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Freezing Brussels Sprouts: These Tips Will Keep Them Fresh

Leftover Brussels sprouts can be easily frozen: we will show you how to preserve the green winter vegetables for a long time and what you need to consider when freezing.

Brussels sprouts can be prepared in many ways – the winter vegetable is also very rich in vitamins and nutrients. If you have your own plant in the garden, you will quickly notice how productive it is: A single Brussels sprouts plant can produce up to 40 florets. If you can’t use up the entire harvest at once, it’s worth freezing Brussels sprouts – we’ll explain how to do that here.

Freezing Brussels sprouts: Clean and blanch

Before you freeze the Brussels sprouts, you should prepare them well:
First, the Brussels sprouts must be cleaned thoroughly. To do this, cut off the stalk and remove the withered and outer leaves.
Wash the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl of lukewarm water or rinse them under the faucet.
In the last preparatory step, you blanch the Brussels sprouts: Put them in a pot of boiling salted water for two minutes. Then scare him off with cold water.

Tip: This is how frozen Brussels sprouts don’t stick together

To prevent the florets from freezing together in the freezer, you should snap freeze them. This way you can always take as many florets out of the glass as you need later.

How it works:
Drain the Brussels sprouts or dry them with paper towels.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have a baking sheet at hand, you can also use a board or a large plate.
Arrange the florets on the tray so they don’t touch each other.
Now place the tray in the freezer or freezer for 1.5 to 2 hours. It is best to set your device to a particularly low temperature during this time.
When you take it out again, the Brussels sprouts are flash frozen. You can now freeze it as normal.

Freezing Brussels sprouts: Here’s how

How to freeze Brussels sprouts:
Store the Brussels sprouts in freezer-safe containers. If you haven’t flash frozen it, you should fill the Brussels sprouts in portion sizes – otherwise there will be some left over after defrosting.
Now place the filled containers in your freezer compartment.
The Brussels sprouts can now be kept for at least half a year. Later, thaw it directly in boiling water.

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Probiotic Foods: In This List You Will Find The Most Important Ones

For a healthy intestine and a strong immune system, it is advisable to integrate probiotic foods into the diet. You can find out which foods are particularly rich in this article.

What are probiotic foods?

Probiotic foods should strengthen the natural defenses and keep the intestines healthy. But what is behind it?

Probiotic comes from the Greek and means something like: for life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines probiotics as edible microorganisms that are beneficial to health when they enter the human intestine alive.

Probiotic foods therefore contain a high amount of these living microorganisms, such as yeast or bacteria. These arise, for example, during lactic acid fermentation, which has been used to preserve food for thousands of years. Strains of Bifidobacteria, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Streptococcus are most commonly used in food.

You should be skeptical about fitness yoghurts and dinks that are advertised as probiotic. In most cases, the promises made in advertising cannot be kept, since the added bacteria die off during the storage period in the cup. In addition, such products with high sugar content can promote the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria.

Health effects of probiotic foods

Up to 500 different types of bacteria live in the human intestine. Ideally, the majority of these bacteria should be beneficial. They are essential for healthy digestion and also for a strong immune system, because probiotics can activate immune cells and thus protect the body from diseases. People with healthy intestines are therefore less likely to get sick.

In addition, probiotics may prevent allergies and skin diseases and prevent intestinal diseases. The positive effects of some lactic acid bacteria on diarrheal diseases are scientifically proven: the duration of the symptoms can be reduced by an average of one day.

Especially after antibiotic treatment, you should take enough probiotics to rebuild your intestinal flora. This includes foods that naturally contain probiotics. In order for probiotics to develop their positive effect on the intestine, you should take them daily over a longer period of time. For healthy people, however, a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as whole grain products is usually sufficient to maintain intestinal health without having to take probiotics regularly.

Sauerkraut: probiotic superfood

This home cooking side dish has it all: sauerkraut contains plenty of vitamin C and B12, fiber and live lactic acid bacteria. These are formed during the fermentation process that turns cabbage into easily digestible sauerkraut. The healthy ingredients in sauerkraut support cell renewal and blood formation and ensure regular digestion.

But be careful: Only raw sauerkraut is suitable as a probiotic food. When heated, the healthy bacteria and vitamins die off. When buying, you should therefore make sure that your sauerkraut has not been pasteurized. The sauerkraut juice that is produced during fermentation is also rich in lactic acid bacteria.

