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Home Remedies for Cleaning Windows Properly without Streaks

Clean windows properly with simple home remedies without streaks. To ensure that you can clean your windows effectively and quickly in the future, use our instructions and tips for window polishing. Then you avoid streaks and they become sparkling clean.

Cleaning windows seems to be a science in itself. You invest a lot of time and effort in cleaning the windows, but as soon as the sun shines on the panes, you see unsightly streaks on the freshly cleaned and clean windows.

Window cleaning made easy

Are you also tired of having to constantly and laboriously clean windows? And before you know it, are there new stains on the disc? This is often unavoidable, especially in bad weather. Despite expensive means and special devices for cleaning windows, there are still streaks on the glass. When the sun shines, you will see it even more! It is usually not dirt at all that is responsible for these streaks or streaks on the windows, but the lime contained in the cleaning water. Therefore, we have simple tips on how to get the problem with the calcareous cleaning water under control. All you need are natural home remedies. Or you use a window vacuum to clean windows.

Home remedies for cleaning windows

Window cleaning is always a new challenge. How do I clean my windows without streaks or other residues later being visible on the window? There is a myriad of different cleaning agents on the market and, of course, microfiber cloths for streak-free cleaning. But this not only means a lot of effort but also considerable costs. Therefore, it is better to use the following home remedies to clean your windows. Also, note natural home remedies for cleaning the kitchen.

1) Vinegar for cleaning the window panes

To clean the window without leaving streaks, use the home remedy vinegar essence. To do this, add about 1 cup of essence per liter of water and clean the window panes with this solution as usual. Then wipe the window dry. You can also ensure a clear view of windows that appear unclear by wiping them with a cloth and a few drops of table vinegar. And if a few splatters of wall paint get on the window panes during renovation work, then simply remove them with table vinegar.

2) Use of Lemon Essence

You can also use lemon essence to avoid calcareous cleaning water and thus prevent streaks. Accordingly, add about 1 cup of lemon essence per liter of water. Then clean the window panes according to the instructions. As a result, you save yourself a long time cleaning and polishing the windows.

3) Tea to clean the window

Black tea is well suited for window cleaning. This is because it contains tannins that can dissolve dirt and grease. So take two bags of black tea, boil them in a cup and let it steep for 10 minutes. Then add it to the cleaning water and use it to clean the windows as usual and wipe everything dry. Also, read our tips for cleaning according to plan.

4) Dishwashing liquid as an environmentally friendly cleaner

Dish soap is also suitable for cleaning your windows without leaving streaks. To do this, use normal detergent with a neutral pH value in the cleaning water. Because this is a very environmentally friendly solution and you can protect the environment in the household. In addition, you always have washing-up liquid at hand and it is cheap. A soft cloth and a few drops of vegetable oil will also ensure cleanliness. In both cases, repolishing is necessary.

5) Clean windows with ammonia

The window panes will stay cleaner longer if you wipe them with a mixture of 30 ml water, 70 ml glycerine, and 3-4 drops of ammonia solution after cleaning. Liquid ammonia is also known as ammonia water and is considered a tried and tested cleaning agent. It helps against calcification and is often used to clean discolored joints. Its use for effective toilet cleaning is also recommended.

6) Clean windows without streaks with spirit

Add a dash of spirits to lukewarm water. Then moisten and clean the panes as normal with a cloth and then wipe the pane dry again. This method is quick and thorough. The alcohol in the water saves you the hassle of polishing and expensive additives. To give the window panes a nice shine, they are finally wiped again with spirit water (3-5 drops per 1 liter of water). Alcohol can also be replaced with fruit water or vodka. In addition, note other tips on using alcohol as a home remedy.

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Food

Baking Vegan: How to Make Cakes, Biscuits and Bread without Animal Cruelty

Vegans don’t always have it easy when it comes to baked goods. Because even if some bakeries now offer vegan alternatives, many cakes, biscuits and even breads still contain animal products such as butter and eggs. So how about just baking it yourself? This article will show you exactly how vegan baking works and what to look out for.

