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Finding a Good Hairdresser – You Should Pay Attention to This

A surprising number of customers are dissatisfied with the hairstyle, the service, or the costs after visiting the hairdresser. However, if you heed a few small pieces of advice, you can find a good hairdresser for yourself.

Everyone knows the problem: you move and eventually need a visit to the hairdresser. Or the regular hairdresser you’ve always been to suddenly close. What to do? Helplessly go to the first salon you come across and hope you’re satisfied? Surveys show that many customers leave the store unsatisfied. However, this can be avoided if you know how to go about your search for a good hairdresser.

Use someone else’s knowledge when looking for a hairdresser

First, you should explore yourself among friends, relatives, and co-workers. Listen carefully to the answers and pay attention to details. This allows you to roughly filter which salons come into question. If a good shop is recommended to you, feel free to test it out.

You can also look at advertisements: radio or television spots, as well as regional newspapers or advertising posters, may provide indications of good salons. But be careful, not every advertisement should be trusted blindly. Approach the matter critically and don’t let anything talk you into it.

Look at the hairdresser yourself and make experiences

If you have decided on a few salons in the pre-selection, refine your search. A first conversation with the shops of choice can be very helpful. Call them or stop by in person: ask about the prices for the hairstyle you want and don’t hesitate to ask about the service – is a head massage or a cup of coffee included in the price?

Pay attention to details in the salon: Is the shop carelessly furnished or creatively designed? If you are not able to furnish a shop nicely, you will also have problems mustering enough creativity for a beautiful hairstyle.

Take a look at the employees there: Do you like their hairstyle? The haircuts of the salon employees are often a good indication of how the salon works. If their cuts are not clean, you can actually leave the shop immediately.

Finally, give the store of your choice a chance. Pay attention to the cleanliness of the store, advice before the haircut, the execution of the cut, as well as tips and advice on the hairstyle. If you are satisfied, you have found a good hairdresser – if not, keep looking. Worth it.

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Food

Coffee Types at a Glance: What You Should Pay Attention to When Buying

Whether cappuccino, espresso or americano – coffee is more popular than ever. We give you an overview of the most important types of coffee and show you what is important when buying one.

For many, coffee is the pick-me-up in the morning or the obligatory conclusion to a delicious meal. Coffee is very popular: around 0.4 l of coffee is consumed per person per day. The selection on the coffee shelves in supermarkets is correspondingly large.

We explain to you:
what types of coffee there are and how different types of coffee are made from them
how coffee is grown
what problems there are in the conventional coffee trade and
what you as a consumer should pay attention to when buying coffee.

Overview of the types of coffee: Coffea Arabica at the top

There are over 100 different types of coffee worldwide, which differ in their biological basis.
With a share of around 70% in the global coffee trade, Coffea Arabica is by far the dominant type of coffee. It is characterized by a comparatively low caffeine content and its characteristic aroma. In areas with a tropical climate, Arabica is mostly grown at high altitudes. The largest growing areas are in Brazil, Colombia and Central America.
Compared to Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) is significantly more resistant and faster-growing. With a market share of almost 30%, this gives it second place among the most traded types of coffee worldwide. However, it has higher acidity and tastes less aromatic, which is why it is often used for the production of cheap coffee.
Other types of coffee such as Liberica and Maragogype only have a very small market share. The Maragogype bean is particularly low in acid and has a low caffeine content. The Liberica bean, on the other hand, has a tart aroma and a comparatively large amount of caffeine.
Within the different types of coffee, there are a large number of subtypes that differ in their characteristic taste and contribute to coffee diversity.

Type of coffee is not the same type of coffee

But how is it that we basically only have two different types of coffee, but can’t decide on the coffee shelves because of all the different types of coffee? The type of coffee is only the basis of the different types of coffee, the variety of varieties results from different cultivation conditions and manufacturing processes:
The soil and the climate influence the ripening process and thus the taste
After harvesting, there are various methods of separating the coffee beans from the pulp and drying them
Roasting time: espresso beans are roasted much longer than coffee beans
Often certain types of coffee are so-called blends, i.e. a mixture of different types of coffee. The mixture creates new flavors or ensures that certain types of coffee always taste exactly the same.