Probiotic bomb kimchi

The traditional Korean dish is a side dish that is served with most dishes. Kimchi is made from Chinese cabbage, similar to sauerkraut, and contains various vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin C, vitamin A, many B vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2 and B12, iron and various amino acids. Like sauerkraut, the probiotic food is rich in fiber and thus supports healthy digestion.

Traditionally, kimchi is not vegan as it is made with fish sauce. But you can easily make it yourself and adapt it to your needs. You can simply replace the fish sauce with soy sauce. This makes kimchi a good source of probiotics for vegans too.

Yogurt as probiotics

Yoghurt produced by lactic acid fermentation is a good source of probiotics. Conventional yoghurts usually contain strains of the bifidobacterium and lactobacillus, which are artificially propagated and added to the yoghurt.

Important: The yoghurt must be relatively fresh so that it still contains enough living lactic acid bacteria. Regular consumption of natural yoghurt is said to prevent constipation and diarrhea. However, sweetened yogurts with additives are not conducive to gut health.

Just like other dairy products, yoghurts are also increasingly being criticized for health concerns. Industrial factory farming makes an increased use of antibiotics necessary and antibiotic residues have already been detected in dairy products such as cheese, quark and yoghurt. Consuming such products would damage the gut rather than build it up. It is therefore better to opt for organic products or use soy or coconut yoghurt. The same microorganisms are added to these yoghurts, but they consist of purely plant-based raw materials.

Probiotic foods: kefir

Kefir is a fermented, viscous milk drink made from goat’s or cow’s milk. Kefir has a full-bodied, slightly sour taste. To make kefir, a kefir fungus must be added to the milk, which causes the lactose to ferment. Yeasts are also added, which produce small amounts of carbonic acid and alcohol. The ripening process takes about 24 hours.

Kefir is rich in calcium, magnesium and phosphorus and contains vitamins B2, B12 and vitamin D. As with yoghurt, you should also make sure that the kefir product is fresh and organic. In this way, a particularly large number of living bacteria can get into the intestine and health disadvantages can be avoided.

Probiotic and delicious: pickles

Pickled cucumbers and other pickled vegetables are great vegan sources of probiotics, as is sauerkraut. With regular consumption, they can contribute to healthy digestion and strengthen the immune system.

However, this only applies if the vegetables have traditionally been preserved by lactic acid fermentation and not simply mixed with vinegar. It is therefore advisable to pickle cucumbers and other vegetables yourself, as most products from the supermarket do not contain any live lactic acid bacteria.

Apple cider vinegar as a natural probiotic

Many people are familiar with apple cider vinegar, but few are aware of its probiotic effects. Apple cider vinegar is made from apples. These are fermented into cider, which is then used to make vinegar. Here, too, lactic acid bacteria form during fermentation. In addition to the benefits for gut health, apple cider vinegar is also said to help fight colds and inflammation.

When buying, make sure that you use a natural product. You can recognize such apple cider vinegar by its cloudy golden-brownish colour. In addition, streaks or particles remaining after the fermentation process should be visible.

Vegan Probiotic: Miso

The aromatic paste from Japan usually consists of soybeans and rice or barley. In traditional production, the miso paste has to mature for several months in order to obtain its typically spicy taste through fermentation. At the same time, the probiotic lactic acid bacteria are formed. Miso is an integral part of Japanese cuisine. Aside from the significant amount of probiotics, miso contains fiber and protein.

Miso is also an ideal source of probiotics for vegans, because the paste is made without animal ingredients.

Probiotic trend drink Kombucha

Kombucha is made from herbal or black tea. The kombucha fungus is added to this, which ensures the fermentation of the tea. In addition to the lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid, carbonic acid and small amounts of alcohol are also produced during fermentation. Depending on the type of tea, Kombucha also contains caffeine.

Fresh kombucha is an excellent probiotic food. It is said to contribute to the health of the intestinal flora and protect against harmful bacteria through a slight antibacterial effect. However, this only works if there are enough living microorganisms in the drink. Unfortunately, this is not the case with most products from supermarkets. Due to the high level of processing and the long storage time, the positive health effects on the intestines cannot be achieved.