Why bake vegan at all? Being vegan means consistently avoiding products of animal origin. According to statista.de, more than 1.13 million people in Germany now live vegan – and the trend is still rising.

While a large number of meat substitutes and milk substitutes have long since found their way onto supermarket shelves, vegan baked goods are still the exception rather than the rule. Vegan baking is actually quite easy, is neither more complicated nor more expensive than traditional baking and the results are just as delicious. So why not just do it yourself?

Baking Vegan: Tips & Tricks

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been vegan for a long time, want to please vegans in your circle of acquaintances or simply want to try out vegan baking recipes – with our tips you can make your favorite baked goods without animal products.

Rely on vegetable fats: Butter is a dairy product – and therefore taboo in vegan baking. Instead, use purely vegetable, preferably palm oil-free (organic) margarine. Of course you can also use oils. The following applies: 100 grams of margarine are replaced with 75 to 80 milliliters of oil (e.g. rapeseed or sunflower oil). Nut butter, such as almond butter, is also an interesting alternative to conventional butter – make sure you use organic and fair trade quality. If you want to improve your ecological balance and save calories at the same time, simply replace 100 grams of butter with a mixture of 120 grams of oat yoghurt and a tablespoon of semolina. Another option is to make your own vegan butter.

Egg substitute instead of eggs: In traditional baked goods, eggs are used to bind the dough better. As you will quickly find out when baking vegan, this is often not absolutely necessary. If you still want to use an egg substitute, you can buy one in most organic stores and some supermarkets – or you can simply make your own egg substitute using simple ingredients that you probably have at home anyway: banana , applesauce or flaxseed can effectively replace eggs in baking. Read more: Make your own egg substitute: 6 ideas for vegan eggs
Plant-based drinks instead of cow’s milk: plant-based milk alternatives have long been found in every supermarket and most drugstores, often even in organic quality. Depending on what you’re baking, cow’s milk can usually be easily substituted one-to-one with milk alternatives such as oat milk, soy milk, or almond milk.
Plant-based cream: Plant-based cream substitutes can also be found in most supermarkets, for example based on oats, soy or rice. Alternatively, you can easily make vegan cream yourself. More on this: Vegan Cream: Recommended Alternatives
Aquafaba instead of egg whites: There are some baking recipes that use egg whites. This is the case, for example, with biscuit doughs. But there is also a vegan variant here: aquafaba. Aquafaba is the soaking liquid from chickpeas and beans. Aquafaba is whipped into the perfect vegan egg whites and is even suitable for mousse au chocolat.

Baking with vegan chocolate: What would chocolate chip cookies be without delicious pieces of chocolate in the batter? In general, many dark chocolates are vegan by nature, although you should pay close attention to the list of ingredients. Those who value sustainability and fair production conditions should choose organic and fair trade chocolate. In the (organic) supermarket you will also find vegan white chocolate and purely plant-based “milk” chocolate with different cocoa contents.
Agar-agar instead of gelatine: Anyone who bakes fruit cakes sometimes seals the fruit layer with a gelatine-based icing. However, since gelatine consists of animal bone and cartilage residues, among other things, this is not an option for vegan baking. Instead, you simply replace the gelatine with agar-agar, a purely vegetable powder made from red and blue-green algae. Here too, pay attention to organic quality in order to get a residue-free product. More on this: Gelatin substitute: vegan plant-based alternatives

What else should you keep in mind when baking vegan?

To ensure that the cruelty-free baked goods are 100 percent successful, you should not overdo it when mixing the ingredients, otherwise a vegan dough can quickly lose consistency and become tough. So sometimes it can be worth using the whisk, spatula or fork instead of the food processor to mix the ingredients.

Depending on the type of oven, your vegan pastries may also cook faster than traditional recipes state. It is best to set the timer 15 minutes before the regular end of the baking time to make sure that cakes, biscuits, rolls and the like do not become too crispy.

