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French fries Vegan? You Should Know That

French fries should actually be vegan, as they only consist of deep-fried potatoes. But it’s not that simple – in some cases there are actually animal ingredients in the fries. So when are they vegan?

Fast food is often criticized for using cheap meat. Those who follow a vegan diet are therefore more likely to eat french fries. But are they actually vegan? If you prepare fries at home in the oven, you can easily answer the question by looking at the list of ingredients on the packaging. But what about the fries in restaurants and snack bars – are they always vegan?

When fries are vegan (and when they aren’t)

French fries consist of three ingredients:
potatoes
spices
frying fat
The small number of ingredients is also the reason why you can easily make fries yourself. Then you know exactly that the fries are vegan.

As a rule, restaurants use a vegetable fat for frying, so the fries are vegan. It is often palm or coconut fat, which is problematic for various reasons. Nevertheless, the fries are vegan in this case.

In these cases fries are not vegan:
Sometimes restaurants fry the fries in clarified butter or lard.
It also often happens that the employees have fried meat in the fryer before the fries, for example chicken nuggets. Then, strictly speaking, the fries are no longer vegan.

Season fries with vegan spices

In addition to the fat used, spices and flavorings are not always vegan:
Beef flavoring on the fries is not uncommon: McDonald’s has been criticized for this in the past, for example. In Germany there was and is not so far.
Some fries have milk or cheese ingredients added, making them no longer vegan.
Many manufacturers add additives to help the fries retain their yellow color, last longer, and be crispy. Not all additives are vegan. That’s why you always have to ask.
By the way: You also have to be careful with ketchup and mayonnaise. Some manufacturers sweet ketchup with honey and mayonnaise usually contains eggs.

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Food

Honey Vegan: The 6 Best Plant-Based Alternatives

For ecological and animal welfare reasons, many vegans in particular choose not to consume honey. But it is also worthwhile for anyone who is curious to simply try honey vegan.
We will introduce you to various herbal products that you can use to replace the classic honey.

Is honey vegan?

Many vegan beginners ask themselves this question. The answer is simple: no. Because honey is a product made by animals. Just like with other farm animals, humans interfere with the natural development and way of life of the bees and, just like with other farm animals, problems can arise from this. Many strict vegans therefore do without honey and beeswax.

Alternatives: honey vegan

If you do without honey or just want to try something new, you can try the following plant-based alternatives in addition to conventional household sugar.

1. Sugar beet syrup: regional vegan honey
2. Maple syrup: the vegan honey alternative from Canada
3. Dandelion syrup: honey vegan to make yourself
4. Agave syrup and agave cream: the versatile vegan honey alternative
5. Dried fruits: the vegan honey alternative for muesli
6. Stevia: the vegan honey alternative for drinks

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Cooking Tips

Simply Bake Grandma’s Cookies Vegan

Bake grandma’s cookies vegan easily: Vegan visits are announced at Christmas time and all recipes contain animal ingredients? This is how you replace butter, egg, and milk in Christmas recipes.

Bake classic vegan cookies

Cinnamon stars, vanilla crescents, gingerbread… Grandma’s cookies are so delicious, but unfortunately not vegan. We will show you how you can enjoy the pre-Christmas period to the fullest and easily replace butter and co in the recipes. The list of sweet Weinach delicacies is long and when you think of the beguiling smell of cookies in the kitchen, the Christmas season can’t come quickly enough. But what to do if you want to do without animal products or are planning a vegan visit? The following tips will help you to replace butter and co easily and successfully.

Replace butter

You can simply replace butter with margarine or oil in many recipes. In the meantime, there are often vegan products with butter flavor in the supermarket, so the taste is hardly changed. If the consistency is crucial, it is best to use a plant-based butter alternative, such as Alan.

Replace egg

Vegans also do without eggs, as egg production is perceived as the exploitation of the hens and as unnatural. However, eggs belong in many cookies and cakes – you can easily exchange that for a vegan product. However, it depends on what kind of pastry is needed.