Tempeh: vegan probiotic food

Whether in salads, as a hearty main course, or as a snack – tempeh has it all. The traditional Indonesian product is made from soybeans that are inoculated with a special mold. This starts the fermentation that creates the unique texture of the tempeh and allows a lot of healthy bacteria to grow. Tempeh is rich in minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus and potassium and proteins, which can be used particularly well by the body through fermentation.

Tempeh is tasteless without seasoning and is suitable as a meat substitute in various dishes. The probiotic food is particularly appreciated by vegans and health-conscious people.

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Cooking Tips

Saving a Dry Cake: These Tips Will Help

If a cake has dried out a little after a few days, save it with simple remedies. Whether as a cake or as a base for a dessert – there is always a useful use for dry cake.

Throw away dry cake – not an option

If you’ve stored cake for a few days, it may have become a bit dry. So it no longer tastes completely fresh, but it is still a valuable food. If the cake is only slightly dry, refresh it as described below. If it’s so dry that you can’t eat it in pieces, use it as a base for a dessert.

Dry cake as a base for dessert

You can use dry sponge cake as a basis for tiramisu, for example. Cut the cake into slices and put it in for a tiramisu:
You can use light, rather neutral cakes just like ladyfingers and pour espresso over it until it is soaked.
Dark, strong cakes or even gingerbread give the tiramisu a particularly characteristic taste. If you don’t want to cover it with espresso, pour (plant) milk over the cake.

Dry cake to delicious topping

If the cake has become very dry, break it up with a knife and let the cubes dry completely. Make sure that the cubes are airy when drying so that they don’t get moldy. When the cubes are completely dry, grind them up with an immersion blender. This will give you sweet breadcrumbs.

Fry the breadcrumbs in a pan with some vegetable oil and serve as a topping on sweet desserts.

Save dry cake as cake pops

Cake pops look like lollipops, but are made of delicious dough. To make tasty cake pops from dry cake, crumble the cake with your hands or in a food processor. The cream cheese in the recipe balances out the dryness of the cake and you end up with a delicious new “pastry”.

coffee and cake

A popular trick to save dry cake is to soak it in coffee, cocoa, or juice. To do this, poke small holes in the dough with a skewer and fill them with the liquid of your choice. Allow the cake to soak up the liquid before serving.

Depending on how formal the environment is, you can of course also dip the cake in the coffee or cocoa.

Grandma’s tip for dry cakes

This tip is simple but effective: simply spread butter, cream cheese or some jam on the piece of dry cake. This way you can upgrade the cake leftovers from the weekend and don’t have to throw them away.

If you have dried out a whole cake while baking, there is no reason to despair. Here’s where you can use the trick on a grand scale:
Cut your sponge cake horizontally into 2 or 3 pieces.
Then fill the individual pieces of cake with jam, buttercream, pudding or a cream cheese cream with lemon juice.
Of course, you should make sure that the dough harmonises with the (rescue) filling.

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Storing Radishes: These Tips Will Keep Them Crunchy For Longer

Storing radishes properly is not that difficult. In this article you can read how you can keep the healthy and tasty snack crunchy for longer with a few simple tricks.

Storing radishes: general information

Radishes are among the first vegetables to be harvested throughout the year. The delicious vegetable got its name from Latin. “Radix” appropriately means root. It has been part of European cuisine since the 16th century, originating in France. In the decades and hundreds that followed, it was eaten more and more in other countries as well. Whether in salads, quark dips or simply raw – radishes are always a good choice. If you store radishes in the refrigerator, they will stay fresh for up to three days.

You can find out if the radishes are still fresh in the store. They shouldn’t be too soft. Also look at the leaves. The fresher the leaves are, the fresher the radish itself is. Wilted leaves indicate that the radishes have passed their prime.

Storing radishes: storage tips

If you store radishes properly, they stay fresh and crunchy longer:
Cut off leaves and roots with a knife. This prevents the stored water from going into the leaves. This leaves more in the radish itself.
Take a can and put the radishes in it. Alternatively, you can wrap the radishes in damp towels.
Store them in the crisper in the fridge. They stay there for up to three days. A cool basement is an alternative.
Of course you can also freeze radishes. But then they lose their taste, at least partially.
If the radishes have softened, place them in a water bath for a few minutes. This makes them a little crunchier again.

