cream)
Creme fraiche Cheese
Cream cheese (tip: make your own cream cheese)
cottage cheese
Quark (mixed with water, you can use it as yoghurt)
cream
unripened cheeses, such as mozzarella, young Gouda or young butter cheese
fresh eggs

Low Histamine Foods – Spices and Miscellaneous

Low-histamine spices and kitchen herbs:

salt (sparingly)
fresh garlic (in small amounts)
kitchen herbs
Ginger (in small amounts)
turmeric
mild spices
brandy vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Binding agents such as corn starch or potato starch
Low histamine sweets:

basically everything without cocoa and jams made from compatible fruits
Sugar, Honey, Stevia, Agave Syrup. Remember to eat a balanced and healthy diet. Too much sugar can be harmful.
Low histamine drinks:

still water (carbonated water can also cause problems)
Herbal teas (except stinging nettle)
Fruit juices/nectars from well-tolerated fruits
Almond milk or oat milk (other plant-based milks may cause problems. You should find that out for yourself.)

These foods are high in histamine

A particularly large amount of histamine is contained, for example, in:

Fish that is neither freshly caught nor frozen freshly caught
Meat and sausage products that are no longer fresh (especially game and pork)
offal, especially liver
Cheese: the riper the cheese, the more histamine it contains
Dairy products like yogurt and sour cream
Sauerkraut, through lactic acid fermentation (other foods fermented with lactic acid, such as pickles, often contain a lot of histamine)
Vegetables like tomatoes, avocado, eggplant and spinach
Mushrooms such as porcini, morels or button mushrooms
fermented liquids such as vinegar (wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar), soy sauce or fermented (fruit) juices
yeast extract
Alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer (due to fermentation)
Cocoa, black and green tea, coffee (through fermentation)
Dyes and artificial additives in food
Citric Acid Concentrate

In addition to foods containing histamine, there are also some foods that indirectly cause the histamine level to rise. Some of the things that can release the body’s own histamine are:

lots of citrus fruits like oranges and lemons
Bananas, kiwi, pears, papaya, guavas, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple
Legumes (lentils, beans, soy) and wheat germ
The capsaicin contained in chili also causes reactions in many sensitive people, but the mechanisms behind it are not entirely clear.
While the limitations of histamine intolerance are high and frustrating, don’t focus on what you can’t eat, instead enjoy what you can eat. Concentrate your mind on the low-histamine foods.

What is histamine?

Histamine is a so-called biogenic amine. It is formed during the natural metabolism of humans, animals and plants. Histamine is formed in food when bacteria break down the amino acid histidine. Some plants such as tomatoes or spinach naturally contain more histamine, while others are low-histamine foods. Animal products such as fish, meat or dairy products that perish easily can have high histamine levels.

The human body also produces histamine as a partial product of normal metabolism. In healthy people, the organism is able to break down both the body’s own and the absorbed histamine. The histamines and other amines are inactivated and rendered harmless as soon as they penetrate the intestinal wall. In high doses, histamine is toxic to all humans. However, individual tolerance for low doses of histamine can vary widely.

Why is histamine harmful?

Some people are very sensitive to histamine intake. It is difficult to judge whether the affected person is only suffering from an intolerance or whether the body’s own defense mechanisms are not working properly.

In too high doses, histamine can lead to allergic reactions such as itching or reddening of the skin. In addition, it can lead to a drop in blood pressure and in sensitive people to symptoms of poisoning such as diarrhea or rapid heartbeat.
Histamine is heat resistant. This means you cannot eliminate the harmful amine by cooking or baking affected foods.
If you still have symptoms even after eating low-histamine foods, you should definitely consult a doctor.

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