Incidentally, when baking bread and rolls, most recipes are already vegan – or can be veganized quickly. Instead of the honey used in some bread recipes, you can use some organic sugar beet syrup, for example, and replace the quark in quark rolls with vegan organic soy quark. Buttermilk is easily replaced with a plant-based milk alternative with a dash of vinegar.

Is Vegan Baking Healthier?

You can decide for yourself how healthy your vegan baked goods will be. For example, if you use whole grain instead of white flour and at least partially replace the sugar content in sweets with low-calorie sugar alternatives such as organic erythritol, you can definitely produce healthier baked goods.

In general, the major health benefit of vegan baking is that purely plant-based ingredients are virtually cholesterol-free, while animal products such as eggs, milk and butter contain a lot of saturated fatty acids and trans fats. With high and regular consumption, these can promote heart and vascular diseases.

Vegan is not always sustainable

While vegan ingredients are always free of animal components, they are not always sustainable, since some of the products have extremely long transport routes to the local shops (e.g. coconut oil, cocoa, chia seeds, Agr-agar) or come from conventional cultivation and are therefore are not free from environmentally harmful pesticides.

If you also want to implement the topic of sustainability in baking, you should therefore rely on fairly traded organic products and prefer regional and seasonal ingredients.

Veganized Recipes vs. Vegan Recipes

Veganized recipes are conventional recipes that are made with purely plant-based ingredients instead of the traditional ingredients. This is particularly recommended for vegan baking beginners and for everyone who would like to recreate the taste of baked goods they love. For example, have you ever baked vegan cheesecake, apple pie, vegan biscuits or purely plant-based stollen yourself? It’s easier than you might think – and the taste is in no way inferior to the original recipes.

Of course, vegan baking is also possible with a variety of more experimental, vegan recipes in which sugar is replaced with dates, for example, and unusual types of flour such as lupine, almond or coconut flour are used. These recipes are not replicas of well-known originals, but developed vegan from the outset and represent their own category. They therefore offer a less comparable, but precisely because of this, interesting taste experience. They are often all about “Clean Baking”. Due to the often exotic ingredients, you should pay close attention to the origin and, if possible, prefer regional products.

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Cooking Tips

Open and Core the Pomegranate – This is How It Works Without Mess

Opening a pomegranate doesn’t seem that easy. We’ll show you how to open and core a pomegranate without the mess – and thus benefit from the vitamins and minerals it contains.

Perhaps you have left numerous stains on your clothes or on the wall when opening a pomegranate. The bulging pomegranate seeds explode when you try to loosen them from the shell; stubborn red stains on clothing, furniture and walls are therefore not uncommon.

We’ll show you two methods on how to open and core the pomegranate – without any mess.

Open and core the pomegranate: the tapping method

For this you need:

a sharp knife
a spoon
a bowl
cutting board
With this method, you place the pomegranate on a cutting board and carefully cut it in half with a sharp knife.
Take one half and hold it cut-side down over the bowl.
Use the round side of the spoon to tap the shell vigorously (!) until all the seeds have come loose. This way the kernels won’t get crushed and will keep their shape.

Open pomegranate underwater

For this you need:

a sharp knife
a cutting board
a bowl of cold water
Halve the pomegranate with the knife.
Hold one half in the water.
There you carefully remove the cores with your fingers. Should a core explode due to the pressure when removing it, the water prevents the hard-to-remove juice from sticking to the wall and clothing.

Pomegranate: ruby red vitamin bomb

Once you have opened the pomegranate, its ruby-like pits are not only beautiful to look at, they are also very healthy. This is due to the ingredients, which – as with pineapple or cranberries – not only have an anti-inflammatory effect, but also have an antioxidant effect. You can enjoy the seeds, which are 85 percent water, raw or process them into juice.

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Lifestyle

Drawer Vacuuming Tricks without Vacuuming up Small Parts

Some drawers contain many small items, such as tools, Legos, or other small treasures. You don’t feel like putting everything in and taking it out every time you’re cleaning. That’s why we’ve collected clever drawer vacuum cleaning tips for you. As a result, you will not find any small parts in the vacuum cleaner.