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Cooking Spaghetti: With These Tricks You Will Succeed

Cooking spaghetti is easy with our tips. The Italian classic among pasta is quick to prepare and always tastes different with the different sauces.

Cooking spaghetti isn’t an art, but it’s not enough to simply boil a pot of water and pour in a pack of pasta.

With our tips, the spaghetti succeeds like in Italy and you have a delicious meal on the table in just a few minutes.

In addition, in this article you will learn what you should consider when eating spaghetti.

Cooking spaghetti: the ingredients

The most important ingredient to cooking perfect spaghetti is a large pot. It must be large enough for the noodles to swim freely.

You need these ingredients for each portion of spaghetti as a main course:
1 liter of water
1 tsp salt
100-125g spaghetti #5
Tip:
You can buy what is known as a spaghetti measure in stores. The different hole sizes correspond to the different portion sizes. In order to portion the spaghetti correctly, however, the spaghetti measurer is not required. Use your kitchen scale so you always have the right amount.

When cooking spaghetti, use pasta made from 100% organic durum wheat semolina and from regional production. Regional products have shorter transport routes behind them and are therefore better for the climate. Traditional spaghetti does not contain eggs and is vegan.

How do you cook spaghetti?

Always cook the spaghetti fresh so they don’t stick together. You should therefore prepare the sauce first – it will be ready when the spaghetti is cooked. It is best not to put the pasta pot with the water on until the sauce is almost ready.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil.
Add the salt to the boiling water.
Now add the spaghetti and immediately turn the heat down to the lowest setting.
The spaghetti usually does not have enough space in the pot. Therefore, wait a moment until the part of the spaghetti that is in the boiling water can be bent.
Stir well so all of the spaghetti is surrounded by the water.
Now you can close the lid of the saucepan and cook the noodles on the lowest setting.
Keep stirring the spaghetti. This distributes the starch in the cooking water and prevents them from sticking. Tip: Regular stirring also prevents the pasta water from boiling over.
Let the spaghetti cook for the length of time listed on the pasta package.
Test to see if the noodles are the consistency you want. If necessary, let them cook for a little longer. You can already switch off the stove.
Pour the spaghetti into a large colander and serve immediately.

Cooking spaghetti: You should pay attention to this

These tips make the spaghetti even better:
The best guarantee for the perfect spaghetti is a large pot with plenty of water so that the pasta can cook while it is floating. When in doubt, it is better to use a pot that is too big than a pot that is too small.
Spaghetti releases starch into the cooking water as it cooks. If you don’t use enough water, the noodles will stick together while cooking in the pot.
To cook spaghetti, you need a relatively large amount of salt in the cooking water. Always salt the water after it is already boiling. Salting the cold water will leave stains on the bottom of the pot that won’t be easily removed by washing up.
You don’t need to quench the spaghetti in cold water. If you serve them right away, the noodles won’t stick together.
Surely you have already read that you should add oil to the cooking water so that the noodles do not stick together. The oil in the water serves this purpose, but the sauce won’t stick to the noodles as well later on. If you cook the spaghetti just before serving, you can skip oil in the water for better flavor.
The Italians usually mix the spaghetti with the sauce in the saucepan. This will infuse the noodles with the sauce, improving the flavor.
Use spaghetti tongs to make portioning the pasta easier.

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Storing Potatoes: These 7 Tips Will Keep Them Fresh For a Long Time

Storing potatoes properly is not difficult at all. The most important thing is that you protect them from light. Otherwise they will quickly start to germinate or turn green. Here you can find out what else you should pay attention to.

Store potatoes correctly: protect from heat and light

Potatoes begin to germinate quickly in warmth and light. The toxic germs cannot be eaten and they deprive the potato of important nutrients. As a result, it shrinks and loses flavor and firmness. Sprouted potatoes can have high concentrations of toxic glycoalkaloids. This substance is also contained in green potatoes and makes them intolerable. You can prevent or at least delay the potatoes from germinating and turning green by storing them correctly.

In addition, potatoes can easily go moldy – even one affected tuber can spread the rot to many other potatoes and possibly make the entire harvest unusable.

