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Vegan Substitute Products: You Can Make Them Yourself with These Recipes

Vegan substitute products can expand the plant-based kitchen and facilitate the switch to a vegan diet. With these recipes you can make soy milk, tofu, vegan cheese and more yourself.

The range of vegan substitute products is getting bigger and bigger – from classics such as plant-based milk alternatives and vegan cream to schnitzels that do not contain any meat or other animal products. Some of these substitutes have become so popular that they’ve found their way into vegetarian and flexitarian kitchens.

The vegan substitute products are no longer only available in health food stores and health food stores, but also in all supermarkets. You can also make the plant-based alternatives yourself at home: in many cases you only need a few ingredients. We will introduce you to various recipes for vegan substitute products.

Vegan substitute products: it’s worth making your own

Many people find vegan cuisine to be more creative and varied than conventional cuisine with milk, cheese and meat. The reason for this is, among other things, the large variety of vegan substitute products, thanks to which you do not have to do without your usual dishes. For example, you can replace cow’s milk with one of the many plant-based alternatives, such as soy, oat or almond milk. There are also good alternatives for yoghurt, cheese and various meat products.

Above all, the plant-based substitutes make it much easier to switch to a vegan diet. So you don’t have to do without the usual dishes such as pizza, gratinated casserole or rice pudding.

Most people buy pre-packaged vegan substitutes at the store. You can often make the plant-based alternatives yourself with little effort. This has several advantages:

Costs: Doing it yourself is usually much cheaper than buying it. A liter of homemade organic oat milk only costs around 20 to 30 cents. You pay at least 90 cents for it in a shop, which is easily three to four times as much.
Ingredients: Purchased vegan substitute products sometimes contain additives such as emulsifiers, preservatives or flavorings. By making the vegan foods yourself, you have full control over the ingredients.
Health: The “Albert Schweitzer Foundation for our environment” examined 250 meat alternatives in a study. Compared to animal products, these fared significantly better in terms of health and the environment. Nevertheless, the researchers criticized the mostly excessive salt content and unfavorable fatty acid profiles of the products. You can make homemade substitute products healthier – for example with less salt and linseed oil or rapeseed oil instead of sunflower oil.
Less waste: By making vegan substitute products yourself, you create less waste. You can buy the basic ingredients such as soybeans, oatmeal or walnuts in larger quantities and don’t have to buy new packaging every time. This means that homemade substitute products are also more environmentally friendly.

Make vegan milk substitutes yourself

Milk is not only popular in coffee, but also as an ingredient for many dishes such as rice pudding, pudding or béchamel sauce. Vegan cuisine knows more than just one milk alternative and has something to offer for every taste.

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Food

These 9 Foods are Good for the Heart

You can easily incorporate foods that are good for the heart into your diet. In this article we will show you which ones are included and give you healthy recipe suggestions.

Cardiovascular diseases are a widespread problem and occur particularly in old age. With simple habits and small changes in everyday life, you can keep yourself and your heart healthy for a long time.

Of course, your heart health is inseparable from your overall health. Basically, there is no food that is only good for a certain part of your body. It is therefore also important for your general well-being to pay attention to a balanced diet, physical activity, a stress-free everyday life and healthy sleep.

In this article we would like to introduce you to foods that can support your cardiovascular system, among other things. When shopping, we recommend that you look for organic quality whenever possible. In this way you can avoid residues of chemical-synthetic pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Incidentally, most of the foods listed here are locally grown during their season. By shopping regionally and seasonally, you avoid unnecessarily long and climate-damaging transport routes. You can read about the seasons of regional fruit and vegetables in our seasonal calendar.

Berries are heart strengthening foods

Berries contain many antioxidants. There is a lot of the blue pigment anthocyanin in dark berries such as blueberries, blackberries or black currants in particular. This substance is one of the flavonoids that have various positive effects on the cardiovascular system. According to the Federal Center for Nutrition, they can, among other things, strengthen the immune system, prevent blood clots, regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. You can eat berries just like that, use them as a topping for your muesli or use them in blueberry muffins, for example.

