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Freezing Porcini Mushrooms: You Should Pay Attention to This

If you freeze porcini mushrooms, you can make them last much longer. We explain how it works and what you should consider before buying or collecting the mushrooms.

Freezing porcini mushrooms: You should pay attention to this

If you want to freeze porcini mushrooms, they should be fresh. When you buy porcini mushrooms, an organic seal guarantees you organic cultivation that is free of chemical-synthetic pesticides. With your purchase you can also support regional suppliers, such as the farm or organic market in your area.

If you are looking for porcini mushrooms in the forest, you should note that mushroom picking is strictly forbidden in nature reserves. In other forests you are usually allowed to collect for your own use, but find out about it beforehand.

Freezing porcini mushrooms: this is how you do it

If you want to freeze porcini mushrooms, the mushrooms should be in an unprocessed state if possible. This way you can keep them for up to 12 more months by freezing them. We explain in three steps how to freeze raw porcini mushrooms:

Clean mushrooms: First, carefully clean the porcini mushrooms with a cloth or brush. Don’t wash the mushrooms with water at this point, because that way they will go mushy very quickly.
Cut the mushrooms into small pieces: Use a paring knife to remove the stem ends of the porcini mushrooms. Now cut the mushrooms into small pieces. Halve, quarter or slice the mushrooms.
Freezing: Put the porcini mushrooms in an empty screw-top jar and freeze the mushrooms at around minus eighteen degrees.

To use the porcini mushrooms for various mushroom dishes, you can heat the porcini mushrooms while they are frozen. If you let them thaw for a long time, they lose their firm consistency.

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You Should Know These Types of Tea: From Jasmine to Peppermint

Many types of tea can relieve colds or strengthen the immune system. Here you can find out how to prepare the most popular types of tea and how they work.

Tea is considered healthy, warms on cold days and tastes great as iced tea even in summer. No wonder he’s popular all over the world. Over time, countless types of tea have emerged: tea was served either as a traditional drink or as medicine. Ginger, rosehip and many other plants have a beneficial effect.

But most tea comes from the tea plant: Depending on how the tea leaves are processed, we get green, white or black tea.

Many types of tea – many problems

Tea is the ideal drink for a healthy diet: if you don’t sweeten it with sugar or honey, it contains almost no calories. Many parents give their babies unsweetened tea as it is healthier than (fructose) juices.

However, you should find out exactly where your tea comes from. Fair trade tea is rarely available in many supermarkets.

Fair: On many tea plantations, the workers are exploited and receive wages below the subsistence level. Abuse and discrimination are commonplace.
Pesticides: On large tea plantations, synthetic chemical agents are sprayed to kill pests and maximize yields. The soil, the water and the health of the workers suffer from the chemicals. In the end, pesticides are always found in the finished tea.
Toxic Herbs: Many herbal teas are contaminated with weeds. The plants are often accidentally picked at the harvest. Often these are poisonous herbs that are potentially carcinogenic.

Teas with a clear conscience

Jasmine Tea: Good for the immune system
Green tea: A particularly healthy type of tea
Lime blossom tea: Good for colds
Ginger tea: Type of tea against nausea and colds
White tea: Traditional fine tea from gentle production
White tea: Traditional premium tea from gentle productionCaraway tea: Tea against flatulence
Rosehip tea strengthens the immune system
Black tea is popular and has an invigorating effect
Chamomile Tea: For drinking and inhaling
Peppermint tea: remedy for stomach problems

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Eat Pumpkin Raw? Information And What You Should Pay Attention To

Many pumpkin dishes are part of the autumn season. But did you know that you can also eat pumpkin raw?
Pumpkin soup or pumpkin puree are classics, but if you’re looking for more variety, you can also eat pumpkin raw. You can eat many types of pumpkin uncooked without worry, but to be on the safe side, you should still follow a few tips before doing so.

Eating pumpkin raw: when is it safe?

There is a rule of thumb when eating raw pumpkins: edible pumpkins are good raw vegetables, but you should stay away from ornamental pumpkins! Because ornamental gourds contain the bitter substance curcurbitacin, which is toxic even in small amounts and can cause nausea and tachycardia, according to the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE). The best way to recognize a decorative pumpkin is that it is much smaller than its grocery store relatives and often a much more striking color and shape. It is also marked as such in the store.

