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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.

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.

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.

Food

These 6 Foods are the Worst for the Climate

What does nutrition have to do with climate protection? Lots: certain foods are bad for the climate because of how they are produced. We present the six most climate-damaging foods and show how you can make your diet more climate-friendly.

1. Butter

Even if it is a vegetarian product, butter is considered the number one climate killer. According to the Öko-Test, around 24 kilograms of CO2 equivalents are emitted for the conventional production of one kilogram of butter. A CO2 equivalent indicates how much a certain mass of a greenhouse gas (e.g. methane) contributes to global warming. To do this, it is compared with the same amount of CO2. Thus, the value of the CO2 equivalent describes the share of a product in the greenhouse effect.

The climate-damaging effect of butter is due in particular to the fact that, according to Öko-Test, around 18 liters of milk are required for one kilogram of butter. This in turn means that many cows have to be kept. A large amount of greenhouse gases are already released during the production of the required animal feed. In addition, cows emit methane gas during digestion, which is even more harmful to the climate than CO2.

2. Beef

Beef is the most climate-damaging type of meat and, with around 13 kilograms of CO2 equivalents, has a CO2 balance four times as high as that of poultry or pork. This is also due to the way the cattle are kept. The value is only lower than that of butter because beef cattle live significantly shorter lives than dairy cows. Another disadvantage: in terms of water consumption, beef ranks third after cocoa and coffee.

3. More from the cow: cheese and cream

Other foods, for the production of which cattle have to be kept, also have a drastic effect on the climate. On average, 8.5 CO2 equivalents are required for the production of cheese and 7.6 for cream. In order to improve these values at least a little, it is advisable to use products with a low fat content. Because the higher the fat content of a dairy product, the more milk is needed to make it.

4. Vegan, but harmful to the climate: frozen fries

With 5.7 kilos of CO2 equivalents, a mostly even vegan product is in fourth place among the most climate-damaging foods. However, the reason for this is not the potatoes themselves, but the complex production of the fries, which have to be dried, deep-fried and frozen. A lot of energy is required for these processes. Incidentally, this also applies to dry powder for mashed potatoes, the production of which requires around 3.8 kilograms of CO2 equivalents.

However, you don’t have to do without fries and mashed potatoes completely, you can easily make both yourself. This is not only more climate-friendly, but also healthier.

5. Chocolate

As a popular sweet, chocolate is good for the soul, but very bad for the climate. 3.5 kilos of CO2 equivalents are caused for one kilogram of chocolate. Their climate-damaging effect is due to these two factors:

Chocolate often contains milk, the production of which is harmful to the climate due to the greenhouse gases released, as described above. More milk in the chocolate means more CO2.
In addition, chocolate products often contain palm oil. In many areas, rainforests are being cleared on a large scale to make way for palm oil plantations. The carbon that the rainforest had stored then escapes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
In addition, chocolate consists largely of cocoa, which requires large amounts of water to produce. It takes up to 27,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cocoa beans, and there is around 1,700 liters of water in a bar of chocolate. Although this is not directly related to the climate, it is also an environmentally harmful factor.

To make chocolate a little more climate-friendly, you should buy chocolate products that contain little to no palm oil. Chocolate bars usually contain no palm oil, but you should take a closer look at other chocolate products. There are also many vegan chocolates that do not contain milk and therefore have a slightly better CO2 balance.

Another tip: It is advisable to buy chocolate and cocoa with fair trade certification. By doing so, you support fair trade, where farmers and workers in the production chain receive a fair wage.

6. Pork and Poultry

With around 3.4 CO2 equivalents, these meats are significantly more climate-friendly than beef, but they still occupy sixth place on our list. The reason for this is that pigs and chickens also need large areas and a lot of feed.

The feed is often imported, which means that large amounts of CO2 emissions are released during transport. In certain areas (e.g. in Brazil), large areas of rainforest are also cleared for the cultivation of fodder plants.

If you want to do something good for the climate, animals and the environment, you should reconsider your meat consumption and consider how you could reduce it. You don’t have to live vegetarian or vegan overnight if you still find it very difficult at the moment.