Green foods that are good for the heart

Especially dark green leafy vegetables and certain herbs and spices have a positive effect on your heart. They contain many different vitamins, minerals and fiber. These include in particular provitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, folic acid, potassium and magnesium. For example, you can prepare a refreshing lamb’s lettuce, a warm kale, chard or spinach dish. All of these dishes can also be refined with Italian herbs.

Red and orange foods that are good for the heart

Red and orange foods also contain the flavonoids mentioned earlier. Carrots, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in particular also contain so-called carotenoids. According to BZfE, this plant substance has a cell-protecting and cholesterol-lowering effect, which is positive for your cardiovascular system. Tasty recipes that you can try with these vegetables are for example a carrot ginger soup, a sweet potato curry or classic tomato recipes like tomato salad or tomato sauce.

Whole grain foods are good for the heart

In addition to many vitamins and minerals, whole grain products contain fiber in particular. According to the German Society for Nutrition (dge), a good supply of all three groups reduces the risk of various diseases. These include cardiovascular diseases, but also type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and colon cancer. Foods that provide you with healthy fiber are, for example, wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bread or oatmeal.

Legumes as heart-strengthening foods

Legumes are also generally very rich in nutrients and, in addition to protein, fat and fiber, contain B vitamins and folic acid in particular. The secondary plant substance saponin, which has a cholesterol-lowering effect, can also be found in abundance in legumes. In everyday life you can, for example, prepare a lentil soup, a tempeh dish or a pea stew to benefit from the healthy effects of the legumes.

Nuts: Unsaturated fats are good for the heart

In addition to vitamins and minerals, nuts also contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. According to the BZfE, these properties have a particularly good effect on your blood lipid levels and your cardiovascular system. To benefit from this, you can eat all kinds of nuts. These are, for example, walnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, pecan nuts or hazelnuts.

Olive oil promotes heart health

Regular consumption of at least half a tablespoon of olive oil per day is not only associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. The oil is also said to protect against neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases. For example, you can use olive oil in a salad dressing, homemade hummus, or spaghetti aglio e olio.

Onions and garlic are good for the heart

Onions and garlic in particular contain sulfides. Among other things, these are associated with blood pressure-regulating, cholesterol-lowering and blood clot-preventing effects. You can use onions and garlic in a variety of ways in the kitchen: they refine numerous hearty recipes, such as a pepper and vegetable pan or a broccoli and potato casserole.

Tea as a food that is good for the heart

Teas contain phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins and catechins. These are also associated with cardiovascular protective effects. You also have a large selection of different types of this food. Try it with a green tea, white tea or herbal tea.

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Food

Emergency Supplies: You Can Get by with These Foods for 10 Days

Quarantine, power outage or worries about the political situation: Many are considering stocking up on emergency food in case of an emergency. The Ministry of Agriculture has created a corresponding shopping list with recommended foods – we have looked at them.

An emergency supply can feed you for a few days if new groceries can’t be delivered or you can’t leave the house.

However, panic and excessive hamster purchases are not appropriate. Since the first lockdown, we have known that the food supply is working well. According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), however, it is still advisable to stock up on emergencies, regardless of the threat posed by the corona virus.

Apocalyptic scenarios are not understood as emergencies. A widespread power failure lasting several days can mean that supermarkets can no longer be supplied and the water supply is impaired.

But other unforeseen events such as natural disasters or epidemics can also mean that we suddenly no longer have access to fresh food. For these cases, the Federal Ministry has published a supply table with food that could feed a person for around ten days.

Emergency supplies: shopping list for cereals and potatoes

The list only includes products that do not need to be cooled, as it should also be valid in the event of a power failure. Therefore, frozen foods are not recommended. The ministry assumes a daily calorie intake of 2200 kilocalories per person. In addition to the “normal” table, which contains fish and meat, there is also a vegetarian shopping list. A vegan version does not yet exist.