On the other hand, you can eat almost all types of pumpkin available in the supermarket raw without hesitation. According to the BZfE, the toxic curcurbitacin was mostly bred from them by the producers. The following pumpkins taste best in raw recipes:

nutmeg squash
Butternut Squash
Hokkaido pumpkin

Already knew? You can not only eat pumpkin from the shops raw, but sometimes also with the skin! For example, you can save yourself the trouble of peeling the Hokkaido pumpkin before processing it.

Better not to eat pumpkin from the garden raw

While growing your own pumpkins in the garden is a good idea, it’s best not to eat your harvest raw. Because even if you use seeds from which a pumpkin should actually grow, so-called reverse mutations can cause poisonous cucurbitacins to form again in the pumpkin. This crossbreeding is particularly dangerous because you often cannot tell with the naked eye whether the bred pumpkin is poisonous or not.

Incidentally, such a mutation can also occur if you use your own seeds from the previous year. Even with tested organic seeds, there is a risk that your pumpkin will crossbreed with a poisonous ornamental pumpkin that may be growing in your neighbor’s garden. That’s why it’s best to play it safe and only eat pumpkin raw if you bought it from a store.

Eating raw pumpkin: This is how you do the taste test!

A certain residual risk also remains with purchased pumpkins. Before you can safely eat pumpkin raw, you should always do a taste test. In general, only use pumpkins that you bought in a grocery store.

This is how the taste test works with raw pumpkin:

First cut off a small piece of the raw pumpkin. Refrain from seasoning the pumpkin, otherwise you will no longer be able to perceive the pure taste.
Now put the piece of pumpkin in your mouth and see if you notice a bitter taste.
Don’t swallow the gourd, instead spit it out after the test.
If the pumpkin tastes bitter, it may contain harmful bitter substances.
In this case, do not eat the pumpkin raw and do not cook it either! It is better if you dispose of the pumpkin on the compost to be on the safe side.

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Vegetables With Lots of Protein: All Vegans Should Know These

As a source of protein, vegetables with a lot of protein should not be missing in any vegan diet, along with tofu, cereals and nuts. We show you the varieties that can easily cover your daily needs.

To cover their protein requirements, most vegans use nuts or grains such as oats or amaranth and seeds such as flaxseed or pumpkin seeds. Various legumes are also very popular. But there are also other vegetables with a lot of protein.

If you do a lot of sport, it is important to consume enough protein. This is the only way your muscles can regenerate well after extensive training. We show you a summary of the best vegetable protein sources and what else is healthy in them.

Beans and Peas: The ultimate high-protein veggies

The following legumes are vegetables with a lot of protein (unless otherwise stated, the information applies to fresh beans):

Soybeans: 36 g
Pinto beans: 21 g
Chickpeas (dried): 19 g
Edamame (unripe soybean): 12 g
Broad beans: 11 g
Peas (frozen): 6.6 g
Mung bean sprouts: 4-5 g
Snow peas 4 g

Cabbages and green vegetables with lots of protein

Green vegetables with lots of protein:

Kale: 4.5 g
Cress: 4.2 g
Brussels sprouts: 4 g
Broccoli: 3.6g
Artichoke: 3.3 g
Spinach: 2.9 g
Savoy cabbage: 2.8 g

Mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms: 3.5 g
Mushrooms: 3.1 g
Shiitake mushroom: 2.2 g

More veggies with lots of protein

For a balanced diet with lots of plant proteins, it is also worth including the following vegetables with lots of protein in your diet:

Fresh corn: 3.4 g
Sweetcorn (canned): 3.2 g
Parsley root: 2.9 g
Potatoes: 2 g

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Risk of Confusion With The Porcini Mushroom: You Should Pay Attention to This

If you confuse a porcini mushroom with other mushrooms, this is not a problem as there are no poisonous doubles. In this article you will find out which other mushrooms you could confuse the porcini mushroom with.

One of the most popular edible mushrooms is the porcini mushroom, also known as the porcini mushroom. The porcini mushroom belongs to the thick boletus family and lives in root symbiosis with trees. The name spruce boletus, which is common in some places, indicates that the boletus is often found under spruce trees.

There are no poisonous doubles for the porcini mushroom, but it can happen that you confuse it with the common gall boletus and thick-stemmed specimens of the chestnut boletus.