Is expensive coffee good coffee?

We can answer this question with a conditional “No”, because unfortunately it is not that simple. While high-quality coffee tends to be more expensive than lower-quality coffee, price is not a guarantee of high quality or environmental friendliness.

The coffee variety Kopi Luwak, for example, is relatively expensive, but highly questionable from an environmental point of view. These coffee beans travel through the digestive tract of civets, giving them their characteristic aroma. However, the civets are kept in cages in questionable circumstances and are often fed only coffee beans, leading to severe nutritional deficiencies.

Pure coffees that come from a specific growing area and are not mixed with other beans often have a higher price. As a consumer, you know where your coffee comes from and you usually get high-quality coffee beans.

Risks and problems in conventional coffee cultivation

The cultivation, harvesting and processing of coffee is very labor intensive and expensive. The conventional trade in coffee has some problems:
80% of coffee is produced by small farmers who own less than 10 hectares of land. The small farming families have low harvest yields
About half of the coffee market is dominated by international roasting and trading companies. These determine the price, in which the coffee farmers have no say.
Increasing costs for cultivation and pests, which are increasingly occurring as a result of climate change, pose major problems for coffee farmers.
In addition, coffee is often grown in monocultures, which are treated with pesticides

Less is more – why coffee should be a (rare) luxury food

In view of the high level of coffee consumption, we would like to point out at this point that coffee production uses a lot of water. For the production of 1 cup of coffee 140 liters of water are used (the so-called virtual water). Very large quantities of coffee are traded worldwide, so that 6% of the virtual water traded globally is just coffee. Although coffee is grown in rainy tropical regions, climate change can increasingly lead to droughts, which means that the lack of water has to be compensated for by artificial irrigation. Coffee production is therefore very resource-intensive.

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Food

Raw and Vegan: You Have to Pay Attention to This With This Type of Nutrition

There are many diet trends that are gaining more and more followers these days, and going raw and vegan is one of them. Here you can find out what makes vegan raw food special, how it works and what you should consider when making a change.

According to the definition from the Gießen Raw Food Study, raw food nutrition is a form of nutrition that largely or exclusively contains unheated plant-based (sometimes also animal) foods. The raw vegan diet also avoids animal products such as raw milk and dried meat and is therefore a special form of veganism.

Vegetables and fruits, lettuce, herbs and other edible leafy greens as well as nuts, mushrooms, seeds and seeds can be consumed. The main aim is to preserve the heat-sensitive vitamins, trace elements and minerals in the food, which is why they must not be heated and processed at more than 45 degrees.

Behind the decision to eat raw vegan is often an increased awareness of their own consumption of food – most raw vegans therefore pay particular attention to eating seasonal and regional food of organic quality.

It is better not to eat these foods raw

Although raw foods are usually on the menu even with a conventional diet, caution is required when consuming raw foods, especially for raw vegans who are just starting out.

Not all plant-based foods can be consumed raw: this is especially true for potatoes, aubergines, beans, rhubarb, elderberry, legumes and cassava – they must be heated before consumption. One of the few legumes that can also be eaten raw is the mangetout.
In addition, the consumer advice center warns against a high nitrate content in rocket, lamb’s lettuce and lettuce and the consumption of raw spinach and chard.
You should be particularly careful when you go looking for wild herbs and mushrooms that you want to eat raw later – there is often a high risk of confusion with poisonous specimens.
Note: Consuming only raw foods puts more strain on your teeth than a traditional diet. You should therefore make sure that you eat fruit and vegetables not only whole, but also grated or pureed.

Of course, you can continue to enjoy all foods that you usually eat raw when you switch to raw vegan food without hesitation – or try one of the various preparation methods of raw vegan cuisine.

Raw Vegan Diet: Methods of Preparation and Processing

Raw vegans don’t just nibble on raw vegetable sticks, they have a more varied diet than you might think: the various preparation methods, all of which do not require excessive heating, result in an amazing wealth of raw vegan recipes.