In the cereals and potatoes category, the Ministry recommends the following foods for an emergency supply per person:

710g wholemeal bread
180g rusks
710g crispbread
280g pasta (raw)
180g rice (raw)
540g oats or other cereal flakes
710g potatoes (raw, without skin)

Emergency supplies: fruit and vegetables

With regard to fruit and vegetables, the ministry recommends using canned goods for the most part. Because they have a long sell-by date. Your shopping list should include:

570g green beans
640g peas/carrots
500g red cabbage
500g sauerkraut
290g of asparagus
290g corn
290g mushrooms
290g pickled cucumbers
290g beetroot
400g cherries
180g pears
180g apricots
250g tangerines
250g pineapple

The quantities always refer to the drained weight. Of course, canned food and well-travelled tropical fruits like pineapples are not exactly sustainable. The BMEL is primarily concerned with the list of shelf life and sufficient calorie intake. In order to improve the ecological balance of these foods, you could boil, pickle or ferment the fruit and vegetables yourself and use them to create a crisis supply.

Some dried fruit, nuts and fresh products are also on the BMEL’s emergency stock list. These are:

360g fresh onions
140g raisins
250g prunes
100g hazelnuts
710g fresh fruit (e.g. apples, bananas, pears, oranges)

Milk, eggs, substitutes, and fats on the shopping list

In the standard table, the Ministry recommends, among other things, canned tuna, sardines in oil, herring, corned beef, bockwurst or veal liver sausage. We think: Even in a temporary crisis situation, such food does not have to be. Tuna is heavily overfished, and canned sausage and meat products usually come from industrial factory farming.

The calories that the products are supposed to provide can also be consumed in other ways – without having to accept animal suffering. These products have been replaced by vegetarian alternatives in the vegetarian emergency stock list. The following foods can be found in this category:

200g tofu
150g vegetarian patties
230g vegetarian sausages
250g vegetarian spread
200g vegetarian salami
265g eggs (weight without shell)
Regarding dairy products, fats and oils, these products are on the list:

2l UHT milk (3.5 percent fat)
500g hard cheese
180g fat spread or butter
180g margarine
150ml cooking oil
To further reduce animal products, you can replace the UHT milk with oat milk or another plant-based drink. Make sure that it is a plant-based milk that does not need to be refrigerated, lasts as long as possible and has around 50 to 60 kilocalories per 100 milliliters.

Beverages and other items in emergency stock

For a 10-day emergency supply you need 20 liters of mineral water. This includes both the recommended drinking quantity of 1.5 liters per day and water for cooking pasta, rice and the like at 500 milliliters per day. For people over the age of 65, it is advisable to have even more water available, as they should drink around two liters of water a day.

In addition to mineral water, the following products are on the list in this category:

140ml lemon juice
180g coffee powder or instant coffee
90 grams of black tea
In addition, there is a table with other foods that are listed without a specific quantity. This includes:

sugar
sweetener
honey
jam
chocolate
iodized salt
ready meals
Dried potato products (e.g. mashed potatoes powder)
flour
cocoa powder
hard cookies
Pretzel Sticks

Create your individual emergency supply

The Ministry points out that this shopping list is only an example and must be adapted to individual needs such as allergies, intolerances and diets. Some foods are definitely not necessary for most people, such as artificial sweeteners or canned asparagus.

If you want to create a completely vegan emergency supply, you can rely more on legumes, which are not yet included in the ministry’s list. Lentils, chickpeas, beans and the like also provide you with important nutrients that keep you full for a long time. You can use both dried and canned products.

You can get dry groceries in bulk shops and thus avoid packaging waste. You can also reduce packaging in large containers and often save money at the same time.

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Cooking the Salad Properly: Avoid These 5 Mistakes

If you want to prepare a salad, you should follow a few guidelines. In this article we will show you which five mistakes you should better avoid.