But you can slowly approach the topic, for example by having two to three vegetarian or vegan days a week or by preparing certain meals a day exclusively from plant-based products.

Food

Extrudates: This is How the Crispy Products are Made

Extrudates can be found in many different forms. Examples are oat pops or peanut flips. Here you can find out how they are made and what properties they have.

An extrudate is a food that has been expanded by pressure and high temperatures. This heating and puffing makes it nice and crispy. Starchy foods are usually used to produce extrudates because they are particularly suitable. Examples of this are bran or grinding flour, also known as husks.

How are extrudates formed?

The production of an extrudate is also called extrusion. You can imagine them as follows.

The extruder (the conveying device that applies the pressure) breaks down the starchy raw material through a combination of pressure and high temperatures.
As soon as the raw material comes out of a nozzle, the temperature and pressure drop suddenly, so that water vapor escapes from the dough and air bubbles are trapped in it.
The result is the so-called extrudate. Sometimes the manufacturers roast or dry it afterwards.
The extrudate can then be cut into any desired pieces or post-treated in some other way. For example, it is fried, sweetened or flavored.
The production of extrudates is quite an involved process. You could theoretically make extrudates yourself, but you would need an extruder for that. The extruder is quite expensive and the raw materials required are usually not commercially available. That’s why we would advise against making your own extrudates at home.

This is how you find extrudates in stores – and that’s how healthy they are

You can find extrudates commercially in many different shapes. Some examples:

Cereals (e.g. oat pops)
Snacks (e.g. peanut chips, onion rings or cheese balls)
break bar
Confectionery (e.g. Nippon or Kinder Country)
crispbreads
But how healthy are the different extrudates now?

In general, you should know that the raw materials for making extrudates are mostly industrial waste products. This is the case, for example, with bran or grinding flour.

During the manufacture of the extrudates, the starch is then completely broken down from the raw materials. This process makes the extrudates easy to digest, but it also destroys important amino acids. In addition, the raw materials are highly heated, which leads to a loss of nutritional value. Vitamins contained in grain products are also lost by 50 to 80 percent during extrusion. Because of this, breakfast cereals, for example, are subsequently enriched with vitamins.

All in all, unfortunately, extrudates are often expensive finished products made from cheap raw materials and air. So if you include them in your diet, it is best to combine them with fresh fruit or vegetables.

In addition to the above examples of rather unhealthy extrudates, there are also some healthier extrudates that you can eat with a clearer conscience. These include pasta, which is one of our staple foods. In addition, textured soy, which you can find in the form of soy strips, for example, is also an extrudate. While these products are a bit more recommendable than peanut chips and other snacks, they’re still best enjoyed in moderation.

Durability of extrudates

The extrusion process removes certain enzymes from the products, making them more perishable. In addition, the extrudates hardly contain any moisture since they are dried foods. These two facts make extrudates last a long time. As a rule, they can be kept for at least a year, usually even longer. So you can keep them for a very long time without worrying about them spoiling or expiring.

Food

Raclette Ideas: Unusual Ingredients and Special Side Dishes

These raclette ideas are ideal for a spontaneous, convivial evening. We show you a few inspirations that you can easily implement.

Cheese classic with new ingredients – also vegan

The name “raclette” originally referred to a specific Swiss cheese that is eaten grilled and smoked. Cheese is therefore traditionally an important part of raclette. All types of cheese that melt easily are suitable. You can get tips on this at the cheese counter and at the cheese stand at the weekly market. In addition to the typical yellow cheese, feta, camembert or gorgonzola also taste very good in raclette.

Tip: To ensure that the cheese comes from more species-appropriate husbandry and organic production, it is best to buy cheese with a Demeter, Naturland or Bioland seal.

Remember that cheese is a food with a bad carbon footprint, so enjoy it in moderation.

Fruit as a fruity raclette idea or as a dip

Fruit goes very well with cheese. Sliced pears are a great accompaniment to flavorful, tangy cheeses like Gorgonzola. Preserved cranberries go perfectly with Camembert and are a delicious dip.

You can not only prepare fruit in the raclette oven: Chutneys go very well with raclette as sweet and sour dips.