Characteristics of the boletus

The dark brown hat of the porcini can reach a diameter of up to 25 centimeters. The robust, bulbous stem is an average of ten centimeters long and reaches a diameter of two to eight centimeters at the base. In the transition to the cap, the handle is significantly narrower. On the underside of the cap you can see whitish tubes on young porcini mushrooms, which take on a yellow-green color with age.

The porcini has light, firm flesh and tastes pleasantly nutty. Porcini mushrooms do not have a special smell. In older specimens, the pores under the cap are often infested with vermin. Therefore, you should pay attention to this before preparing it in the kitchen and detach the spongy tubes from the cap. The pores hardly change color when pressure is applied.

Boletus mistake: common gall boletus

The common bile boletus belongs to the thick boletus family and is therefore related to the porcini mushroom. Hence the similarities. The common bile boletus is also called bitterling and is not considered an edible mushroom due to its extremely bitter taste. This means that the common bile boletus is not poisonous but inedible.

The most important characteristic, in order not to confuse the common bile boletus with the porcini mushroom, is the color of the pores. The bile boletus has whitish tubes under the brown cap that turn pink with age. The stalk of the bile boletus is slightly darker and veined like a net. The odor of the gallbladder is unpleasant. The flesh has an extremely bitter taste. Therefore, the bile boletus is not popular in the kitchen at all, since a single fungus can spoil the whole dish.

Chestnut boletus vs. porcini

The chestnut boletus also belongs to the thick boletus family and is related to the porcini mushroom. In the vernacular, the chestnut boletus is also called “Marone” because the dark brown hat in the moss looks similar to chestnuts.

The cap of the young chestnut boletus has a hemispherical shape and later becomes irregularly curved. The diameter is up to fifteen centimeters. The whitish tubes, which turn olive yellow when old, are striking and turn blue when pressure is applied. The light flesh also turns blue when you cut the mushroom. This has also earned it the name “blue mushroom”. The stalk, which is shaped like a cylinder, is brownish in color and lighter than the cap and is significantly slimmer than that of the porcini mushroom. The chestnut boletus smells pleasantly slightly sour and is a popular, tasty edible mushroom.

If the pressure point on the tubes and the cutting point on the stem turn blue, it is not a porcini mushroom but a chestnut boletus. You can rule out the additional confusion of the chestnut boletus with the bile boletus by the taste test. Since the chestnut boletus is a tasty edible mushroom, you can harvest it as soon as you have ruled out confusing it with the gall boletus.

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Citrus Fruits: Important Varieties, Effects and What You Should Know

Citrus fruits are popular types of fruit, they taste fresh and are also healthy. In this article you will find out what you should know about lemon, orange and co.

Citrus fruits are among the most commonly grown fruits in the world, according to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN).

Historically, people first enjoyed the scent and appearance of citrus plants and fruits. For example, in the fourth century BC, at the time of Alexander the Great, essential oils were used as fragrances and medicines. Christopher Columbus also had the fruit, which was not yet edible at the time, in his luggage for America. In the 16th century in Germany, aristocrats and the wealthy had so-called orangeries built, special gardens or greenhouses for citrus plants. The first edible citrus fruits were not cultivated until the 17th century. Due to their high vitamin content, the fruits were particularly popular with seafarers.

What are citrus fruits anyway?

Citrus fruits taste fresh, intense and also contain plenty of water and few calories. They grow on evergreen trees or large shrubs. The growth height of the plants is between five and 25 meters. The flowers of the citrus plants are usually white, the ripe fruits are green, yellow or orange. The size of the fruit also varies depending on the variety and can be between one and 30 centimeters. By the way: From a biological point of view, citrus fruits are a special form of berries (endocarp berries).

Citrus fruits are coated in a layer of wax that primarily serves as protection. The shell consists of two layers: a yellowish to orange and a whitish tissue layer. The outer layer (exocarp) contains essential oils. These give the fruit and the leaves their typically intense smell. The whitish layer (mesocarp) contains pectin, a substance used as a vegetable gelling agent. The pulp inside is divided into columns and covered by thin membranes. These fruit compartments contain juice sacs and seeds.