Soaking: This method is mainly used for nuts and seeds. On the one hand, they can be processed better, on the other hand, certain seeds start to germinate after a certain soaking time, which should have a positive effect on digestion if consumed in moderation.
Drying: Food is dried for several hours in a dehydrator or at a maximum of 45 degrees in a convection oven, thus preserving it. Among other things, vegetable chips and raw food bread can be made in this way.
Pureeing fruit and vegetables: You can no longer avoid smoothies and vegetable juices made from all imaginable ingredients. Many raw vegan soups are also prepared in this way.
Fermenting: pickling vegetables in water and salt. All nutrients are retained during the fermentation process and lactic acid bacteria are formed, which promote a healthy intestinal flora. White and red cabbage are particularly often fermented, but basically all types of vegetables are suitable.
If you’re planning on sticking with the raw vegan diet for a longer period of time, it’s worth getting certain kitchen appliances, like a food dehydrator or a good blender. If you’re just starting out with raw vegan food, or aren’t sure yet if you want to stick with it, you can make most recipes without these expensive equipment.

Raw and vegan – and still all the nutrients?

A sufficient supply of vitamins A, C and E as well as folic acid, selenium and antioxidants has been found in people who eat a raw vegan diet. Deficiency symptoms, on the other hand, existed for vitamins D, B2 and B12 as well as for zinc, calcium, iron and proteins. It is therefore particularly important with a limited form of nutrition such as vegan raw food nutrition to eat a varied diet and in this way to take in as many different nutrients as possible.

You can get enough calcium from a green vegetable juice made from broccoli, fennel or kale.
You can prevent zinc and iron deficiency by eating pumpkin seeds, unpeeled flaxseed and sesame seeds.
You can also get certain essential fatty acids from high-fat foods such as avocados or olives.
Even pure vegans have problems with vitamin B12: The safest way to get it is through animal products. Plant sources are said to be chlorella algae or fermented foods such as sauerkraut – but this has not been clearly proven.
You can achieve a sufficient supply of other minerals and trace elements with mineral-rich water.

Vegan raw food: tackle the change in diet the right way

There are many reasons to consider switching to a raw vegan diet: Because it largely avoids processed foods, the raw vegan diet is considered extremely healthy. Avoiding animal products is also advantageous in terms of the environment and animal welfare. Last but not least, people are also increasingly concerned with their own consumer behavior and are taking more time for eating again.

However, you shouldn’t rush the switch to a raw vegan diet: It’s better to increase the proportion of raw food in your usual diet step by step – this way you don’t immediately overwhelm your digestive system. Stomach complaints, a feeling of fullness and diarrhea are typical symptoms of switching to raw food too quickly.
Inform yourself well beforehand about the type of diet by exchanging ideas with others or by buying a guide book with detailed tips and information.
If you suffer from chronic deficiency symptoms or illnesses, discuss the change in diet with a doctor.
In general, every person is different and every body has different needs. If you notice that you don’t feel comfortable with an exclusively raw vegan diet, you can also reduce the raw food proportion as you wish. It is important to eat a wholesome diet, in which you pay just as much attention to your own health as to the well-being of animals and the environment.

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health

Pay Attention to These 8 Points When Buying Mattresses

You should definitely pay attention to these important points and criteria when buying mattresses. Think about which type of mattress suits your sleeping habits best, ideally sleep for several nights to see if the mattress really suits you. Instead of being dazzled by bogus discounts, elaborate shift constellations, and zones, take a look at the volumetric weight you are being offered: quality over quantity.

The problem with a new mattress

Rarely do you feel so let down as when you buy a mattress? There are countless models and all with adventurous names and features. Every specialist mattress shop tries to make buying a mattress a philosophy that only experts can understand. One is led to believe that there is only one suitable mattress for every person. Because how else can you justify over €1,000 for a mattress? And purely “by coincidence” mattress shops always have short-term special offers that discount their mattresses from €2,000 to just €1,000. An industry that cashes in on the ignorance of its customers. A good mattress can ensure a healthy sleep and combat annoying sleep problems.