With a little experience, you can even store potatoes for many months until the next season. This is practical because you can buy local potatoes in advance without long transport routes. The late potatoes are ripe in September and October, the early potatoes as early as June.

7 tips for storing potatoes properly

Choose a dark place for storage: for example your pantry, the basement or a shed in the garden. If you don’t have all of this available, you can also store the potatoes in a linen bag in the kitchen to protect them from light.
Pay attention to low temperatures, because the potatoes start to sprout from around 10°C. At the same time, it must not get colder than 4° C, otherwise the starch in the tubers will turn into sugar, which will affect the taste. Ideal for storing potatoes is 4°C to 8°C.
Protect the potatoes from frost (e.g. when storing them in the garden or in cold cellars) and never put them in the freezer.
Store them in a dry and airy place so the potatoes don’t get moldy or rot. A linen sack or a wooden box in which the potatoes are loosely stacked is suitable for storage. Plastic bags are unsuitable for storing potatoes. If you have enough space in the garden, you can also build a potato tower.
Check your potatoes from time to time: If small sprouts have formed, the affected tubers must be eaten as soon as possible. Rotten potatoes must be removed immediately and disposed of with organic waste. Regular rearranging also ensures adequate ventilation.
Store potatoes separately from fruit, especially apples. The ripening gas ethylene that many fruits give off will otherwise quickly spoil the potatoes.
Only undamaged potatoes with an intact skin and without bruises or sprouting are suitable for long-term storage over several months. Slightly damaged potatoes should be eaten quickly. If the potatoes are stored well distributed on slatted frames, they will keep for months.

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10 Vegan Foods That You are Guaranteed to Have at Home and That Will Fill You Up

A vegan diet does not necessarily mean just eating salad or relying on substitute products. Because you probably have these ten vegan foods at home anyway – and you’ll get really full of them.

If you want to eat vegan, you now have a large selection of vegan substitute products that are produced as an alternative to animal food. It’s a nice option, but it doesn’t have to be. Because many foods are already vegan anyway and you probably already have them at home. This is handy if you want to cook something without having to shop for it first.

Make sure that all food is regional and of organic quality. In this way you avoid long transport routes and chemical-synthetic pesticides and do something good for yourself and the environment. We can particularly recommend the Demeter, Bioland and Naturland seals, because they follow stricter criteria than the EU organic seals.

Red lenses

Small but fine: Red lentils can be the basis for many delicious dishes. Rich in proteins and minerals, they provide you with a lot of energy. In addition, they are already cooked after 15 minutes of cooking time – perfect when you need something quick.

Tomato passata

Tomato passata is easy to make yourself. All you need is onions, garlic, a carrot, celery, tomatoes, olive oil, and basil—just veggies you probably already have at home. You can find a detailed recipe here: Make Passata yourself.

Store-bought passata is also often vegan, which you can easily recognize by the vegan logo printed on the bottle or pack.

You can use the passata to make a refreshing tomato soup with oat milk right now in summer. You can also use it directly as a sauce for pasta or on pizza.

Spelled flour

Not only is it healthier than wheat, its hard shell also makes it easier to do without pesticides: spelled. Fortunately, wheat and spelled can be used in a similar way as flour. You can easily replace wheat flour with spelled flour.

A quick recipe with spelled flour is pan bread. You can prepare it in just 20 minutes with just a few vegan ingredients. Vegan spelled waffles are ideal for the coffee table: They are also ready in a short time. They are a healthier alternative to cakes, biscuits and the like and taste particularly delicious with seasonal fruit.

Potatoes

It is one of the staple foods in Germany: the potato. With a similar carbohydrate content as pasta or rice, it has only half as many calories.

The tuber can be used in many ways: you can make your own fries, for example. You don’t need much for these and they are healthier than frozen fries. Another delicious recipe is smashed potatoes. They taste delicious and can be garnished with various vegetables.

Quinoa

Filler and energy supplier: quinoa. The so-called pseudo-grain is gluten-free and can be eaten with vegetables or sauce instead of pasta and the like.

A summery recipe with the pseudocereal is a quinoa salad that tastes delicious and fills you up, but is not heavy on the stomach. But you can also make a sweet snack from quinoa, namely in the form of quinoa bites.

Chickpeas

It goes particularly well with meatless diets: the chickpea. Because the legumes contain many proteins that the body can otherwise get from the meat. Your body can also benefit from the high fiber content of chickpeas.