For dessert you can heat apple slices with chocolate, cinnamon, sugar and other toppings in the pan. With your choice of fruit, you can protect the climate by choosing seasonal fruit varieties. In winter, these are primarily apples from storage and preserved fruit from the region.

Vegetables are great for gratinating with cheese: tomatoes are extremely popular, as are peppers and various mushrooms. Make sure that the products come from the region and are of organic quality if possible. In winter you can use dried mushrooms and tomatoes. Or you dare to experiment with Brussels sprouts, leeks and pre-steamed salsify.

Raclette with potatoes – the classic ingredient

The traditional raclette in Switzerland consists only of cheese and potatoes. As with cheese, you can also try different types of potatoes. Potato varieties come in all colors, from blue-purple to red to yellow. They differ not only in color, each variety has its own taste nuances.

If you use such old local potato varieties, not only does your table look more colourful, you also encourage the demand for variety. The variety of varieties continues to decrease, since it is easier for large agricultural companies to grow a few highly bred varieties. If you, as a customer, actively ask about old varieties, the producers have an incentive to focus more on these varieties again.

Eat raclette – have fun

Raclette is not just about the food, but above all about being together and having fun preparing food.

For even more raclette ideas, you can encourage your guests to bring surprise ingredients: each guest brings an unusual ingredient. So that you don’t always put the same ingredients on the table, you can think of a motto for the surprise ingredient: Homemade products such as home-pickled vegetables or home-made vegetable chips as side dishes, ingredients typical of a specific region such as beans and corn for Mexican cuisine.

Food

11 Foods You’re Better Off Avoiding in Winter

Our kitchen and fridge are full, even in winter – but often with the wrong food.

If you shop correctly, you are not only doing something for your health, but also for the environment and fair working conditions.

Strawberries

Strawberries now mostly come from abroad. For example from Spain, where strawberry plantations have fallen into disrepute due to exploitative working conditions, the massive use of pesticides and questionable irrigation methods. Or they are even imported from Israel or California.

The following applies to strawberries from Germany: don’t be fooled! In autumn and winter they ripen in this country only with a considerable expenditure of energy. Above all, the power consumption for the artificial lighting is enormous.

In our Utopia seasonal calendar you can find out which fruit and vegetables you can buy from local growers.

Imported apples

What is more ecological: an imported apple from New Zealand or a local apple from cold storage? This question is a well-known ecological dilemma – luckily we can’t care until about mid-December.

Until then, there are fresh apples from the region that do not have to be cooled using a lot of energy, for example Cox Orange, Jonagold, Elstar, Berlepsch. So there really is no need for apples from overseas.

In our photo series “Determining apple varieties”, you will mainly find apple varieties that also grow here.

Green salads

When it’s cold, green lettuces (like lettuce, batavia, iceberg lettuce) come out of the heated greenhouse and end up in stores “immature”. That is why they have less taste and also contain fewer healthy nutrients such as vitamins and phytochemicals.

There are still enough lettuce in season in Germany, for example lamb’s lettuce, chicory, radicchio, endive or purslane.

Imported Nuts

Most of the nuts in our stores come from far away: peanuts from the US and Israel, walnuts from California, almonds from the US and Spain, cashews from India.

Therefore, especially in the autumn and winter months, we should eat varieties that also grow in our area (and that can be stored without using a lot of energy). So: walnuts and hazelnuts from Germany.

Conventional citrus

Even if it says “untreated” – residues of pesticides and preservatives are regularly found in conventional oranges, tangerines and lemons.

Manufacturers use tricks so that they do not have to specify the chemical treatment: Sprays that are normally applied to the fruit after harvesting are already sprayed on the lemons and oranges hanging on the tree.

So: better buy organic and fair!

Conventional ACE juice

An extra portion of vitamins for an intact immune system? Better not with conventional ACE juice. The fruit content is usually only between 20 and 60 percent. For this, water, sugar or sweeteners and vitamins are added. These vitamins often come from the laboratory, and their use is also highly controversial.

If you want to take vitamins in liquid form, it is better to drink organic not-from-concentrate juices – they are healthier and are usually bottled during the respective season. Or try one of our healthy winter smoothie recipes made with seasonal ingredients.