Salads can provide a refreshing and nutritious meal within a balanced diet. Depending on the ingredients, they provide you with various vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber. There are a few things to keep in mind so that you can absorb as many nutrients as possible and prepare a delicious salad.

For a salad that is as sustainable as possible, we recommend that you first pay attention to organic quality when buying the ingredients. In this way you avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. If you also buy regionally and seasonally, you avoid long transport routes and the associated CO2 emissions.

Mistake #1 in salad preparation: Washing wrong

In order to prepare a nutrient-rich salad, you should avoid washing the lettuce leaves immediately after chopping them. After chopping, the lettuce has a particularly large number of interfaces. If you wash it exactly then, it loses an unnecessarily large number of nutrients through contact with water. It is best to detach the leaves from the stalk by plucking them and wash them whole. Even then, you should only expose the lettuce leaves to the water for as long as necessary so that the lettuce loses as few nutrients as possible.

Mistake #2: Not drying lettuce

In order to prepare delicious, crunchy lettuce, you should always dry it as well as possible after washing. If you leave it wet, it can collapse faster. Drying also has the advantage that the salad dressing sticks better to the leaves and the sauce is less likely to pool with leftover water at the bottom of the bowl. You can gently dry the lettuce with a clean kitchen towel or in a salad spinner.

Cooking the salad: Mistake #3

The third mistake when preparing salad is to let too much air get into the salad. Some vitamins are particularly sensitive to oxygen in the air. It is therefore better to pluck the lettuce than cut it when chopping it up. When you cut, you break up the cell structures. On the one hand, the valuable plant sap can escape and on the other hand, the interfaces have direct contact with the air.

When you pluck, the lettuce often tears along the veins of the leaves, which is gentle on the lettuce. If you don’t want to eat the salad immediately after preparing it, store the salad in a tightly sealed container and if possible in a cool place.

Mistake #4: Wrong timing for dressing

If possible, add your salad dressing to the salad just before eating. Otherwise, the lettuce may lose some of its crispness and collapse and become mushy. This is mainly due to the salt that is usually contained in the dressings. This draws the water out of the lettuce.

Mistake #5: Too little variety in the salad cooking

From a nutritional point of view, it makes sense if you make your salad varied and diverse. This means that you should use or combine more nutrient-rich types of lettuce such as dark green and red lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, rocket or spinach.

It is best to add fresh herbs, other types of vegetables, sprouts or wild plants such as nettles, wild garlic or dandelion that you have collected yourself. This is how you add nutrients to your salad. You can also supplement your salad with protein-rich foods. Foods like tempeh, nuts, or beans will keep you full longer.

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Uncategorized

Juice Fasting Made Easy – These 8 Things You Should Know

What is juice fasting?

Juice fasting is a particularly gentle type of fasting in which the body is fed 5 to 7 large glasses of juice and at least 2 to 3 liters of still water and, if necessary, some tea every day.

In contrast to therapeutic fasting, where you have to do without any food, the body continues to be supplied with valuable vitamins, minerals and enzymes during the juice cleanse. Another plus point: With the right choice of juice, Lent can be enjoyed to the full.

How does juice fasting work?

The juice fast consists of a predetermined program. This extends over several days, for example as a 7-day program.

Regardless of the duration, a juice fasting regimen always follows the same pattern: It begins with a day of relief and preparation, followed by the actual fasting days and then the build-up days or the breaking of the fast. This sequence enables the body to optimally detoxify and get used to the dietary changes.

The best juices when fasting

Vegetable juices are mainly suitable for juice fasting, as they contain significantly less fructose than fruit juices, for example, and therefore do not cause the blood sugar level to rise too much. A fruit juice is also allowed every now and then.

In addition, the vegetable juices can be refined with fresh herbs, ginger, turmeric or some fruit. Coffee and alcohol are taboo during the fasting cure.

Which juices are best for juice fasting?

When choosing the juices, one thing is particularly important: your personal taste.