Citrus fruits are real vitamin C bombs. Vitamin C helps, among other things, to strengthen the immune system and stimulate the metabolism. For example, oranges contain 53 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit, a lemon 50 milligrams. As a guideline: The German Society for Nutrition sets the daily vitamin C requirement of an adult at 95 to 110 milligrams. Other vitamins and minerals such as folic acid, potassium, calcium or magnesium can also be found in citrus fruits, albeit in small amounts.

Important varieties of citrus fruits

There are said to be around 1,600 types of citrus fruits worldwide. A reference list for citrus varieties drawn up by the UN Economic Commission (UNECE) (with supplements from the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food) provides an overview of numerous varieties on the market. The taste ranges from bitter to sweet to sour. There are different ways of categorizing citrus fruits. One comes from US citrus expert Walter Tennyson Swingle:

Kumquats: Kumquats are small, orange fruits. They taste sweet and sour and are edible with the skin.
Limes: Limes are green, round fruits. They taste sour. Lime juice is often part of mixed drinks.
Tangerines: Tangerines are considered the ultimate winter fruit. They taste sweet and fresh. The mandarin family includes clementines and satsumas. Mandarins have many seeds, clementines almost none.
Oranges: Oranges are big, round and – as the name suggests – orange. They are extremely juicy and sweet. The orange juice squeezed from it is popular. The term orange is common in Northern Germany. The varieties bitter orange or bergamot are also included. The latter is very acidic and is rarely eaten, but rather used as a fragrance.
Grapefruit: Grapefruit are large, usually pear-shaped to rounded fruits. This variety includes pomelo, grapefruit, and pomelos, all of which taste slightly bitter. Incidentally, the pomelo is considered the archetype of many citrus fruits: the orange came from the pomelo and mandarine, and the grapefruit from the pomelo and orange.
Lemons: Lemons can be used in many ways and refine numerous dishes and drinks. They taste refreshingly sour.
Citron: This variety is considered the first citrus plant to be brought to Europe. It tastes rather bitter and is rich in fragrances. When used, the middle skin layer (mesocarp) is mostly used to flavor dishes.

How to use citrus fruits

You can use citrus fruits in many ways. They are mostly eaten raw. You can use both the juice and the peel. Be sure to use organic quality here due to the pesticide contamination. Some uses are:

Zest for refining cakes and pastries
Juice as an addition to water or cocktails
Juice as a refinement for dishes such as soups, cakes, sauces, rice or vegetables
pectin as a gelling agent
Peel and juice as a cleaner: Halved citrus fruit for removing limescale and dirt, such as cleaning stainless steel pots. It is best to do this with half of the fruit that has already been squeezed out so that you do not waste food unnecessarily.

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Espresso in Italy: You Should Consider That as a Tourist!

Italy is the mecca for every coffee lover. Traditional barista celebrate the coffee preparation and that tastes and you can see. The ambience is also right: sun, rustic furniture, sociable chatting. Word has now been getting around that this fun of coffee is not quite cheap.
But, is this really the truth? A small “Caffè” knig.

Caffè much coffee

Espressoin Italy is traditionally an espresso. There are filter coffee, but you should expressly mention that when ordering. There are even localities in which a so -called Caffè Tedesco is not even served. In principle, he is only offered for tourists in hotels and tourist -close cafés.

The “counter trick”

If you were evil, you could call it a tourist trap. But you could also say that most vacationers are simply poorly informed. Because: For the fast espressogenic nut at the counter – standing, of course – the highest prices apply by law. The so-called “Al Banco” prices are binding for all bars, whether large or small, well-known or alternative, in Milan or in a small provincial village. However, the exact prices depend on the region, although they are a maximum of 1 euro. The prices at the table are completely different. Here the host can decide which “service surcharge” he demands. In Venice, for example, well and also 6 euros upwards. Of course, it can still be worth that. Most of the time it is still the case that the advertised prices relate to consumption at the counter. A look at the table menu should therefore be risked in any case!

Cappuccino for breakfast

Cappuccino strict, the cappuccino is actually only appropriate for breakfast. Because after 11 a.m. it is a bit frowned upon by the Italians. Only imaginable when it’s cold outside. Why it is like that? A cappuccino is considered a heavy drink that is not digestive, but must primarily be digested itself. If you do not want to oppose this tradition, but still want some milk to your espresso, then as an alternative there is the so-called Caffé Macchiatto (an espresso stained with milk, i.e. almost a mini cappuccino without foam). While there is still a tolerance limit at this point, it is an absolute “no-go” to order a cappuccino right after the meal.