Tomatoes

We like to eat them all year round. But in the cold season, almost all of our tomatoes come from the Netherlands, Spain and France, where they are grown in greenhouses with high energy consumption.

Better: Avoid “fresh” tomatoes in winter and use organic tomatoes that have been strained in a glass jar for pasta, pizza, etc. These are harvested when ripe and therefore not only taste better than winter imports, but also contain more nutrients. But it’s better to take a closer look when you’re shopping, because glass and canned tomatoes often come from China and have been transported long distances.

Cucumbers

The same applies to cucumbers as to tomatoes. They are popular all year round, but we only have season from June to the end of October. In winter there are greenhouse imports and that means less healthy nutrients, problematic production conditions and long transport routes.

Another reason that speaks against cucumbers in winter: In some supermarkets you can now only find them wrapped in plastic. The supermarkets justify that the cucumbers would be better protected during transport.

We show you how you can avoid packaging in the supermarket instead.

Zucchini

Although zucchini is a pumpkin plant, it is only in season here from June to the end of October. “Real” pumpkins such as Hokkaido or Butternut, on the other hand, are available until December and from then on as stock goods from local cultivation.

We show which pumpkins you can also eat with the skin. You can also try this delicious, warming pumpkin soup recipe.

Conventional tea

Black and green tea comes mainly from China, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. Working conditions on conventional plantations are often miserable. Exploitation, discrimination and poverty are the order of the day. The massive use of pesticides harms the environment and workers, residues end up in our cup.

You should therefore buy black and green tea from fair trade and with the EU organic seal. Or: prefer herbal teas made from local herbs.

Imported Grapes

From November, grapes mostly come from South Africa, India, Chile, Peru or Brazil. Because they do not ripen, they are harvested fresh and then transported to us by ship. Depending on the place of origin, this can take up to three weeks – and that’s it with the freshness.

Conventional grapes are also often contaminated with pesticides because vines are susceptible to fungi, lice, mites and other pests. Not only do we suffer from this, but also the environment. You should therefore only buy the fruit regionally, during the season and in organic quality.

Food

Whole Foods: A Holistic and Sustainable Nutritional Concept

If you’re already making efforts to eat more sustainably, you may be unknowingly following the concept of whole foods. Organic quality, regional and seasonal food, zero waste and much more come together here.

What is the Whole Food?

Whole food is a comprehensive concept of a diet that is as healthy and sustainable as possible. According to the definition of the founders Karl von Koerber, Thomas Männle and Claus Leitzmann, whole foods (also known as whole food nutrition) are predominantly plant-based diets in which fresh, nutritious and unprocessed foods are preferred. The enjoyment and wholesomeness of the food are also taken into account in the whole food. The main foods used are:

Vegetable fruit,
Potatoes,
Legumes,
whole grain products
and milk and milk products.
Meat, fish and eggs only occur in small amounts in the full diet. Unheated fresh food should make up about half of the amount consumed.

In terms of sustainability, the environmental, economic and social compatibility of the food system is taken into account in addition to health compatibility. This means that in whole foods, primarily regional, seasonal and organic foods are used in environmentally friendly packaging. Such packaging can be, for example, plastic-free alternatives such as paper or reusable glasses. Products, especially from countries outside Europe, should come from fair trade.

Whole foods therefore pursue a variety of goals:

It should promote health
increase the quality of life
do not pollute the environment
promote fair economic relations and social justice worldwide.

Whole Food Nutrition Background

For a long time, nutritionists only considered the health aspect of nutrition, which is still largely the focus today.

Nutritional recommendations often only contain the nutritional-physiological and hygienic-toxicological knowledge – i.e. the knowledge about the effect of the food in the body and the contamination with harmful substances or pathogens. However, other aspects also flow into human nutrition, such as sustainability and social justice. A food can be healthy, but its production can take place under inhumane conditions and be harmful to the environment. In the long run, such production methods can endanger food security in the future. Because only an intact environment can produce healthy and sufficient food for the world population in the long term.