1) Know the bargain trap

Unlike most products, when buying a mattress, a customer usually does not know what a good mattress really costs and what to look out for. Mattress dealers can therefore make it easy for themselves and advertise their products with bogus discounts. Specialist dealers boast discounts of 50% – 70% and online dealers usually have discounts of 50 to 100€ up their sleeves. But how do you know if these discounts weren’t priced in from the start? Unlike fashion or perishable goods, there is no reason why a mattress should be discounted. It doesn’t go bad, it doesn’t go out of style, and there’s no new model every year. So always only compare the final price, not the alleged “original price”.

2) Cold foam, spring core, memory foam, or latex?

There are a variety of materials used to make mattresses. When you buy a new mattress, you finally have a choice: Cold foam has been the most popular and proven material for decades. It lets the body sink in at certain points, but at the same time has a firmness that gives the body stability. In addition, cold foam is particularly breathable. Sweat can leave the mattress so quickly. Also, note tips for cleaning the mattress.

With innerspring or pocket spring mattresses, you lie on a large number of springs. Unfortunately, you start to feel the individual springs as soon as the mattress sags a bit. Innerspring mattresses are usually recommended for people who sweat a lot at night, as they are slightly more breathable than latex mattresses, for example.

Memory foam reacts to heat. The body quickly sinks into a memory foam mattress. What on the one hand often feels soft and comfortable at first quickly leads to the problem that it is much harder to turn on this foam in your sleep after sinking into it. Many people, therefore, sleep restlessly on a memory foam mattress. A shortcoming of memory foam and also latex mattresses is that more body surface is surrounded by the mattress due to a strong sinking of the body. As a result, you sweat faster.

Since latex is less breathable, bacteria and mold grow faster here than with other materials. One positive aspect of latex is its soft and springy properties. Therefore, people who sleep very softly like to sleep on latex mattresses.

3) How many zones should a good mattress have?

Zones should help the body, e.g. to give more stability to the torso and to put less pressure on the shoulders. Depending on the foam, this can make sense, but it is by no means a must. Ultimately, it is important whether you feel comfortable on your mattress and whether you can fall asleep well. You have to decide for yourself how much pressure is too much and when a mattress is too soft for you. One should beware of mattresses that are much too soft because if the mattress does not provide the body with sufficient stability, the spine suffers. Anyone who sells more than 3 zones usually tries to fool the customer. Because rarely is a 1.50m woman on the same 7 zones as a 2.00m man. Conversely, this means that the number of zones should by no means be seen as a quality indicator.

4) How many layers make sense

There are no studies that show that more layers make a mattress better. On the contrary: more layers usually mean more glue, and this reduces the breathability of the mattress. There is no rule of thumb as to how many layers really make sense. With more than 2 layers, however, one should start pondering at the latest how many of the lower layers really do not really only have a marketing function.

5) How thick should a mattress be?

Most mattress experts agree that a mattress should be at least 16cm thick to ensure durability and breathability. From about 20cm, the additional added value of the mattress thickness begins to disappear. This means that there is nothing per se against a 24cm thick mattress, you are just paying for something that actually does not provide any real added value.

6) What is the best quality indicator of a mattress?

The quality of a mattress can ultimately best be determined by its density. The density indicates how many kg of foam was used per cubic meter. The higher the heavier and the higher the quality of the mattress. The density has no influence on the mattress hardness. You can only speak of a quality mattress with a density of 40 kg/sqm. Really high-quality mattresses usually have a density of up to 50 kg/sqm.

Discounters, on the other hand, usually only have mattresses with a density of up to 35 kg/sqm. When we were looking for mattresses that value this quality criterion, we were particularly impressed by the Snooze Project mattress. Instead of advertising with empty marketing promises, high-quality materials were used here with the aim of being able to offer a high-quality mattress at the best possible price.

7) Double bed mattress or two single mattresses?