Finally, it should also be said that there are no fixed “coffee times” in Italy. Espresso is drunk around the clock and everywhere. Also, the glass of water for espresso is by no means mandatory as is often reported. In most cases, water is reserved for free, but this is not typical of Italian.

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Palmito: This is What You Should Know About Hearts of Palms

Palmito is a tropical and healthy delicacy. In this guide you will find out exactly what is behind the exotic palm hearts and how healthy and sustainable they really are.

Palmito (also known as hearts of palm) is the edible pith found at the top of the palm tree. This so-called vegetation cone forms the base for the palm fronds. The heart of a mature palm can weigh up to two kilograms. The taste of Palmito is reminiscent of a mixture of asparagus and artichokes.

Palm hearts can be harvested from different types of palm trees, e.g. from Assai, Peach or Babassú palms. All palm trees require a tropical climate and grow primarily on the banks of rivers. In 2019, Ecuador was the largest palmito producer. They were followed by Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia and Guyana.

Palmito: General characteristics of the hearts of palms

Harvesters have to chop down the palm trees to obtain Palmito. They then remove the leaf sheaths that surround the heart. A sustainable harvest is not possible with most palm varieties. The vegetation cone usually does not grow back and the palm trees cannot continue to live. There are only exceptions for special species, such as the peach palm. Here some hearts can be harvested without damaging the palm tree. It is usually not clear to customers which palm species the Palmito comes from.

Palm trees are often not grown separately and controlled for Palmito. Instead, the hearts are obtained, for example, from dead palm trees after a jungle clearing. On the Atlantic coast of Brazil, people often illegally enter forests and harvest palm hearts.

Nutrients and Uses of Palmito

Palmito is a low-calorie and very low-fat vegetable: It contains just 28 kilocalories per 100 grams. 100 grams of palm hearts contain:

2.5g protein
4.6g carbohydrates
2.4g fiber
0.6g fat
Palmito is also rich in iron: just 200 grams of Palmito cover one to two thirds of your daily needs. Other micronutrients are magnesium, manganese, zinc, vitamin C and folic acid.

You can use Palmito raw or cooked in the kitchen. They have an aromatic, nutty taste and are suitable, for example, as an ingredient for salads, soups and wok dishes. You can also simply serve them raw with a light vinaigrette as a starter. Since they are slightly sweet, you can also use them pureed for cakes and desserts.

How sustainable are hearts of palm?

In Europe you can almost exclusively buy canned palmito in well-stocked grocery stores. As a rule, no more detailed information can be found about the growing conditions. It is also extremely difficult to get organic or FairTrade quality palm hearts. Even in online shops there is hardly any choice. Due to the lack of seals and transparency regarding social and ecological aspects in cultivation and trade, you should only use palm hearts in moderation, if at all. Because there is definitely criticism:

The environmental protection organization WWF is trying to introduce palmito in Argentina as an alternative to soy monocultures. To this end, the organization works with various small farmers. In Ecuador, however, the organization World Rainforest Movement criticizes that cultivation has led to a loss of biodiversity and more soil erosion and water pollution.
Another disadvantage is Palmito’s poor eco-balance: since they are imported from Central and South America, Palmito have to travel long distances to Germany. This causes a lot of CO2 emissions.

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Whole Grain: What You Should Know About It

Whole grain is considered to be particularly healthy and is found in many products: bread, rolls, spaghetti and many other products are also available in whole grain versions. We show why whole grain is so much healthier and what makes the difference.

Cereal grains consist of three parts: the germ, the endosperm containing the starchy endosperm and the outer shell. Whether a product consists of wholemeal flour or not depends on the processing of the grain:

For whole grain products, all three parts are ground and only the hard shell (husk) is removed.
In the case of non-whole grain flours (so-called refined flours, recognizable by the flour type), the germ and surface layers are separated.
Food can therefore be produced from grains that have been processed to different extents. “Wholemeal bread must contain at least 90 percent wholemeal flour or wholemeal meal in the flour,” explains the consumer advice center.

The type designation on flour indicates how many milligrams of minerals are contained in 100 grams of flour. Spelled flour type 630 therefore contains 630 milligrams of minerals. Since wholemeal flour contains all parts of the grain, there is no type designation for this wholemeal wheat, rye and spelled flour.