For this reason, nutritional ecology developed as an interdisciplinary field of science. It arose from a student initiative at the University of Giessen in the late 1980s. Nutritional ecology examines and evaluates the complex relationships within the entire food system. This system includes the following sub-areas related to food:

agricultural production
processing
Packaging
transport
trade
consumption
waste disposal
There are five dimensions that play a role in feeding the world’s population. They are considered equal:

Environment (ecological aspects: energy, land and raw material consumption, pollutants, generation of waste)
Economy (economic aspects: trading conditions, wages, livelihood security)
Society (social aspects: fair distribution of food, access to arable land and drinking water, working conditions)
Individual (health aspects: balanced, health-promoting diet, physical well-being, disease prevention)
Culture (cultural aspects: influence our eating style, meaning, values, habits)
The aim of nutritional ecology is to gain insights into the conditions and effects of our handling of food within the five interconnected dimensions. Realizable and sustainable nutrition concepts are to be developed and conscious eating behavior promoted. The diet should be compatible in all dimensions.

The practical implementation of these goals is whole foods as sustainable and contemporary nutrition. Since all dimensions are included, it is a holistic nutritional concept.

The Principles of Whole Foods

In detail, whole foods are based on the following seven principles.

1. Preference for plant foods (mainly lacto-vegetable food)

Most plant foods contain more essential micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) at fewer calories than animal products. Vegetables are rich in many vitamins, but provide less energy than cheese or sausage, for example. Of course, this does not apply to all foods. Nuts, for example, are plant-based, but very high in calories due to their high fat content. With a mostly plant-based diet, you don’t reach your daily energy requirements as quickly. This point is so important for the founders of whole food nutrition because obesity is steadily increasing worldwide and has health consequences. Health-promoting dietary fiber and secondary plant substances are only found in plant-based foods. On the other hand, foods of animal origin sometimes contain large amounts of components that can become problematic if consumed in excess, such as saturated fatty acids, purines and cholesterol.

2. Organically produced food

It also makes sense from an ecological point of view to significantly reduce the consumption of animal products. If you want to include animal products in your whole food diet, make sure that they come from species-appropriate and ecological animal husbandry. Plant-based foods should also be sourced from organic farms whenever possible. In contrast to conventional farming, organic farming uses less energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases. In addition, organic farming improves the soil quality, since it pollutes the soil and groundwater less. All this protects nature as a habitat for animals and insects, which promotes biodiversity. In addition, organic food contains a larger amount of vitamins and other valuable nutrients than food from conventional cultivation. This is already confirmed by a meta-analysis by Newcastle University from 2014. The BZfE also states that organic is healthier. Because fruits and vegetables contain less water, the nutrient density is higher. They also state that animal foods from organic cultivation have a more favorable fatty acid composition.

3. Regional and seasonal products

Thanks to the national range in supermarkets, consumers have gotten used to being able to get everything at any time of the year. However, this advantage has its price: Long transport routes are energy-intensive and resource-intensive. In Germany, non-European groceries account for two thirds of the transport costs, although they only make up four percent of the total volume. If you buy regional groceries, you not only avoid long transport routes. You can also contribute to securing the livelihoods of local farmers and support the agricultural independence of a region. In this country, non-seasonal foods are grown in greenhouses and polytunnels, which entails high energy costs for heating. Fruit and vegetables with a long and therefore resource and energy-intensive transport route are sometimes harvested unripe so that they arrive ripe. This has a negative effect on the nutrients and the taste.

4. Preference for low-processed foods

Whole foods stand in contrast to the widespread convenience food. Although whole foods, unlike raw foods, do not require everything to be eaten raw, raw foods still take precedence over cooked and processed foods. When it comes to whole foods, the daily diet should consist of one to two thirds of fresh, raw foods. The reason for this is that many valuable ingredients can be lost during food processing. Many vitamins and secondary plant substances, for example, are not heat-stable. However, you should definitely cook potatoes and legumes, as they contain toxic ingredients in their raw state. The ecological footprint also decreases the less processed food you eat and the less you process food yourself at home. A current study by several universities was able to show that highly processed foods have a negative impact on the climate balance.