In cakes and stollen

Instead of an egg in the cake and stollen batter, you can use half a mashed banana or two tablespoons of applesauce. The applesauce is almost impossible to taste. Depending on your taste, you can decide in the vegan stollen, as in the original, whether you want to add lemon peel, raisins, and the like or rather leave them out. The recipe variations there are as varied as the tastes of the tasters.

In cookies

Seeds soaked in water are particularly good for replacing eggs in cookie dough, for example, linseed (1 tbsp seeds plus 3 tbsp water) or the trendy superfood chia seeds (1 tbsp seeds plus 3 tbsp water). Depending on the seeds, you can also get important omega-3 fatty acids, mucilage, linamarin, protein, and lecithin (linseed) or vitamin A, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, and folic acid (chia seeds).

As whipped cream

Whipped egg white is probably the product that is the most difficult to replace, but that can also be done: aquafaba, the water from chickpea cans or jars, is the keyword here. Thanks to its high protein content, you can easily whip it up. At the latest after the addition of icing sugar and other delicious ingredients, there is no longer any taste of the legumes’ own taste.

Replace milk

Vegan milk alternatives are now available in every discounter. Soy milk and oat milk are the most common there, but try almond milk for your vegan Christmas treats (e.g. for marzipan pastries), and coconut milk if you want it to be a bit more exotic. But you can go there according to your personal taste and availability in your favorite supermarket.

Happy vegan baking

You can quickly and easily modify and bake any of your grandma’s favorite recipes for vegan food lovers and those who want to try something new. And with the thought of the scent of cinnamon and freshly grated orange peel, we wish you a lot of fun trying out and eating the vegan cookies and a contemplative (before) Christmas season!

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Food

Date Syrup: A Vegan Recipe For The Honey Alternative

Date syrup is the ideal way to leave the valuable honey with the bees and still give your desserts and hot drinks a delicious sweetness.

Date syrup is very easy to prepare yourself with a little patience. Just as sweet and tasty as honey, you can smear it on rolls, bake it, refine waffles or pancakes and, of course, sweeten teas and smoothies.

Potassium (good for heart and muscles)
Magnesium (for muscles, heart and brain)
Calcium (important for your bones)
Amino acid tryptophan (important for the formation of the sleep hormone melatonin)

Unfortunately, although dates are famous for their high fiber content, these are lost when the syrup is pressed. Since approx. 100 grams of dates contain approx. 50 to 70 grams of sugar, you do not need any additional sugar to prepare the syrup.

Date syrup: the recipe

To prepare the date syrup, you need a hand blender and a straining cloth as special utensils to squeeze out the syrup.

Ingredients for the date syrup:
200 g pitted dates
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
370 ml water

How to prepare the date syrup:
Pit the dates.
Take half of the dates and let them bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at 120 degrees.
Cut the other half of the dates into small pieces and place them in a saucepan of water.
Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise. Scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pod and put everything in your pot. If you just want a light vanilla flavor, just scrape it once or twice with the teaspoon and store the rest of the pod in an airtight container in the fridge.
Now add cinnamon and lemon juice.
Bring the whole thing to a boil and then let it simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring constantly.
Now put the finished dates from the oven into the date-water mixture and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.
So that the taste can develop properly, leave the pot covered in the kitchen for two hours.
Now take the hand blender and puree the whole thing.
Now place the straining cloth over a bowl. Place the pureed date mixture in the cloth and squeeze as much liquid as possible through.
Now you can fill your finished date syrup into jars and seal them airtight.
The date syrup can now be stored in the refrigerator for about two weeks.

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Food

Are Oreos Vegan? What You Need to Know

Are Oreos vegan? This question is often discussed among vegans and there is still disagreement about the popular biscuits. We have summarized for you what you should know about it.