No more small parts in the vacuum cleaner

One of the most common vacuuming mistakes is accidentally picking up small parts. Because sometimes you’re lazy and think I can suck around it. And whoops, the small part disappeared into the vacuum cleaner. This is particularly the case when vacuuming drawers. And this topic also occupied a participant in the lion’s den a few years ago. But there is no need for a new invention. So that the cleaning still works, we have the best tricks for you. In addition, note the best vacuum cleaners and useful vacuum robots in comparison.

1) Vacuuming with a tea strainer or tea filter

Hold a small tea infuser or tea filter for loose tea in front of the vacuum cleaner nozzle. This is an easy way to solve the problem. The drawer is cleaned of dirt and the utensils that have been sucked up can be easily removed from the tea net and shaken back into the drawer. In addition, note how you can drill without dust and dirt.

2) Women’s tights vacuuming drawers

You can also use discarded and fine-meshed women’s tights to help you. To do this, fix it to the vacuum cleaner gland with a rubber band. As a result, you can vacuum in drawers without vacuuming up small parts, because the small parts get caught on the tights and do not get into the vacuum cleaner. In addition, you have both hands free with this variant. Also, note other useful tips for avoiding the most common vacuuming mistakes.

3) Use a special vacuum cleaner gland

You can find special attachments for your vacuum cleaner online or in retail stores. These are specially designed for vacuuming drawers or cleaning keyboards, ventilation, or hard-to-reach corners. These are easy to use and save you time. Because in future you won’t have to put the drawers in and out.

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Cooking Tips

Black Coffee: What Makes the Drink Without Milk

Black coffee is better than its reputation. We explain what black coffee is and why it can also be good for your health.

What is black coffee?

Very simple: A coffee prepared without milk or milk alternative and without sugar is a black coffee.
It doesn’t matter whether you prepare the caffeinated drink in a French press, a fully automatic coffee machine, with a hand filter or in a conventional coffee machine.

How you drink the coffee is of course up to you, but some people say they don’t like black coffee. This may be because coffee tastes more bitter on its own than if you add milk, for example. This makes the drink milder. However, you only get the unadulterated taste of coffee if you drink the drink “black”. Black coffee also has many health benefits compared to the variant with milk. You can read exactly what these are in the next section.

Is black coffee healthy?

The effects of coffee on the body have already been investigated in numerous studies. The general tenor:

Regular consumption of coffee is healthy and can have positive effects on the body.
For example, black coffee contains antioxidants that can help prevent disease. How many antioxidant properties a coffee has depends, among other things, on the degree of roasting of the beans. It also has anti-fibrotic effects on human organs such as the liver.

What is also true are the following statements:

Coffee strengthens long-term memory: researchers at the University of Baltimore found out in a study that people were able to remember something better if they had consumed caffeine afterwards. However, the effect cannot be increased at will. There was a habituation effect among consumers.
Coffee promotes mental performance: According to a study by brain researcher Prof. Bernd Fischer, enjoying one to three cups of coffee should increase the speed of information processing by ten percent. In addition, coffee consumption increases sustained attention. Tip for employers: If you provide your employees with coffee, this has been scientifically proven to increase productivity.
Coffee lowers cancer risk: Four cups of coffee can reduce the risk of skin cancer by 20 percent. That’s what scientists at the Yale School of Public Health found. The researchers drew their findings from a study that proves that some coffee ingredients can protect against cell damage from UVB radiation.
Coffee drinkers live longer: From an American long-term study, a team from the Harvard School of Public Health drew data from which it can be seen that coffee drinkers live longer than people who avoid the caffeinated drink. Before they now increase their coffee consumption every day: Of course, this was not the only factor, the living conditions of the individual test subjects also have to be taken into account.
Black coffee detoxifies cells: According to a study by the University of Graz, black coffee in its original state promotes what is known as autophagy. This is a kind of “self-digestion program” in the body that cleans and detoxifies cells.