5. Fair Trade Food

The whole food does not completely dispense with well-travelled foods. But then you should choose fair trade products. With Fair Trade certified products you can support producers in developing countries and campaign for better trading conditions and against child labor. Fair pricing aims to cover the costs of production, decent wages and environmental compatibility. But greater attention must also be paid to fair trade within Europe – there are negative examples in Italy and Spain in particular. Also read: 3 bitter truths from the documentary “Europe’s Dirty Harvest”. Orientate yourself on the various seals for fair trade. In addition to the usual fair trade seal, there are others, such as the “fair+” seal from GEPA or the “Fair for Life” seal.

6. Resource-saving housekeeping

This point includes several aspects that make a diet with whole foods more resource-efficient.

Green Electricity: The Whole Foods prefer foods that have been produced using electricity from responsible sources. This point is more to be understood as an ideal target, as it has so far been difficult to implement in practice. Producers are not obliged to indicate the type of electricity used on their products. It would be desirable to have green electricity in your own household. Here you have more room for manoeuvre.
Saving energy: In addition to the use of green electricity, it is important to save energy and therefore money in a diet based on whole foods. You should prioritize more energy-efficient devices and consider which devices you might be able to do without completely.
Shopping routes: A car trip can nullify the positive eco-balance of ecological-regional shopping in terms of CO2 savings. Where possible, you should avoid short trips and make purchases by bus, train, on foot or by bike.
Packaging: The masses of packaging waste pollute people and animals all over the world through recycling plants and direct pollution of the environment, for example through microplastics. For this reason, whole food nutrition stands for unpackaged and plastic-free alternatives.
Food waste: This point is also part of whole food nutrition. According to a WWF study, 2.5 billion tons of food end up in the trash every year. That is around 40 percent of all food produced worldwide.

7. Enjoyable and wholesome food

Whole foods have high ecological, nutritional and social requirements. But the pleasure of eating is just as important in this diet. Whole foods follow the motto “enjoyment takes time” and therefore advocates intuitive eating, which is based on more mindfulness when eating. Digestibility also plays an important role in whole foods. Digestibility, or tolerability, means that your body feels good when digesting, which also has a lasting effect on your well-being. Food that is too greasy, for example, makes digestion difficult.

Implementation of Whole Foods

The principles described above can be translated into a clear compilation of recommendations:

Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, around half fresh.
Prefer whole grain foods to white flour products.
Use legumes and potatoes frequently.
Reduce fat intake to a healthy level and use cold-pressed, vegetable oils instead of animal and hydrogenated fats.
Prefer preferred milk (raw milk), whole milk or pure milk products without additives.
Use eggs, fish, and meat (if desired) sparingly.
Make sure the drinking water is of good quality. Drink herbal or fruit tea in addition to water.
Use salt sparingly and be creative with spices and herbs instead.
Choose fruit, honey or dried fruit for sweetening and avoid isolated sugar.
Buy organic, seasonal, local and fair trade foods.
The principles described above can be translated into a clear compilation of recommendations. Whole food is not a strict concept with prohibitions, but leaves enough room for individual tolerance and needs. Rather, it is a guiding philosophy and requires you to reflect on your eating habits.

Disadvantages and criticisms of whole foods

A point of criticism for some people can be that whole foods do not completely do without milk and other animal products. From an ecological and moral point of view, the criticism is also justified. Whole food nutrition is not designed for vegans, but can still be seen as a basis for them. Milk and milk products, and occasionally fish, meat and eggs, provide the body with essential nutrients that prevent the risk of deficiency symptoms. The supply of vitamin D (in case of lack of sun), B12, as well as calcium and iron occurs mainly or exclusively through animal foods. For this reason, these foods are found in whole foods. The health aspect is not the only focus here. If animal products, then in moderation and from responsible sources. If you would like to take advantage of whole food nutrition and eat vegan at the same time, then use this article as a guide and expand your knowledge of healthy vegan nutrition. For example, using the following article:

Another possible disadvantage of whole foods can be a lack of financial resources and poor local access to good food. Organic food tends to cost more money (and for good reason), which not everyone can fully afford. Not in every region (especially in rural areas) there are organic shops or unpackaged shops.