It is advisable to pay attention to a balanced mixture. Almost all fruit and vegetable juices are allowed, from celery, carrot, beetroot, tomato and sauerkraut juice to classic orange or grape juice. Even more unusual juices such as blackberry, raspberry or blueberry juice can contribute to an enjoyable fasting period.

How does juice fasting work?

Juice fasting ensures that the body is literally flushed through: overaged cells are removed and cell renewal is activated. The excretory organs transport the resulting metabolic products out of the body. These include skin and mucous membranes, liver, kidneys, intestines and lungs.

The high-quality juices, mainly from vegetables, provide the body with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and carbohydrates with only a few calories.

What are the risks of juice fasting?

Especially for short periods of time, around 7 to 14 days, juice fasting is harmless for healthy people in most cases. During this period, there are usually no deficiency symptoms or side effects.

During the first few days, you may occasionally experience headaches or tiredness or an increased sensation of cold. Hot tea helps with the latter. Heated vegetable juices prepared as a soup provide additional heat.

Who is juice fasting for?

In principle, every healthy, vital person can fast independently.

However, if you are unsure or have certain pre-existing conditions, you should refrain from juice fasting or at least seek medical advice beforehand. These include: heart disease, eating disorders, diabetes, poor circulation, high blood pressure, nutrient deficiencies and being underweight. Fasting is also generally not suitable for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children and young people.

Order fasting box

A balanced and colorful mixture of different juices is the ideal basis for a juice cleanse: Not only can this cover many nutrients – it also doesn’t get boring in terms of taste!

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Food

Self-catering Balcony: These Tips Will Help You

With a self-catering balcony, you can live at least partially self-sufficient and grow your own groceries. In this article, we will show you what you should consider.

With a self-sufficient balcony, you not only use the balcony area for ornamental plants, but also for fruit and vegetables that you have sown yourself. This allows you to become more mindful of your food. After all, you can see for yourself what process a plant has to go through before it finally bears fruit.

In addition, you can consciously do without chemical-synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and feed yourself in a climate-friendly way with regional food from the self-catering balcony.

Self-catering balcony: make a plan

With a self-sufficient balcony you get a little closer to self-sufficient life. However, you will not become completely independent of the food trade. You will still have to buy many foods such as oatmeal, legumes or nuts. However, you can harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs yourself.

In order to equip your balcony as efficiently as possible, you should draw up a cultivation plan. For example, you can grow plants on several floors (e.g. on a plant shelf or on a plant ladder) on the small balcony area. A so-called vertical garden is ideal for herbs and salads in particular. You can find inspiration for this here: Urban Gardening: Tips for growing vegetables on your balcony.

Then you should consider which types of fruit and vegetables are suitable for your self-catering balcony. This mainly depends on the cardinal direction:

A lot grows on the south-facing balcony. However, you should also ensure there is enough shade, especially on hot days. For example, tomatoes, beans, strawberries, columnar fruit, herbs, zucchini and peppers are suitable for the south-facing balcony.
On a north-facing balcony, you have a little less choice. For example, lettuce, spinach, chard, kohlrabi and radishes grow here. Be careful not to place the plants in the pot directly on the cold ground. You also have to water less here.
With an east or west orientation, you can experiment a bit and place sun-loving plants in particularly sunny locations and other plants in shady corners. If necessary, you can also rotate the plants regularly.

Self-catering balcony in tune with the seasons

Depending on the season, you can harvest and sow different plants and take other precautions on the self-sufficient balcony:

In spring you can sow radishes, lettuce, spinach, chard and parsley from March. From April, peas, potatoes and nasturtiums will be added. Alternatively, you can put local herbs and salads on the balcony as young plants. You can now grow tomatoes indoors. In general, spring is the time for planting and sowing!
Above all, you should use the summer to water plants with organic fertilizer according to their individual needs, to water them appropriately and to check them for pests. In addition, now is the time to regularly pinch tomatoes and harvest ripe fruit. From July you can still sow some types of vegetables, which will then ripen in autumn. These include beets, fennel, radishes, chard and salads.
In early autumn you can still harvest many fruits from the summer time on the self-catering balcony. A few plants can still be sown in September, such as lamb’s lettuce, spinach, chard and parsley.
In winter you can still harvest some chard and a few local salads and herbs. Otherwise, calm will return to the balcony after the first frost. Now you should prepare your plants for the winter, possibly cover them up and water them only slightly. From February you can grow chili and paprika indoors and plant chives.