Are Oreos vegan? A look at the ingredient list

Even if the cookie cream suggests milk, it is often claimed that Oreos are vegan. To find out if that’s true, we took a closer look at the ingredient list of the popular biscuits:
wheat flour
sugar
Palm oil
rapeseed oil
low-fat cocoa powder 4.5%
wheat starch
Glucose-Fructose Syrup
Raising agents (potassium carbonates, ammonium carbonates, sodium carbonates)
salt
Emulsifiers (soy lecithin, sunflower lecithin)
Aroma
At first glance, the cookies appear to contain neither dairy nor eggs. Nevertheless, at the end of the list it says: May contain milk.

Critical ingredients of the vegan Oreos

While many vegans may be happy that Oreos are vegan, the list of ingredients is no cause for celebration. Vegan does not mean healthy. The popular biscuits consist mainly of wheat flour, sugar and fat. Artificial flavorings are also buried.

From a health point of view, the biscuits are not recommended for regular consumption. This does not only apply to Oreos, however. According to the vegan food pyramid, you should consciously consume sweets, snacks and alcohol as little as possible and in small amounts. Consume a maximum of one small portion per day

The palm oil contained in the vegan Oreos should not only be viewed critically from a health perspective. During production, rainforest is often destroyed by slash and burn, with no regard for the animals that live there and the impact on our climate.

If you don’t want to use questionable ingredients, it’s best to bake your sweet temptations yourself. This way you can rely on high-quality, organic ingredients and know exactly what’s in your sweets.

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Food

Vegan Chips: You Have to Pay Attention to This

You don’t always recognize vegan chips at first glance. In addition to potatoes, oil and salt, there are often flavors and additives, which is why not all chips are vegan. We’ll show you what to look out for.

Vegan chips are not a matter of course due to various additives. Animal ingredients are hidden in the salty snacks, especially in the form of flavor enhancers and flavorings.

Therefore, you should always take a look at the list of ingredients when shopping. The following substances are often found in conventional chips:
butterfat
sweet whey powder
milk protein
cream powder
buttermilk powder
cheese powder
animal rennet
shrimp powder
honey
pork powder
animal flavors such as game, poultry or fish

Animal additives are also hidden behind some E numbers, such as in emulsifier E471. The substance is obtained from animal fats.

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Food

Kala Namak: That’s Why It’s Popular in Vegan Cuisine

Kala Namak, also known as black salt, smells like rotten eggs – and is still popular in vegan cuisine. We explain what you need to know about the special salt from India.

In this article you will learn what kala namak is, how you can use it in the kitchen and what you should pay attention to when buying it.

Black Salt: Peculiarities of Kala Namak

Kala Namak originally comes from India and is widely used there and in other South Asian countries. Although it’s called black salt, it’s more of a reddish-dark purple color – mainly because of the iron it contains.

But it’s not just the color that makes Kala Namak so unusual: the salt smells like rotten eggs, which is due to the sulfur compounds it contains. This is why Kala Namak cannot convince every nose, but most palates can if used correctly: A little Kala Namak gives dishes the typical egg taste. Therefore, the salt is particularly popular with vegans and egg allergy sufferers.

Characteristics of Kala Namak:
Colour: dark red, dark violet, black-greyish
Taste: salty, sulphurous, like egg
Odour: sulphurous, like slightly rotten eggs
Origin: India, Pakistan
Trade names: Kala Namak, Black Salt, Black Salt, Rock Salt, Saindhav, (Indian) Sanchal

Kala Namak: Crafting

In the traditional production process of Kala Namak, rock salt from the Himalayan mountains is mixed with charcoal, spices, herbs and the seeds of the harad plant and heated. This process is no longer common for commercial distribution. There are two main ways to make black salt:
Kala Namak with Harad seeds: Rock salt (often from the Himalayas) is boiled with Harad seeds (fruits of the Terminalia chebula plant)
Synthetic black salt: Sodium chloride is mixed with sodium sulfate, sodium hydrogen sulfate and ferrous sulfate and reduced with charcoal
Both versions of Kala Namak are very similar in terms of taste and appearance. The “real” black salt is considered to be of higher quality and is usually a little more expensive.