The transition to whole foods should be done slowly. If your body is not used to the large amount of raw food and increased fiber intake, it can react with digestive problems such as flatulence or constipation. For example, if your digestive power is limited by a disturbed intestinal flora, then raw food can lead to such problems. However, it is possible to rebuild a disturbed intestinal flora.

Conclusion: Whole foods as a sustainable and healthy diet

With the food selection mentioned above and the large proportion of unprocessed fresh food, you supply your body with all vital substances. This good supply strengthens the immune system and makes you less susceptible to diseases. Due to the increased fiber intake and long-chain carbohydrates (whole grain), whole food nutrition helps with weight loss and prevents obesity. The degree of saturation increases and cravings are counteracted.

Whole food can be recommended as a permanent diet for all age groups and offers a great opportunity in a social context to increase sustainability in connection with nutrition at all levels.

Food

Consuming Christmas Leftovers: How to Avoid Wasting Food

Food waste is particularly noticeable on public holidays. If you ended up throwing away too much food this year, this article can help you avoid leftovers in the future.

Christmas comes every year. We want to feast on the holidays, but still – and rightly so – not buy too much food. Nevertheless, planning the right amount of food often resembles a science. For most people, too much ends up in the shopping basket and in the bin after the holidays. According to the consumer center, Germans throw away 12 million tons of food every year. Occasions and holidays such as Christmas are often triggers for this.

You can avoid wasting food at Christmas and afterwards with a few tips.

This is how you avoid wasting food at Christmas

Even before you go to the supermarket, a few considerations will keep you from overstocking your fridge:

How many guests are coming? Who eats a lot and who prefers small portions? This overview will help you to better weigh the amounts of food. You can use the portion planner on the consumer advice center website to calculate the exact amounts.
Write a shopping list and try to stick to it.
Don’t go shopping hungry. Evidence shows that hungry people make more impulse purchases and are less likely to stick to their shopping list. This doesn’t just apply to food!
If you still have leftovers, you can store them as follows:

Put leftover food in airtight food storage containers (available at **Avocadostore, for example) or cover them before putting them in the fridge – this way food will last at least two days. You can learn more about sustainable alternatives to cling film here: Bee’s Wrap: plastic-free film for food.
Many leftovers can be frozen without much effort. You can do without conventional packaging and freeze it plastic-free: Freezing food without plastic: 5 tips.
Properly stored bread stays fresh longer. You can put it in a bread bin or in a crock pot. You can leave stale bread in a covered pot with a little water on the bottom overnight. It is important that the bread does not lie in the water, but that you create a distance between the water and the bread with forks or a sieve. The bread absorbs moisture and becomes fresh again.

Use leftovers at Christmas time

If there are leftovers, you don’t have to go straight to the garbage can. Some of the following foods are often left over at Christmas.

You can use leftover noodles, for example, as a soup ingredient, in a noodle salad or as a noodle casserole with vegetables.
Dumplings work when sliced and fried as dumpling gröstl, in a vegetable casserole or dressed sourly as a dumpling salad.
You can dry leftover bread and use it to make croutons or serve it as a toast. You can find more tips here: Bread is not rubbish – this is how you can recycle old bread.
Process cooked vegetables (e.g. leftovers from a vegetable soup) and raw vegetable strips into a layered salad. The recipe follows in the next paragraph.
Store leftover fish in the fridge immediately so you can eat it the next day. You can use it as a topping for bread or in a salad, for example.
You can use old cookies such as speculoos in a speculoos cake or speculoos tiramisu. You can find more inspiration here: Using leftover biscuits: Recipes for different types of biscuits or Using old gingerbread: Tasty recipes and tips.
When baking cookies, you often only need the yolk. You can store raw egg whites in an airtight container for two to three days. For example, you can use the leftover protein to bake biscuits with protein or test one of our protein recipes.
You can make dried-out Christmas stollen edible again in the same way as French knights or use them to make sweet Christmas dumplings.

Layered salad to use up leftovers

This vegetable salad is a delicious muddle of leftover cooked and raw ingredients. Only the snipping takes some time, because the cubes should be very fine. Of course, you can also omit ingredients and modify the salad depending on your taste or what the leftovers are made of.

