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Did you know that it takes almost two bathtubs full of water to produce one kilo of tomatoes? Read what the frontrunners are when it comes to water consumption and how you as a consumer can help save water.

In the supermarket or restaurant, do you wonder how much water was used to produce the food in your shopping basket or on your plate?

Very few of us give the “water footprint” of our consumption a thought-fatal, say nature conservation organizations such as the WWF, which proclaimed World Water Day on Tuesday, March 22nd. Because according to the WWF, our daily water consumption is falling (currently it is an average of 120 liters), but the water footprint of an average person is 5,288 liters per day according to WWF calculations. For comparison: a bathtub holds about 140 liters.

The graphic from ZEIT illustrates what can come together for a balance when a product is ordered thoughtlessly: Almost 2,500 liters of water are therefore required to produce a single cheeseburger, which we usually devour in just a few bites. A list that makes you think.

Our groceries are so thirsty

Did you know that it takes an incredible 15,400 liters of water to produce one kilo of beef? And for a kilo of apples more than 800 liters? This small compilation lets us see daily consumption with completely different eyes. Here are some popular products and their track record:

  • Beef: 15,400 liters/kg
  • Pork: 5,988 liters/kg
  • Rice: 2,497 liters/kg
  • Pizza Margherita: 1,259 litres/kg
  • Apple: 822 liters/kg
  • Banana: 790 liters/kg
  • Milk: 255 liters/glass
  • Lettuce: 237 litres/kg
  • Coffee: 132 liters/cup

You can find more examples on the “Water footprint” homepage.

Water consumption: The WWF gives these tips

If you want to improve your water footprint, you can do the following:

  • prefer regional and seasonal products.
  • eat less meat. Beef and pork are considered to be particularly “thirsty” goods.
  • Pay attention to your own consumption during your vacation in “water risk regions”.
  • prefer to travel to their home country for a golf holiday. In Spain, for example, 700,000 cubic meters of water are used every year to irrigate an 18-hole golf course.
  • Prefer tap water to bottled water. Tap water quality is very good across the board in Germany. Drinking water uses 1000 times less energy and raw materials to produce per liter than bottled water. If you don’t want that, you should choose water from regional production and in reusable bottles.

From the school cone to the graduation trip – over the years, parents face high costs related to school attendance. In many areas, however, there is potential for savings that add up over the entire school year and are therefore worthwhile. Because not everything is really necessary for the school success of your child.

Parents pay around 21,000 euros for their children’s 12-year school education. There are sometimes horrendous differences between the individual federal states: If you live in Lower Saxony, for example, you will have to pay almost 30,000 euros for your child’s schooling. If you live in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it is just under half. It is therefore worth taking a close look and exploiting the existing savings potential.

Potential savings in care

More and more parents are working full-time while their children are at school. In this respect, they are dependent on supervision. It is therefore not surprising that the costs for after-school care make up the largest proportion of the total costs of school life. Because: In the open all-day schools, care is offered at lunchtime and also in the afternoon, even if there are no more classes. Many parents are happy to take advantage of this, which means that a share of the childcare costs is incurred. On average in Germany, this amounts to 7,911 euros over the course of school life. In Thuringia, parents only pay 2,750 euros, while in Lower Saxony they are asked to pay 14,000 euros.

If you don’t want to resort to school care, you should try to organize care yourself. Together with other parents or even grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles, neighborhood care can be organized that is completely free of charge. If a childcare contract is drawn up, the costs up to the age of 14 can even be deducted from tax as a special expense. Alternatively, you can hire a childminder or a student to organize the children’s afternoons in a meaningful way. This may even be beneficial for school success.

Potential savings in school materials

School satchels and sports gear are offered in new designs by the manufacturers every year. However, if you go back to a previous year’s model instead, you can save significantly. In terms of quality, this usually makes no difference and most materials are not used for long anyway. And since the children in the higher grades use the same models, your child is not at a disadvantage. In any case, it is worthwhile to compare different providers online, as the prices sometimes vary greatly. If the things no longer fit after a year, it is also advisable to sell them on. For this purpose, many schools have book fairs for school books, where you can buy used books and sell them again.

Potential savings in school meals

A healthy lunch is important. Nevertheless, you can still save here if you give your child a lunch box that you have put together yourself instead of letting them take part in the school lunch. However, arithmetic is required here, since school meals are often subsidized and therefore very cheap.

Tips and tricks for losing weight when traveling, on vacation, and on the go. Get slim naturally and stay healthy while traveling.

1) Dried fruit for on the go

When you are out and about, you should always have some fresh or dried fruit with you for sweet cravings. Keeping supplies in your pocket prevents you from being tempted to spontaneously buy sweets from the bakery, the nearest supermarket, or the kiosk when you are not at home and are slightly hungry.

2) Avoid alcohol on vacation

When it comes to losing weight while traveling, alcohol is a big issue. Regardless of the other risks of alcohol, it is high in calories and also stimulates the appetite. Alcohol is particularly tempting when traveling or on vacation. But in a diet, alcohol should therefore be largely avoided. If you are already drinking, activate your body the next day with strength exercises and endurance sports.