If you as a couple need two very different mattresses, two 80cm or 90cm mattresses can make sense. However, a good-quality mattress usually has such a high point elasticity that twisting movements on one side of the mattress should not affect the other side. You can therefore choose a mattress with a continuous core without hesitation and often be a whole lot closer to your partner.

8) Definitely try it out

Test lying is a must when buying a mattress. In a few minutes, you won’t know if the mattress really suits you. Buying a mattress with a right of return is usually better than a stressed testbed at a specialist retailer. This gives you the opportunity to find out over several nights whether the mattress is ideal for you. You can also enjoy a variety of mattress toppers that are designed to protect the mattress from dirt.

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Cooking Tips

Eating Cauliflower Raw: You Should Pay Attention to This

Cauliflower is very healthy and can also be eaten raw. Here you can find out why raw cauliflower is particularly healthy and what you should pay attention to when preparing it.

Eat cauliflower raw: popular raw vegan ingredient

When you eat cauliflower raw, the vegetable retains all of its healthy nutrients. The vegetable is easy to digest, so eating raw cauliflower is generally safe.

Only people with thyroid disorders and iodine deficiency should not consume too much raw cauliflower or other raw cruciferous plants. Under certain circumstances, these can inhibit the absorption of iodine in the thyroid gland. As a result, the body can produce or excrete fewer thyroid hormones.

Cauliflower is easy to prep and stays fresh longer than lettuce. In raw vegan cuisine, it is used grated, for example, in a Bolognese sauce. The cauliflower flakes are also suitable as a quick rice-like side dish that you don’t have to cook.

You can also simply prepare the cabbage as a salad. Simply chop the fresh cauliflower with a kitchen grater. Then wrap it in a fresh kitchen towel and vigorously squeeze out the moisture. Mix in a few more vegetables and a dressing – and the salad is ready. This not only tastes good, but is also suitable as a souvenir for a picnic or a barbecue party.

Eat cauliflower raw and get healthy nutrients

The delicious cabbage is rich in fiber but it also contains many important vitamins, such as:
Vitamin A,
B vitamins (B1, B2, B6),
Vitamin C, (especially in Romanesco)
vitamin E
and vitamin K
Cauliflower also contains other important nutrients such as magnesium, calcium and potassium.

Cauliflower is one of the cruciferous vegetables that have mustard oil glycosides. These are secondary vegetable oils that are released when crushed. Among other things, they are responsible for the pungent taste of radish. Cauliflower can also taste slightly spicy if you eat it raw.

However, most of these valuable substances are heat-sensitive – which means they are lost when you cook cauliflower. Therefore, it is usually recommended to cook the vegetables only briefly and gently. But you can also eat it raw.

Tip: You can recognize a fresh cauliflower by its green leaves and the fact that it releases moisture when you chop it.

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Food

Eating Raw Eggs: You Should Pay Attention to This

You can contract salmonella at any time by eating or processing raw eggs. Therefore, when eating raw eggs, caution is everything.

Raw eggs in food: risk of salmonella

Many perishable foods that come from livestock can be contaminated with Salmonella – including chicken eggs. Most people eat raw eggs more often than they think: they are in desserts such as tiramisu, pudding or mousse au chocolat, in fresh mayonnaise, in drinks with protein foam and in raw batter. Ice cream can also contain raw eggs.

Who should be careful with raw eggs?

Salmonella is ingested through the mouth. You can pick them up in two ways: Either they are stuck inside the egg because the chicken’s ovaries are affected. If you process such raw eggs in food, the salmonella can get into your body. Or the pathogens are on the eggshell – if you touch them and then put your fingers to your mouth, you can become infected.

As a rule, healthy adults do not develop salmonellosis that quickly – a diarrheal disease with headaches and abdominal pains, vomiting or fever. They only become infected when they ingest 10,000 to a million germs. However, significantly fewer germs are sufficient for infants, children, old and weak people.

Particularly severe disease progressions such as sepsis are rare. However, if you lose a lot of fluids, you may need to go to the hospital. At body temperature, salmonella multiply at breakneck speed. Therefore, the only way to prevent infection is by handling raw eggs properly.