Why you should drink a coffee black

Unfortunately, animal milk in coffee reduces the positive properties and effects of the drink mentioned in the previous section. Researchers at the University of Graz have discovered that animal proteins can inhibit the process of cell purification. They therefore recommend drinking coffee black or, if you don’t like this variant, with plant-based milk.

The body’s reactions to black coffee vary from person to person. Therefore, you should only drink it in moderation at first to find out how wholesome it is for you. The roasting of the coffee beans produces acid and bitter substances. These can have effects on the gastrointestinal tract, for example attacking the gastric mucosa on an empty stomach. However, it is not 100% proven which substance in coffee causes stomach pain. For a long time, chlorogenic acid was considered responsible. In the meantime, however, this theory has been refuted. Likewise, according to the German Coffee Association, it has not been proven that drinking coffee increases the risk of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

How much coffee are you allowed to drink in a day?

According to the German Institute for Human Nutrition, four cups of normal coffee reduce the risk of developing liver cancer by 75 percent. However, not much more should be consumed. This is due to the high caffeine content in coffee.

Excessive caffeine consumption can be harmful to your health. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) cites increased nervousness, insomnia and tachycardia as consequences. As a rule of thumb, about 5.7 mg per kilogram of body weight is fine. So for a woman who weighs 60 kilograms, that would be around 342 mg. That roughly equates to the four cups of coffee per day mentioned above. For pregnant or breastfeeding women, about half of the value is considered harmless to health.

Although one cannot speak of a dependency or addiction to coffee or caffeine, according to the German Coffee Association, there are habituation effects after regular consumption. Caffeine does not target brain regions known to be addictive. However, it can happen that headaches occur, for example, when coffee drinkers abruptly forego their daily coffee dose.

How much caffeine is in black coffee?

The caffeine content in coffee generally depends on several factors. First of all, what beans you choose. Arabica beans have a lower caffeine content (average 1.2 percent) than Robusta beans (around 1.7 – 3.6 percent). However, these values ​​also vary. You have to consider how hot the beans were roasted, how finely ground the coffee is, and how long you let it steep while preparing it. Simple guidelines: the finer the beans are ground and the longer you let the coffee steep, the higher the caffeine content. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a black coffee has around 90 mg of caffeine per 200 ml, which is about the same as a normal coffee mug.

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Cooking Tips

Freeze Rhubarb: with or without Blanching?

Freezing rhubarb is a great way to preserve it and enjoy it out of season. We’ll show you how to do it and whether you have to cook it beforehand.

Rhubarb is in season from early April through June. The rhubarb harvest time is always over far too quickly. Maybe you have a surplus harvest and are looking for a way to preserve the vegetables. Freezing is a good option – we’ll show you how it works.

It’s best to avoid plastic containers and freezer bags when freezing the rhubarb. Screw-on jars are a good alternative. It also makes sense to portion the rhubarb before freezing; so you can thaw and process the right amount later.

Freezing rhubarb: this is how it works

First remove the rhubarb leaves. The leaves are not edible, but you can make plant fertilizer out of them, for example: put the leaves in cold water and let them steep for 24 hours. With the resulting extract you can water your plants and give them valuable nutrients.
Rinse the rhubarb stalks under running water and then drain them.
Cut off the ends with a knife. This is only necessary if the ends are hard. You can usually process fresh rhubarb without this step.
Now you can peel the rhubarb.
Cut the pickled vegetables into chunks. These should be between two and five centimeters long.
At this point you can blanch the rhubarb. However, the investment of time and energy is not absolutely necessary. Blanching preserves the color better, but does not change the taste. The shelf life does not change if you freeze the rhubarb raw.
Layer the rhubarb pieces in screw-top jars. Fill it up to just under the brim and seal it. Label the glasses with the respective date. Then you can store them in the freezer and freeze the rhubarb.
Frozen rhubarb will keep for 10 to 12 months. After defrosting, you can make rhubarb compote or rhubarb crumble, for example.