3) Losing weight while traveling without prohibitions

Especially when traveling there are many unexpected things that happen. There are also country kitchens that you cannot assess beforehand or day gates with unknown food stations. In order to continue to lose weight while on vacation and to avoid a yo-yo effect, you should under no circumstances burden yourself with strict prohibitions. If you unplanned more food on the trip, make up for it with more activity and sightseeing the following day.

4) Favor fruit and packaged items

It’s simple: only industrial food and fruit in its natural shell are protected abroad and on the go. You are less likely to trust any food that others prepare or arrange for you. Even when losing weight, you know that you don’t have to fear any illnesses or poisoning if you eat trustworthy food.

5) Keep a food diary

Since many people do not even notice exactly what they eat in between while driving in the car or on the train, it is advisable to keep a food diary. As a result, you pay more attention to your eating habits and are forced to deal with your eating habits, especially when you are out and about. This way you can quickly see where your nutritional sins are hidden and what you can do to avoid them. Replace foods you cannot do without with low-calorie alternatives.

Lots of useful tips for losing weight while cooking and eating. A kitchen is a central place for successful weight loss. Here is eaten and almost all food is prepared. Therefore, pay attention to the following tips, tricks, and tricks in the kitchen, when eating, and when cooking, in order to lose weight in a healthy and long-term manner.

1) Fruits and vegetables as a base

Fresh fruit and vegetables should be eaten in large quantities every day because fruit and vegetables provide the body with valuable vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and liquid. The German Society for Nutrition recommends eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day and points out that fruit and vegetables should be part of every meal. Whether you use organic vegetables or local fruit is of course up to you. However, it is clear that fruit and vegetables that have not been transported long distances usually retain more of their valuable ingredients.

When preparing, you should note that raw vegetables contain more vitamins than cooked vegetables. So it makes sense to eat part of the daily fruit and vegetable ration as raw food, e.g. salad. But be careful: Don’t make your low-fat, healthy salad a calorie bomb by drowning it in an oily or creamy dressing. Less is more! When cooking, you should make sure that you only cook the vegetables for as long as necessary so that the ingredients are at least partially preserved.

Just eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables! Not only does it help your body stay healthy, it also helps you lose weight if you’re overweight. With the large selection offered by the shops, everyone will find something they like!

2) Eat slowly

In order to achieve long-term weight loss, one must develop the habit of never gorging on food, eating slowly, and chewing each bite thoroughly. It takes about 20 minutes for the satiety signal to reach the brain. So if you eat your meal very quickly, you eat beyond the actual hunger.

3) Don’t forget the calories in drinks

Calories consumed in beverages are not as filling as calories from solid foods that require chewing. You are still hungry even after drinking high-calorie drinks. Therefore, as part of a diet, do not forget to include the nutritional value of drinks or consume only non-caloric drinks, such as mineral water. Otherwise, you may not lose weight despite your reduced food intake.

4) Vegetable snacks for cravings

If you want to get slim again on a diet, you should always be prepared for a little hunger or even cravings. Vegetable snacks are particularly helpful here to ensure safe weight loss. For example, if you are out and about or at work, no craving for something edible can be particularly dangerous. That’s why you should always have some prepared vegetable snacks with you. Otherwise, it can easily happen that you buy sweets or snacks in between meals.

Vegetables such as kohlrabi slices, cucumber slices, peeled carrots, and crunchy pepper wedges really help a lot if you feel hungry between meals. The vegetable snack is filling, but has few calories and helps to satisfy your oral cravings.

5) Don’t eat what you don’t like

For losing weight while eating, suggested recipes from diets should be liked. It is better to choose an alternative with the same nutritional value. Otherwise, you are too easily in danger of treating yourself to something after the meal that you like. Your calorie requirement is then already covered and the consumption of another food boycotts your diet.

6) Save fat by steaming

A healthy diet includes low-fat meals. Vegetables can be prepared without fat and while preserving the valuable vitamins and trace elements by cooking with little water in stainless steel pots with lids, steaming, pressure steaming, or steaming in their own juice.

When preparing vegetables or potatoes, boiling is not always the best way. To steam them, cover the bottom of the pan with a little water and place the vegetables in a colander. In this way, the trace elements and vitamins are better preserved and the aroma and taste are retained.

7) The correct fat content in cheese

On the product packaging of different types of cheese, the fat content is usually only given in the dry state (fat in dry matter). Although the actual fat content of the product is always lower, it always depends on the amount of water in the cheese. The more water the cheese contains, the greater the fat content. Accordingly, soft cheese and cream cheese are far lower in fat than hard and semi-hard cheese of the same fat content.

8) Avoid cream when losing weight

The cream is a popular ingredient in salads, sauces, and casseroles. In order to do something good for your health, however, you should replace it with sour cream to reduce the fat content. Alternatively, you can also use sour cream, which you should mix with flour so that it does not curdle when heated.