Preserve vegetables and fruit from the balcony

When the crop is particularly plentiful for a particular crop, preserving the food is important. If you take good precautions in summer, you will still have regional fruit and vegetables ready in winter. You can use different methods for this:

First of all, make sure that you store fruit and vegetables appropriately depending on the variety. Some prefer the cool temperatures in the fridge, while others like room temperature.
You can also freeze the harvest from the self-sufficient balcony. To do this, you should wash them well and sort them beforehand, i.e. sort out any vegetables or fruit that are no longer good.
Alternatively, you can boil fruit and vegetables, put them in sterilized jars, seal them airtight and let them cool down.
Many types of vegetables are suitable for pickling in oil or vinegar. You can also ferment the vegetables in salted water.

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Food

Preserve Wild Garlic: You Have These 3 Options

The wild garlic season is short and wants to be savored all the more intensively. If you want to enjoy wild garlic the rest of the year, you can preserve the wild vegetables. We present different methods.

In spring, the leaves of the aromatic wild garlic only sprout from the ground for a few weeks. The wild garlic season usually runs from mid-March to early May. Then the wild garlic begins to bloom. Contrary to widespread belief, the weed is not poisonous, but the leaves become fibrous and lose their taste.

In order to be able to enjoy wild garlic all year round, you can preserve it. This is also recommended if you have harvested too much wild garlic and cannot use it while it is still fresh. There are several methods you can use to preserve wild garlic: you can process it into a more durable food like wild garlic oil, freeze it, or dry it.

Preserve wild garlic: these recipes make it possible

Wild garlic not only tastes fresh as an ingredient in a wild herb salad or wild garlic butter. There are a number of recipes with which you can preserve wild garlic and use it for a longer time.

Wild garlic oil: By soaking wild garlic in oil, you can preserve it for up to a year. You can use the aromatic oil to refine salads or pasta far beyond the wild garlic season.
Wild garlic salt: With this recipe, you can keep wild garlic for at least a year. You can sprinkle the wild garlic salt over a sandwich or give a garlic-like aroma to a vegetable pan.
Wild garlic pesto: With this classic, you can preserve wild garlic for several months. Wild garlic pesto tastes great with pasta, risotto or as a basis for a salad dressing.
Pickled wild garlic buds: Wild garlic buds are also edible. The plants form them shortly before flowering, i.e. from around mid-April. From this you can then produce the so-called wild garlic capers – a regional alternative to the caper plants native to the Mediterranean region. The wild garlic buds will keep in the fridge for up to four weeks.

Preserve wild garlic by drying

You can use dried wild garlic in a variety of ways even after the wild garlic season is over. For example, it adds a slightly spicy flavor to home-made herb salad mixes.

Note that dried wild garlic is significantly less flavorful than fresh wild garlic. Still, drying is a better alternative than possibly throwing away parts of an oversized crop. This allows you to preserve the leftover wild garlic if you can no longer eat it before it wilts.

Preserve wild garlic: This is how you freeze wild garlic

Fresh wild garlic tastes best. But after just two days in the fridge, it wilts. If you freeze wild garlic, you can keep it for about six months longer.

You can freeze wild garlic either in a glass or in practical ice cube molds. You can find the corresponding instructions here: Freezing wild garlic and preserving it: Here’s how!

Tip: You can also make dishes prepared with wild garlic last longer by freezing them. Wild garlic soup, for example, is suitable for freezing in jars. A wild garlic quiche can also be frozen easily.