Whole Grain: Why It’s So Healthy

Products made from whole grains – i.e. the whole grain – are considered to be particularly healthy. Because there are many valuable ingredients in the seedling and in the outer layers. As a result, according to Stiftung Warentest, wholemeal pasta with a comparable energy content contains significantly more of the following substances:

fiber
potassium
magnesium
calcium
phosphorus
iron
zinc
Vitamin A
vitamin E
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B6
folic acid
The background is that these substances are mainly found in the surface layers and in the germ and not in the endosperm. The latter contains almost only starch and is used to make white flour. Starch is actually a sugar. So if you mainly eat white flour products, you take in more sugar and increase the risk of obesity and related diseases.

Whole grains are high in fiber and minerals

There are numerous studies showing health benefits of whole grains over highly processed flours. According to the UGB, a 2016 study showed that whole grain products are associated with a lower risk of various diseases. These include cardiovascular diseases, cancer and death as a result of respiratory diseases, infectious diseases or diabetes.

In addition, two studies that the medical journal picks up show that whole grain products can help you lose weight: Whole grain can save calories, which the authors attribute to the high amount of dietary fiber. Because dietary fiber itself has no calories, but binds water and swells up in the stomach as a result. This stimulates digestion and at the same time creates a feeling of satiety. According to the consumer center, whole grains contain about ten percent dietary fiber. The fiber also ensures that digestion takes place more slowly. “As a result, the blood fats only increase slowly and the large intestine is strengthened,” says the NDR. Fiber also helps keep cholesterol levels at normal levels.

But be careful: Just because whole grains contain more calorie-free dietary fibers does not mean that whole grain products contain fewer calories per se. In mixed products such as some muesli or bread rolls, many other ingredients can provide a higher calorie intake. For example, chocolate and dried foods like raisins can add a lot of calories to whole grains.

List of whole grain products

There are many foods that are whole grain:

whole wheat flour
wholemeal spelled flour
wholemeal rye flour
pasta and spaghetti
brown rice
Whole Wheat Bulgur
oatmeal
Amaranth (=whole grain)
Quinoa (=whole grain)
Bulgur (=whole grain)
Millet (=whole grain)
Bread, rolls, toast
Cookies
By the way: Whole grain products are usually a little darker because the outer shell of the grain grains is also darker in colour. Nevertheless, you should take a good look at the list of ingredients of the products, because companies often color their products dark with syrup to make them appear healthier. This is sometimes the case with pumpernickel, for example. Also read: Colored bread: is dark bread automatically healthier?

Whole Grain Nutritional Values

The nutritional values of whole grain differ only slightly depending on the type of grain. Here are the nutritional values of whole wheat:

Energy (kcal): 338 kcal
Fat: 2g
carbohydrates 61 g
Egg white (protein): 13.5 g
Fiber: 11 g

Here are the nutritional values for whole rye grain:

Energy (kcal): 337 kcal
Fat: 1.5g
carbohydrates 63.1 g
Egg white (protein): 10.8 g
Fiber: 14.1 g

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Food Pyramid: These Foods Should Become a Habit

Healthy nutrition – everyone talks about it, but hardly anyone knows what it really is. Anyone who tries to finally eat healthily will usually fail miserably after a few weeks. But why is that? And how can you really eat healthy and, ideally, sustainably?

Before you worry about what you eat, you should know what food your body needs – and how much of it. The amount of energy a person needs depends mainly on two things: age and exercise. If you move a little at work or in your free time, you need less energy than someone who moves a lot. If you want to lose weight or are overweight, you should expend more energy than you take in.

If you want to know exactly how much energy you need, you can use an energy balance calculator to find out. And then it’s about the actual diet: The food pyramid offers a good guide to which foods are healthy and in what quantities we should eat them.

Food pyramid: which food groups are important?