Hygiene rules for raw eggs

If you want to prepare a meal with raw eggs, you should know: Salmonella is something like the cockroach among the microbes. They survive almost everything – freezing, drying out, subsequent cooling and heat. It only kills the bacteria if you heat them to at least 70 degrees for a longer period of time. With these tips you can protect yourself from salmonella infection from raw eggs:
Use only fresh, undamaged eggs for your meal and chill them in the fridge. They should not be older than ten days. You can calculate the age of the egg using the best before date, which is set at 28 days after laying.
Don’t put raw eggs on your countertop and then put any rags or kitchen towels that come into contact with them in the laundry.
Store the finished food in the refrigerator and only interrupt the cooling chain for a short time.
You should fry scrambled eggs well, fried eggs on both sides. Soft eggs should remain in boiling water for at least five minutes.
Wash your hands! If you clean your fingers thoroughly, you can greatly reduce the number of bacteria on them.

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Food

Liquorice During Pregnancy: You Should Pay Attention to This

If you want to snack on liquorice during pregnancy, you should be careful. Because in larger quantities, the liquorice contained can harm the child. But you don’t have to do without the candy completely.

The black snack is known for its tart and salty taste and is made from liquorice roots. During pregnancy, however, you should note that large quantities of liquorice can have a negative effect on the development of your baby. The glycyrrhizin contained in the liquorice extract can also cause blood pressure to rise dangerously. So should you avoid liquorice during pregnancy?

Liquorice during pregnancy: the amount makes the difference

As a rule, you can also eat liquorice during pregnancy, as long as you only eat small amounts. Researchers at the University of Helsinki warn that too much liquorice can have serious adverse effects on children’s brain development. The child’s memory can also suffer from the consumption of liquorice. Further consequences for the child can therefore be:
limited vocabulary
concentration problems
poor spatial awareness
Tendency to aggressive behavior
According to the study, licorice during pregnancy can also cause girls to reach puberty earlier and progress faster. But don’t panic: You won’t harm your child if you eat less than 125 grams of liquorice per week.

Glycyrrhizin in liquorice: Dangerous during pregnancy

The harmful effects of licorice are related to the ingredient glycyrrhizin. This substance is contained in the liquorice root. Liquorice products that contain more than 200 milligrams of glycyrrhizin per 100 grams must be labeled as strong liquorice. In 50 grams of strong liquorice there are already 100 milligrams of glycyrrhizin. You should definitely not eat more than that when you are pregnant.

Because excessive consumption can have serious consequences for you and your child:
During pregnancy, the placenta protects your child from certain harmful substances. Glycyrrhizin ensures that this barrier function for the stress hormone cortisol is suspended. As a result, cortisol reaches the baby in large quantities and can have a harmful effect.
Too much glycyrrhizin can also increase blood pressure. This can promote labor and increase the risk of miscarriage.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recommends not taking in more than 100 milligrams of glycyrrhizin per day. You can therefore safely eat up to 100 grams of normal liquorice a day, but you should be careful when consuming strong liquorice.

When should you give up liquorice altogether?

In these cases, it is best to completely avoid licorice during pregnancy:
If you already have high blood pressure, licorice can make your symptoms worse. Therefore, it is better not to eat licorice to reduce the risk of premature labor.
The glycyrrhizin contained in liquorice can also cause complications in cardiac arrhythmias.
The less, the better: For health reasons, you should always consume liquorice in moderation. In addition, the liquorice used is mainly grown in Southwest Asia. Long transport routes are therefore necessary to bring liquorice to our supermarkets. You should also use liquorice sparingly due to the CO2 emissions generated during transport.

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Food

Grapes Are Healthy: But You Should Pay Attention to That

How healthy are grapes really? They are a popular snack, especially in the summer heat. We’ll show you what you should know about the fruity vitamin bombs.

They are definitely delicious, but are grapes healthy? The first local grapes are harvested in Germany in late summer. Sweet and juicy, the grapes have many fans, especially in hot temperatures. Nevertheless, the fructose they contain has the bad reputation of being fattening. Let’s see what’s up with this image.