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Wild Garlic Blossoms: You Can Cook Them with These Recipes

With wild garlic flower recipes you ensure culinary variety in spring. You can harvest the flowers from May. Here are three simple recipe ideas.

Wild garlic is in season in Germany from the end of March to the end of May. In late April and early May, the aromatic herb begins to bloom for two to three weeks – and these delicate wild garlic flowers are edible.

You can collect wild garlic and wild garlic blossoms yourself in spring in many places. In another article you will find out what you should consider when harvesting wild garlic.

When it comes to the ingredients for the wild garlic flower recipes, make sure they are organic if possible. You are supporting ecologically more sustainable agriculture that treats the earth’s natural resources with care. The organic seals from Demeter, Bioland and Naturland are particularly recommended, as they require stricter criteria than the EU organic seal.

Wild Garlic Blossom Recipes: Pesto

Wild garlic blossom pesto gives pasta dishes a fresh and aromatic note. Preparation is easy and doesn’t take long. Important: The pesto has to steep for at least four weeks before you can use it.

Unopened, the wild garlic blossom pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four weeks. Opened jars should be used within a week.

Ingredients:

5 handfuls of wild garlic flowers
1 tbsp pine nuts
5 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp salt
1 pinch(s) of pepper

Directions:

Wash the wild garlic flowers carefully but thoroughly. Remove their stems. Chop the pine nuts. Place both ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
Add about half the olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients together until the wild garlic pesto has a slightly mushy consistency.
Put the wild garlic pesto in a sterilized jar that you can seal airtight. Cover it with the remaining olive oil. Important: Let the pesto sit for four to eight weeks before using it.

Wild Garlic Blossom Recipes: Aromatic Oil

The preparation of wild garlic blossom oil is also very easy. This herbal oil goes well with pasta, vegetable dishes or to flavor herb quark. You should plan some time again, because the oil also has to steep for at least four weeks before it is ready for consumption.

Unopened and protected from light and heat, wild garlic blossom oil can be kept for up to six months. Opened oil should be used up within six weeks.

Ingredients:

1 handful of wild garlic blossoms
100 ml rapeseed oil
1 pinch(s) of pepper

Directions:

Wash the wild garlic flowers carefully but thoroughly. Remove their stems. Then place them on a clean tea towel and pat them as dry as possible.
Put the wild garlic blossoms together with the rapeseed oil and the pepper in a sterilized jar that you can seal airtight. Brown glass is particularly suitable because it protects the herbal oil from environmental influences and thus extends its shelf life. The wild garlic blossoms should be completely covered by the oil.
Let the wild garlic blossom oil steep in as dark a place as possible for four weeks. Strain the wild garlic blossoms before using the oil.

Wild garlic blossom vinegar

Wild garlic blossom vinegar is prepared in a similar way to the oil. The herbal vinegar is well suited for quick salads. With this recipe, too, you have to allow three to four weeks for the vinegar to steep.

Wild garlic blossom vinegar can be kept unopened for up to five years. Once opened, you should use it within six months.

Ingredients:

1 handful of wild garlic blossoms
100 ml white wine vinegar colored peppercorns

Directions:

Wash the wild garlic flowers carefully but thoroughly. Remove their stems. Then place them on a clean tea towel and pat them as dry as possible.
Put the wild garlic blossoms together with the white wine vinegar and the peppercorns in a sterilized jar that you can seal airtight. The wild garlic blossoms should be completely covered by the vinegar.
Let the wild garlic blossom vinegar steep for three to four weeks. Then strain the wild garlic blossoms and peppercorns and fill the vinegar into a clean bottle.

Wild garlic blossoms as an aromatic ingredient

You can also use wild garlic blossoms in their unprocessed form as an ingredient for various dishes. For example, you can mix the washed flowers with fresh wild herb salads or decorate various dips with them.