Kala Namak in the kitchen – recipe ideas and tips

No other vegan food tastes as close to a boiled egg as Kala Namak. That’s why black salt is so popular in vegan diets and it’s hard to imagine life without it.

Kala Namak is therefore suitable for all dishes in which you want to imitate eggs, for example:
vegan scrambled eggs with tofu or chickpea flour – with some turmeric for the yellow color
vegan shakshuka with chickpea flour and oatmeal
Avocado, finely seasoned with black salt – for example on a slice of bread
vegan omelette
vegan egg salad
Poor Knight (French Toast) as a vegan variant
In Indian cuisine, on the other hand, kala namak is used in a completely different way. There it is mainly an ingredient in chutneys, fruit salads, chaats or raitas. But you can also add Kala Namak to fruit juice drinks and long drinks.

In any case, you should only use black salt sparingly – otherwise the peculiar taste will quickly become too much.

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Lifestyle

Weight, Personality, Depression: This is How Vegetarians and Meat Eaters Differ

How do eating habits affect people? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute wanted to find out: In a large-scale study, they compared people who eat meat with those who consume little or none.

Diet with or without meat: these are the differences

The researchers were interested in three characteristics – the subjects’ weight, their mental health and personality traits. The results:

1. Weight

Participants who ate less meat and dairy products had a lower BMI – i.e. they were leaner. According to the study, this is because animal products are often higher in calories and contain more saturated fats. They are also consumed more frequently than processed foods and are therefore even higher in calories.

2. Personality

People who ate fewer animal products tended to be more introverted in the study. It is unclear what the reason for this is, says Veronica Witte, head of the study, on Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). “It could be because more introverted people tend to have more restrictive eating habits or become more socially isolated because of their eating habits.”

The scientists also investigated whether there was a link between the plant-based diet and neuroticism. People Higher in Neuroticism People are considered to be more anxious, moody, and irritable. Previous studies have suggested a link between a vegetarian diet and neuroticism. However, the current study could not confirm this.

3. Mental Health

The study also analyzed whether vegetarians were more likely to be depressed. Previous studies had pointed this out as well. However, the researchers at the Max Planck Institute were also unable to confirm this connection.

Lessons from the study

The scientists conclude from their study that a vegetarian lifestyle can above all be an effective way to combat obesity. The results also suggest that introverts are more likely to adjust their diet accordingly. Further studies are needed to clarify why this is the case.

Utopia says: The findings of this study again indicate that a vegetarian diet does not have any health disadvantages – on the contrary. And it’s better for animals and the environment anyway.

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Lifestyle

What Would Happen if Nobody ate Meat Anymore

Those who do without meat protect the environment and reduce animal suffering. But what if everyone in the world stopped eating meat? The effects would be remarkable.

Animal suffering in factory farming, the poor ecological balance of meat or exploitation in the slaughterhouses: there are good reasons for not eating meat.

1. There would be more free space

The production of food of animal origin takes up a lot of space. A 2018 study by Oxford University in England came to the conclusion that agricultural land without meat and dairy products could be reduced by up to 75 percent worldwide. That’s an area the size of the US, China, the EU and Australia combined. If mankind would only do without meat, the area would be a little smaller – but still considerable.

Of course, plant-based foods also need space to grow, but significantly less. According to the study, meat and dairy products provide only 18 percent of all calories and 37 percent of proteins – but require the largest area for production.

2. Less rainforest destruction

Less animal husbandry also means that less animal feed has to be grown. Pigs, cows and the like are fed with soy, among other things – around 70 to 75 percent of the global soy harvest is used as animal feed.

The high demand for soy means that in countries like Brazil, rainforests are being cleared to make room for soy plantations. If humanity stopped eating meat, more rainforest would remain.

3. More biodiversity

When the world uses less land for agriculture and more rainforest is preserved, there is more room for wild plants, insects and animals. Livestock farming is one of the main reasons why around a million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction: it takes away their habitat and food resources.