These ingredients make grapes healthy

The main component of grapes is water. That is why they are also an excellent source of water in summer. The fruits also contain a relatively large amount of fructose and fruit acid. Other nutrients included are:
Vitamin B6: Your body needs it to process proteins in the metabolism and for a strong immune system.
Folic acid: It plays an important role in the metabolism of amino acids and also supports the formation of new blood.
Ellagic acid: This vegetable acid is also found in grapes and is said to reduce the growth and formation of fat cells and boost sugar metabolism.
Resveratrol: This substance is found in the skin of the grapes and is said to have an antioxidant effect.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C actively supports the immune system.

Fructose as a fattening agent?

If you like eating grapes, you should be aware that the fructose they contain can have some disadvantages. As a guide: the sweeter a grape tastes, the more fructose it contains. The negative effects of too much fructose are:
an increased feeling of hunger, which encourages you to eat more
causes the blood sugar level to rise
If you have fructose intolerance, it is best to be careful and not eat too much of the grapes, as they contain a lot of fructose. Consumed in moderation, fructose does not pose a major threat to your slim line, as long as you pay attention to a healthy diet overall.

Caloric content of grapes

A serving of grapes (100 grams) has 65 calories. That’s why you can eat a little more of it with a clear conscience. In comparison, 100 grams of chocolate have 550 calories. Grapes are therefore very suitable as a healthy snack in between meals.

You can also use grapes in many different ways. In another article you will find out, for example, how to make your own grape juice. Other delicious ways to process grapes include:

The classic cheese platter with grapes: All you have to do is dice some cheese and arrange it on a plate together with the grapes. The perfect snack is ready!
Fruit salads aren’t the same without grapes. The small green fruits can be combined with all your favorite fruits.

Are grapes also healthy for diabetics?

Even if you have diabetes, you don’t have to give up grapes. In small amounts, your body can still metabolize the fructose it contains on its own. So a handful of grapes won’t directly spike your blood sugar. But you should keep a close eye on him after you’ve eaten grapes.

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Cooking Tips

Freeze Pumpkin: You Should Pay Attention to This

Freezing leftover squash is quick and easy. Just follow this step-by-step guide. We also reveal what you should consider when freezing pumpkin.

Before freezing: cut the pumpkin into pieces

Before you freeze the squash, you should break it up into small pieces. This way you can defrost it later in portions. All you need is a sharp knife and a cutting board.

To prepare the squash for freezing:
Halve the squash lengthwise.
Use a spoon to scoop out the soft insides and seeds.
Depending on the variety, you may need to remove the skin.
Halve the halves again lengthwise and cut into small pieces.

Freeze the pumpkin so it doesn’t stick together

If you freeze the squash straight away, the pieces may stick together afterwards. You can prevent this with the following trick:
Spread the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet.
Place the tray in the freezer for a few hours.
You can then transfer the pre-frozen pumpkin pieces into freezer-safe containers.
Put the containers in the freezer.
It’s a good idea not to cook the squash before freezing, otherwise it will become mushy. Alternatively, you can boil the pumpkin, puree it and freeze it in the jar.

Depending on the variety, the pumpkin changes its consistency in the freezer. If you need extra crunchy pumpkin for a recipe, it’s better to use a fresh one. Since pumpkin can be stored well, you can buy it regionally until the end of winter.

Freeze squash as a soup

If you freeze the squash as a soup, the consistency does not change and you have a quick meal for cold winter evenings. It is best not to use any spices – you can add them to the warmed up soup if you like.

Tip: If you freeze the pumpkin soup in portions in glasses, you also have a healthy and quick lunch for work. Just take out the glass the night before and warm it up on your lunch break.

It is best to use up the entire pumpkin

Pumpkin is versatile: You can not only prepare it as a soup, but also as a smoothie, spread or any other pumpkin recipe. You don’t have to throw away the skin – depending on the type of pumpkin, you can eat it too. The cores don’t have to go in the trash either. You can roast the pumpkin seeds – this turns them into a delicious snack.