The food pyramid shows you what you can eat a lot of – and what rather little:

The lowest level of the pyramid and thus the basis of your diet are drinks: we should drink about 1.5 liters per day – preferably water, unsweetened tea or diluted juice spritzers. If water tastes too boring for you, experiment with cucumber, mint, fruit or ginger to give the water more flavor. Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks such as cola & co. can also be drunk from time to time, but better only on special occasions and then only in moderation.
The 2nd level of the pyramid contains vegetables and fruits: A healthy diet should contain plenty of them – preferably five servings a day. A portion corresponds to your own hand (palm without fingers). That sounds like a lot at first, but it’s easier than you think: For example, eat muesli with fresh seasonal fruit for breakfast in the morning and drink a glass of orange juice or have a few vegetable sticks in between. If you then eat a portion of vegetables as a side dish at lunchtime and maybe a fruit salad for dessert, then you have almost reached the five portions. A small salad for supper in the evening and you’ve already eaten enough fruit and vegetables. Give it a try!
The third place in a healthy diet should be cereals, rice and potatoes. It is best to use whole grain products – they keep you full longer, contain more minerals and provide fiber.
Only then comes the food group of animal products and sources of protein, such as dairy products, eggs, meat and fish. Anyone who eats a vegan or vegetarian diet naturally avoids these animal foods – because proteins are also found in plant products, for example in the form of legumes. A healthy diet also includes vegetable oils and fatty acids from rapeseed or olive oil. Snacks, sweets and other nibbles are at the top of the food pyramid and should only be eaten infrequently.
Of course, it is not that easy to find enough regional vegetables and fruit in winter, but if necessary you can also use the frozen version. In addition, many varieties can be canned, pickled or dried during the high season so that they are preserved even in winter. Have a look here: Preserving food: 3 simple methods.

If you want to check whether you eat according to these recommendations or don’t feel like counting calories, you can also use the “What I eat” app from the Federal Center for Nutrition, for example.

For more variety in the food pyramid

The rule of thumb is: If you want to eat healthily, you should eat as varied a diet as possible. Each level of the food pyramid contains various foods that can provide a varied supply of important nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

In order to get as much variety as possible when choosing vegetables and fruit, it makes sense – and at the same time sustainably – to orientate yourself on the seasonal calendar. In almost every month, different varieties have high season.

Try out fruits and vegetables that you haven’t tried before, or combine them in completely new ways. Of course there are varieties – such as the avocado – that are very healthy, but not regional and only end up on our plates with great transport effort and water consumption. There are often less well-known local species from the region that are just as healthy, tasty and much more sustainable.

Healthy eating starts with shopping

You can already make sure you eat healthy when you go shopping: because once there are cola, chips and chocolate in the kitchen cupboard, they will certainly be eaten. Before you ask yourself what you want to buy, the next time you go shopping, you could ask yourself where you shop.

Do you go to the supermarket around the corner by default? Or a few streets further to the organic or unpackaged shop? Perhaps there is also a (organic) weekly market or an organic farm shop near you? Small regional shops usually offer seasonal food from the region, and you often get good tips on how to prepare it.

There might also be a farmer in your town who delivers crates of vegetables directly to your home. Vegetable boxes mainly contain seasonal vegetables and thus automatically ensure a varied, healthy and sustainable diet. It’s often worth doing a little research before heading back to the supermarket around the corner as usual.

It also makes sense to plan what you want to buy before you go shopping. So you don’t buy anything superfluous or more than you need. When shopping, you should consciously choose which foods go in the shopping basket. In addition to the price and quality, the organic seal or the fair trade label, the list of ingredients and the nutritional information on the packaging can also be helpful.

In general, it is of course better to buy food that is as unprocessed and fresh as possible.

More vitamins and minerals through healthy cooking

Cooking is also part of a healthy diet: vitamins are best preserved when vegetables are prepared “al dente” – i.e. crispy. In general, temperatures that are too high and baking and roasting times that are too long should not be used.

Keeping warm and warming up also destroys vitamins. If you want to save energy at the same time, you should close the lid while cooking – this saves up to a quarter of the electricity – and use the residual heat from the stove.

Habit: In small steps to a healthy diet

It is certainly difficult to eat healthily and on the basis of the food pyramid overnight. This claim is far too high and almost impossible to meet.

Give yourself the time you need to make the dietary changes. It’s completely normal and okay if it doesn’t work out right from the start. Try it with small steps: Instead of the usual chocolate muesli in the morning, you can simply try grain muesli and fresh fruit. But you can also take it slower – try out what works best for you: maybe you can get used to the fruit in the chocolate muesli first.

Despite a healthy diet, it is important not to lose the fun of eating. Deal with the food, find out where it comes from and which recipes you can try out. Healthy eating will soon become a habit.

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