In oriental cuisine, chickpeas are often made into hummus or falafel. But the legume also tastes very good in curry.

Bananas

Many swear by bananas. And not without reason: because although they contain a lot of carbohydrates and fructose – also in comparison to other fruit – the banana is not unhealthy. Because it is rich in vitamins and provides energy.

If you get bored with bananas as a simple snack, you can also use them to make banana chips. The chips are also perfect as a topping for muesli. Or you make a simple dessert: a vegan chocolate cream. A slightly more unusual variant is the banana soup.

Note: Only buy bananas in moderation, because they have been transported long distances. Through food sharing, however, you can often save bananas that would otherwise have ended up in the trash.

Oatmeal

Gluten-free, healthy, low-calorie: oatmeal is a typical breakfast and gives you the energy you need for the day. This is also due to the high vitamin and mineral content of the grain. By the way: Oat flakes are also gluten-free (pay attention to the label on the pack). Therefore, you can eat them even if you have celiac disease.

One of the most popular oat dishes is porridge. Since you can vary the toppings – for example fruit or pieces of chocolate – very flexibly, you have variety every day. Those who prefer a hearty breakfast can prepare the porridge with vegetables. But oats also taste delicious when baked: It is not without reason that the so-called baked oatmeal – i.e. porridge from the casserole dish – is currently the trend breakfast on Tik Tok.

Coconut milk

It is true that coconut milk is high in calories and fatty acids and it does not necessarily score well with its CO2 balance, which is why you should not buy it too often either. However, it offers a good vegan substitute for cream or crème fraîche and it should not be missing in many Asian dishes. If you want to do without store-bought coconut milk, you can easily make it yourself.

A simple dessert is the coconut milk rice. You can prepare it with just four ingredients and garnish with seasonal, fresh fruit or fruit puree. In Indian korma, a mild curry with ginger and cauliflower, coconut milk is important for taste and texture. And if you want a fruity cool down in summer, you can make your own watermelon ice cream with coconut milk.

Cornmeal

Whether for thickening sauces, for making desserts or for tortillas and nachos: corn flour can be used in many ways. It is also gluten free. But be careful: In contrast to spelled flour, you cannot simply replace wheat flour with corn flour. That’s why other types of flour always have to be mixed into cornbread.

But even if you don’t want to bake bread, you can use cornmeal in your kitchen – for example to make tortillas yourself. Or you can make your own nachos. You can also replace potato flour with corn flour in the dumpling dough.

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3 Healthy Winter Smoothies That Will Warm You Up

Delicious winter smoothies can also be mixed from “winter vegetables”. Here are three delicious smoothie recipes with seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Of course, citrus fruits in particular are everywhere in winter, but they have come a long way. Tropical fruits are also delicious, but ecologically not sensible.

Instead, there are enough fruits and vegetables from local cultivation or from your own cellar to make healthy smoothies. Our winter smoothie recipes are based on the Utopia seasonal calendar. In it you can read when which fruit and vegetables are in season with us.

We have three simple recipes for you that require few ingredients, are therefore quick to prepare and are suitable for any time of the day. So that the fat-soluble vitamins can also be absorbed by the body, you should never omit the nuts.

Winter Smoothie Recipe #1: Spicy Beetroot

You only need a few ingredients for a smoothie that warms you from the inside with the spicy spiciness of ginger:

1 medium sized beetroot
1 large pear
1 piece of ginger
1 handful of hazelnuts
some water
How to prepare the winter smoothie:

Peel the beetroot and cut into pieces. Because the red juice stains strongly, it is better to wear gloves when processing the tuber or rub your fingers with lemon juice afterwards. Remove the core of the pear and peel the piece of ginger.
Now add water to taste and process all the ingredients into a creamy smoothie. The more ginger you use, the more warming the winter smoothie will be.
Tip: You can also use nut oil instead of grated hazelnuts. Simply add your nut oil of choice while blending so it emulsifies well. If you use roasted oil, the nut aroma is more intense.

Beetroot bulbs can weigh up to 600 grams and can be stored very well. That’s why they are also considered “winter vegetables”, although their harvest takes place in summer from July. So there is no reason to only eat them in winter.