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Food

Comb Honey: Properties, Special Features and What You Should Pay Attention to

Comb honey is honey in its most natural form: the beekeeper does not process it after harvesting. Comb honey has a particularly intense taste due to the pollen it contains. When buying, it is worth taking a closer look at the quality.

Comb honey is honey that is harvested, sold and consumed in the comb. The honeycomb is made of wax that bees produce in the hive. They sweat it out of the wax gland in their abdomen and shape it with their mouthparts until the hexagonal combs are formed. The bee colony incubates part of the honeycomb. The other part serves as a honey store: the bees fill it with pollen and nectar. When the honey is ripe, they seal the honeycomb with wax. The honeycomb is then “capped”.

Comb honey: Valuable natural product

Comb honey is a purely natural product. The bees store it as a reserve for the bee colony and only close the honeycomb when the honey is really ripe.

During the harvest, the beekeeper removes the closed combs and honey from the beehive and packs them without opening the combs. All the substances that the bees store in the comb remain in the honeycomb. These substances include:
flower nectar
pollen
honey bread
Together they ensure an extremely fine taste profile and also contain a valuable mixture of nutrients and vitamins. In order to protect their honey supply from pests and diseases, the bees also store propolis in the honeycomb. The natural composition of these substances makes comb honey a high-quality and healthy food.

Comb honey: differences to conventional honey

Beekeepers harvest conventional honey before it is ripe – usually when 30 to 50 percent of the combs are covered. It is then thrown out of the honeycomb, possibly filtered and bottled.

As a result, the finished honey contains fewer nutrients than comb honey. By the time centrifuged honey ends up in the supermarket, it is often mixed with other types of honey or even diluted with sugar syrup.

This cannot happen with comb honey: the comb stays tightly closed until you open it at home. Since the bees sealed it themselves, comb honey is also guaranteed to be ripe.

Comb honey from the beekeeper

Comb honey is easy to harvest: once the comb is closed, the beekeeper takes it out of the hive and packs it. He no longer has to centrifuge or filter the honey afterwards. Although comb honey is easier to harvest, it often yields less for the beekeeper. There are several reasons for this:
The beekeeper waits until the honey is ripe before harvesting. For extracting honey he can already use combs that are only partially covered. So he can harvest more honey more often.
The removed combs are missing in the hive. The bees first have to build new walls before they can produce and store honey again. With conventional honey, the beekeeper usually puts the ejected honeycomb back into the hive. This allows the bees to produce fresh honey directly.
With comb honey, the beekeeper has to wait longer overall before he can harvest. There are also special costs:
Only a few beekeepers let their bees build the hive themselves. A wildly built beehive can become quite confusing. To keep the beehive tidy, the beekeepers build beeswax foundation into the hive. The walls already contain honeycombs in the typical form. The bees can use them directly and fill them with honey. Since the beekeeper has to buy new foundation regularly, additional costs are incurred.
So that the beekeeper can better harvest and pack the comb honey, he often also provides the beehive with special wooden frames. The beekeeper can take the combs out of the frame directly and pack them up for sale. The wooden frames are usually more expensive than a regular honey jar.
For these reasons, comb honey is usually sold at a higher price than conventional centrifugal honey.

Eat and enjoy comb honey

You can eat good quality honeycomb with the honeycomb without hesitation. The stored pollen make it a special taste experience. Like conventional honey, it tastes different depending on the type of honey.

You can enjoy comb honey in several ways:
You can chew the honeycomb so that the taste can fully develop. It’s best to spit them out afterwards. While honeycomb is not harmful to your health, it can cause stomach pain if you eat large amounts of it.
When you chew out the comb, wax can stick to your teeth. To avoid this, you can instead crush the honeycomb on your tongue and suck it like candy.
You can also cut the combs into small pieces and enjoy them with bread or in yoghurt. But be careful: If you put the comb honey in hot food or drinks, the wax will become liquid.
Store your comb honey in a cool, dry place. Like conventional honey, it can then be opened for at least two years.

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