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Business

Need More Money? Try These 9 Ways To Earn Some Extra Cash

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you enjoy shopping, and who can blame you? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably experienced what it’s like to be broke all the time. And you already work more than full-time. I know it’s not fair, but would shopping be as much fun if money wasn’t an issue? What, after all, can beat the feeling of finally having enough money to break your shopping fast? You know what I’m talking about when you get that cash in your hand and you know it’s time to go shopping! So, it’s time to break the shopping fast! I looked on the internet for other ways to make money. Some may sound strange, but they appear to work, at least for some.

9 Money-Earning Methods Worth Trying

Many people think that only a high-level education can get you a repaying job with a decent salary. That’s probably true for old-fashioned people. In fact, today’s world offers so many more chances to everyone who is seeking a way to earn money. The internet is our main source of ideas and, sometimes, even job vacancies to consider for those who want to send an application.

I’m not sure the following ideas will actually give you some extra money but let’s hope the list is a genius piece of inspiration to start earning extra cash:

1. Sell the things you don’t use anymore

Come on, don’t hide it, your home is full of things that you don’t use anymore yet are still in good condition. Do you still want them at home? Join a flea market, create an account to sell on e-commerce platforms, or start a private sale at home. You may sell gently used clothes that maybe you don’t use because you gained/lost weight, kitchen appliances, a bicycle, or books… anything could become a source of extra money. Just look around and find out the things you may want to get rid of.

2. Old devices for cash

Several new platforms are specialized in buying old devices like phones, iPods, and computers. Check sites like Swappa or Gazelle. Also, you may consider Amazon’s trade-in program: it consists in trading your old devices for Amazon gift cards. Another very good platform is eBay where you can set a price for your old devices and earn money directly from the buyers.

3. Dog sitting

If you love dogs and walking a lot, you may look for a job that conjugates both things: dog walking. Also, in this case, you can use online platforms like Wag and Rover where you can find hundreds of demands for dog walking.

4. Powerball & Gambling 

Maybe it’s your time to be the next big Powerball winner. Or perhaps you have a secret talent as a pro eSports player? How do you know if you haven’t tried? There are many inspirational stories not only in the US of big winners but also in France where the Euro Millions lottery is a big thing. Lucky players and gamblers who never made a bet in their life suddenly walk away with a big jackpot. I’m not sure if these stories are true but the story of this Egyptian player who won 60K$ is a precious source of inspiration. The article is published at a site called 7Alal Casino and tells the story of how Ali Barakat scored $60,000 finishing second in the international esports tournament organized by Overwatch in Saudi Arabia. Ali took only a short time to make his hobby become a pro-level activity. If he could, maybe you can? 

5. Sell unused gift cards

Did you get so many gift cards for shopping in stores that you don’t like? There’s no problem! You can sell those gift cards and make cash from the sales. Again, check specialized platforms like CardCash, GiftCash, or ClipKard. You may get up to 92% of the card’s value… pretty good, don’t you think?

6. Freelancing

Freelance work is one of the most classic and trusted ways to make money not only occasionally but also ongoing. Whether you want to work as a freelance writer, translator, or webmaster or just looking for an easy job to take for getting some extra money, you’d better look for highly reputed platforms like UpWork, for example. However, make sure to apply for jobs that meet your education/skills.

7. Sell handcrafted items

Many people handicraft items as a hobby, if this is your case, you may want to transform your hobby into a financial source of cash. Let your creativity inspire you and have a good time crafting your best items like crochet clothes or accessories like bags or hats or small wood sculptures, decorative pots for flowers, and any kind of art piece.

8. Renting spare bedrooms

If you live in a large house and you currently have spare bedrooms, you may want to list them on vacation rental sites. Just make sure that the bedroom is tidy and clean, then take photos of it, and write a detailed description with a price.

9. Become a private teacher

If you are skilled or educated in a certain school subject or you are a musician and you want to teach music, you may consider becoming a private teacher. You may offer online lessons as well as in-person lessons depending on the distance between you and your student. Before you set a price, check around the average prices of other teachers like you, just to make sure you are competitive.

So, what are you waiting for? Pick your best option and get started making money today!

 

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