The vegetables contain a lot of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium, B vitamins, iron and folic acid. With manganese, copper and selenium, beetroot also provides rare but important trace elements.
However, beetroot also has quite a lot of oxalic acid. Anyone who tends to form kidney stones should avoid excessive consumption of the red tuber.
Beetroot is also a good nitrate storer. Nitrates are used as fertilizer in agriculture and can be converted into toxic nitrite. If the field is over-fertilized, a relatively large amount of nitrate is stored in the beetroot. To minimize this risk, you should only buy organic beetroot.

Winter Smoothie Recipe #2: Winter Apple

Apples are a native fruit that is available to us practically all year round. They contain a lot of soluble and insoluble fiber such as pectins. Pectins are water soluble and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Dietary fiber promotes digestion. They are also said to be helpful in preventing colon cancer. There is evidence that a high-fiber breakfast can directly or indirectly lower cholesterol levels. Tip: It is best to eat apples in their most natural form – as a whole fruit with skin.

The taste of this smoothie is reminiscent of baked apple. You need:

1 large apple
50 grams of raisins
1 handful of hazelnuts
Cinammon
some water
Here’s how to enjoy the winter smoothie for breakfast:

Soak the raisins in water the night before.
The next morning, remove the core of the apple. Then put the apple in the blender with the raisins, the soaking water and the hazelnuts.
If the raisins aren’t soaking in enough water to make them drinkable, add a little more water. Season with cinnamon and enjoy immediately.
In case you forgot to soak the raisins the night before, they will swell faster if you pour hot water over them. The better the raisins are soaked, the less power your blender will need. You can then also make the smoothie with a regular hand blender.

Smoothie Recipe #3: Fresh with lamb’s lettuce

Lamb’s lettuce also grows outdoors in winter in sheltered locations or under fleece. Not only in the cold months it is a good alternative to lettuce from greenhouses or southern growing areas.

Tip: If you don’t have any lamb’s lettuce at hand, you can also use other “winter salads” such as winter purslane, which is also called postelein.

For the green winter smoothie you need:

125 g lamb’s lettuce
1 large apple
1 tbsp walnuts
some water
How to prepare the winter smoothie:

Wash and clean the lamb’s lettuce well and cut the core out of the apple.
Put the apple and lettuce in a blender with a little water or use an immersion blender to make a green smoothie.
Roughly chop the walnuts and sprinkle over the smoothie. Do not puree with the other ingredients, the bitter substances in the walnuts would literally “bitter” the smoothie.
Tip: The smoothie recipe also tastes good with cress instead of lamb’s lettuce. In winter you can simply grow cress yourself on the window sill. You don’t need any special equipment for this: a plate and some kitchen paper are all you need to grow your own salad in the kitchen.

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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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Cooking Tips

6 Beef Cooking Tips That Will Help You

Due to ignorance of how to cook and from what, people very rarely cook for themselves an exquisite, very tasty, and healthy dish called a beefsteak. Cooking a steak at home and delighting loved ones with a culinary masterpiece is not at all difficult if you know all the subtleties and secrets.

For a perfect dish, first of all, you need to decide on what to cook it, and then go directly to the meat.

So, since the distant past, it has been recommended to cook a steak on a wire rack. Today this can be done not only in nature but also at home by purchasing an electric grill. The dish will turn out to be no less tasty than over an open fire. Choose the right equipment, taking into account all the nuances and details.

When you have already decided on the choice, you can safely move on to cooking meat.

It is important to follow several rules and adhere to them:

  1. it is better to cook a steak from aged marbled meat, before cooking it must be wiped with a napkin so that it is completely dry;
  2. the most optimal cut thickness should be 2.5-3 centimeters, this is a very important point;
    when cutting a cut, remember the main rule: it must be cut across the fibers;
  3. before putting the steak on the grill, make sure that it is heated to the required temperature and does not smoke, otherwise, the cut will burn out on the outside, but inside it will remain raw;
  4. the grill surface should initially be as hot as possible. After laying the steak on it, the temperature must be reduced, for uniform frying and preservation of taste;
  5. after cooking, the meat must be removed from the grill and left to rest for 5-10 minutes;
  6. serve the delicacy on warm plates (or special wooden planks) and use well-sharpened knives.
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