Ingredients:

1 small can of corn or leftover cooked corn
1 small can of peas or leftover cooked peas
cooked parsley root
boiled celery
cooked and/or raw carrots
cooked potatoes
1 raw pepper
1apples
1pickle
1 onion
1boiled egg
Salt, pepper and spices to taste

Directions:

Chop everything into fine little cubes and mix the ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix everything with homemade salad mayonnaise. Decide for yourself whether you just glaze the salad or take a good blob. Make sure that the mayonnaise is made from organic eggs and that it’s best to use non-chicken shredded eggs. Without eggs and with a mayonnaise without eggs, the salad can also be enjoyed by vegans.
Season the layered salad with salt, pepper and spices of your choice.

Food

Prussic Acid: These Foods Contain the Toxic Substance

Hydrocyanic acid is a highly toxic substance that is also found in some foods. We will show you which plants produce the toxic substance and which foods you should avoid.

Prussic Acid: A highly toxic substance

Prussic acid (or hydrogen cyanide) is a highly toxic substance that is deadly even in small quantities. The smell of the colorless liquid is slightly reminiscent of bitter almonds, but not everyone can smell it. Prussic acid is water-soluble and, with a boiling point of 26°C, is an extremely volatile substance.

Throughout history, the poison has been used against humans several times; among other things during National Socialism and for the execution of the death penalty in the USA until 1999.

Prussic acid: effect of the toxic substance

The absorption of hydrocyanic acid inhibits an important enzyme in the human organism that is responsible for cell respiration. The result is what appears to be a lack of oxygen in the cells, which leads to internal suffocation and death within seconds.

Just one to two milligrams of hydrocyanic acid per kilogram of body weight can be deadly. The amount that is still harmless can vary greatly from person to person, which is why the tolerance range of the human body is quite wide at 1-60 milligrams per kilogram of body mass.

Hydrocyanic acid in food

There are some foods that contain hydrocyanic acid. Over 1000 plants worldwide are known to produce the toxic substance. This serves as a natural protection against feeding and germination inhibitors, for example with stone fruit. Only after the pericarp has decomposed can the hydrocyanic acid evaporate and the seeds begin to germinate.

These plant foods contain hydrocyanic acid:

Immature bamboo shoots (up to 8 g/kg)
Bitter Almonds (2.5 g/kg)
Bitter apricot kernels
stone fruit pits
cassava tuber
kidney bean
lima bean
yam
Certain varieties of sweet potato
sweet millet
linseed
You should be particularly careful with bitter almonds and apricot kernels. Even 5-10 bitter almonds or 10 drops of bitter almond oil can have a fatal effect on children. A safe alternative is bitter almond flavoring. Bitter apricot kernels also have a relatively high hydrocyanic acid content.

Unlike bitter almonds, apricot kernels are not only sold in controlled small quantities, but are offered in 200 gram packs. You should therefore be careful when using apricot kernels as a dietary supplement with an alleged healing effect on cancer, because the amygdalin they contain splits off hydrocyanic acid when the kernels are digested.

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) warns against eating more than two bitter apricot kernels a day and emphasizes that there is no scientific evidence of any healing effects. Sweet apricot kernels can also contain hydrocyanic acid.

Eating unripe bamboo shoots is particularly dangerous because they have a very high hydrocyanic acid content (up to eight grams per kilo). In Asian countries, there are repeated cases of poisoning from bamboo shoots if they are not sufficiently cooked.

Hydrocyanic acid in food: How to protect yourself

In order to render the toxic hydrocyanic acid in food harmless, it is sufficient for you to boil the vegetables beforehand. With a boiling point of 26°C, the poison evaporates during cooking and you can safely eat foods that have a low level of hydrocyanic acid when raw. Cassava tubers or haricot beans, for example, must be boiled before consumption.

Also: Small amounts of hydrocyanic acid, which occur in natural foods, can be rendered harmless by the body itself. The enzyme rhodanase converts the poison into the substance rhodanide, which is harmless to humans.

You should largely avoid foods that contain relatively large amounts of hydrocyanic acid (such as bitter almonds or apricot kernels).