4. Fewer greenhouse gases

Livestock breeding not only takes up a lot of space, but also causes a lot of climate-damaging emissions. An American study from 2016 came to the conclusion that the greenhouse gases caused by animal husbandry could be reduced by 63 percent if people were to eat vegetarian food. According to this, a vegan diet would even result in savings of 70 percent.

5. Less water consumption

If people stopped eating meat, they would also save an enormous amount of water. One kilo of beef, for example, uses around 15,000 liters of water during the production process. A particularly large amount of it is needed to irrigate areas under cultivation for animal feed.

6. Cleaner groundwater

Without animal husbandry, the water quality would also improve. In Germany, the nitrate levels in groundwater are too high, which is why the EU Commission has already sued Germany.

Farmers use liquid manure from factory farming to fertilize their fields. In livestock farming, however, the quantities of manure are so large that the soil is heavily over-fertilized – and the groundwater is polluted with nitrate.

7. Less antibiotic resistance

Especially in factory farming, farms treat their animals with antibiotics to prevent disease from spreading. According to a study from 2019, three times more antibiotics and other drugs are used in animal fattening than in human medicine.

The consequences: Resistant bacteria develop in the animals, which humans eat with the meat. As a result, certain antibiotics also lose their effectiveness in humans. If a person becomes seriously ill and is dependent on an antibiotic, resistance can, in the worst case, be fatal. If humanity stopped eating meat, there would be fewer such antibiotic resistances.

7. Fewer diseases

Overall, people around the world could be healthier if they stopped eating meat. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies red meat as “probably carcinogenic”. Red meat includes pork, beef, lamb, and goat. According to the WHO, processed meat such as sausage and ham is considered “carcinogenic”. So if people stopped eating meat, there would be fewer cancers.

We would also probably eat more vegetables and plant-based foods – and thus take in more healthy nutrients. A 2016 study calculated that a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle could prevent seven to eight million premature deaths worldwide every year.

8. Less animal suffering

When humanity stops eating meat, fewer animals need to be raised in problematic conditions. In addition, fewer animals are slaughtered. Overall, animal suffering is at least reduced. However, it can only be avoided completely if animals are no longer exploited for food production. We should fundamentally make the production of dairy products and eggs more animal-friendly, consume less of them – or do without them altogether.

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Food

Vegan Foods: Popular Foods on an Animal-Free Diet

There is a wide variety of vegan foods – some of which you may not even know. We’ll show you how to recognize vegan foods and which ones are particularly important.

This is how you recognize vegan food

Vegan foods are free from animal ingredients and are usually specially labelled. Fruit and vegetables don’t need to be labeled – they’re vegan by nature.

Important vegan foods

A balanced diet is important for everyone – including vegans. With a diet without animal products, you have to make sure that you consume certain vitamins and minerals that are otherwise found in meat and eggs, for example. Because some substances are found in high concentrations mainly in foods of animal origin. Therefore, you should pay attention to the following nutrients:

Legumes, nuts and seeds are a good source of protein. They also contain many vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B2, vitamin B3 and calcium.
Vitamin C not only strengthens the immune system, but also promotes iron absorption. So if you eat foods that are particularly rich in iron, such as oatmeal, lentils or Brussels sprouts, you should also take vitamin C at the same time to better process the iron – for example with paprika or a glass of water with lemon juice.
Omega-3 fatty acids are not only found in fish, but are also found in linseed oil, hemp oil, walnut oil and rapeseed oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly important for the brain and eyes. They also reduce the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin D is found in many types of fish and in egg yolks. Porcini mushrooms, chanterelles and button mushrooms are a good vegan alternative. However, with sufficient exposure to sunlight, the human body can produce its entire vitamin D requirement itself. Therefore, you should be outdoors every day.
Vitamin B12 is mainly found in meat, fish and dairy products. Vitamin B12 can only be found in animal-free foods in fermented plant-based foods such as sauerkraut and beer and the alga chlorella – but very little. Many vegans therefore resort to vitamin supplements.

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