Tip: If you want to avoid the rhubarb pieces sticking together after freezing, you can prefreeze them: spread the pieces out on plates – they shouldn’t touch each other. Freeze the rhubarb for about an hour and then pour the pieces into glasses. If you have a freezer instead of a small freezer compartment, you can also prefreeze the pieces on a baking sheet or tray.

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Cooking Tips

Grilling Without Aluminum Foil

Grilling is also possible without aluminum foil. You save not only money but also raw materials and minimize the health risk. We introduce you to recipes for feta, vegetables and fish.

Grilling without aluminum foil – why?

Aluminum foil is often used as a matter of course when grilling. It promises that vegetables or fish, for example, are cooked gently and can develop their flavor. Then it ends up in the trash.

Aluminum is a problematic raw material: it is mined in opencast mines, usually at the expense of the rainforest, which requires a great deal of energy. The toxic waste product red mud is produced during production. The finished aluminum can only be used after an electrolysis process. Even in the recycling process, aluminum foil is hardly ever used again. More information: How harmful is aluminum to the environment and health?.

According to a report by the NDR, foods with salt or acid in particular dissolve the aluminum, which can then be deposited. There are good alternatives to aluminum products for many products.

Alternatives to aluminum foil: grill basket, grill boards and vegetable leaves

The easiest way is to place the food to be grilled directly on a well-cleaned grid. You can easily remove soot with a grill brush (you can find e.g. at **Memolife) or a steel sponge. You can also disinfect the grid by heating it up in the embers before loading it.

There is also a large variety of different accessories:

Grill basket: You can use it to prepare vegetables and potatoes well. You can place the grill basket on the grill grate.
Cast-iron pan: You place the pan on the grid. In it, however, vegetables or fish need a little longer.
Grill grids: You can clamp vegetables or fish in grill grids and simply turn them. For fish, there are fish-shaped grilling grids on the market.
Grill boards: You have to soak these in water for one to three hours. Then you can place them directly on the grate and place the food on top. Depending on the type of wood the boards are made of, their steam gives off a tasty aroma to the food to be grilled.
Barbecue skewers: You can place barbecue skewers over the edge of the grill. They are suitable, for example, for vegetable skewers.
Vegetable leaves are a good, organic alternative, especially for fish and cheese. Cabbage, chard, grape, banana or corn leaves are suitable. You fill these and fix them with thread, toothpicks or roulade skewers. They become less sensitive to heat if you also coat them with oil.

Grill feta without aluminum foil

Above all, feta or aromatic mountain cheese from organic dairies enrich the grill menu. To avoid aluminum foil, you can simply wrap the cheese in large vegetable leaves such as kohlrabi, rhubarb or banana leaves.

Grilled Feta (for four servings)

200 grams of feta
1 tomato
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
salt, pepper, herbs of your choice (e.g. basil)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large kohlrabi leaves and olive oil
Instructions:

Cut the feta and the tomato into pieces about one centimeter in size. Chop the onion and garlic.
Mix the chopped ingredients together, seasoning with salt, pepper and herbs to taste. Mix in 1 tablespoon of oil.
Now divide the cheese mass into four equal parts and place them evenly in the middle of the four cabbage leaves.
Make a small package out of them and fix the packages with small skewers.
Brush the packets with oil and place them on the grill grate. Protected by the cabbage leaf, the cheese mass can simmer in it without burning. When the cheese is nice and soft, you can unwrap it and serve. You can dispose of the cabbage leaf in organic waste without a guilty conscience.

Peppers stuffed with cheese (for four servings)

2 peppers
200 grams of spicy cheese (e.g. mountain cheese or vegan cheese)
Herbs of your choice (e.g. a Provence mixture)
Instructions:

Halve the peppers and remove the core. This should not result in a hole in the pepper, especially on the stalk side.
Now fill the halves with 50 grams of diced cheese. Scatter herbs over the halves, if desired.
Place them on the grill grate. It’s best to lay them out so that you can place a lid (such as a metal serving platter or non-plastic pot lid) on top of them. This will trap the heat from the grill and help the peppers cook better. The peppers are ready when they are a little soft and the cheese is runny. Don’t worry: you can easily peel off the burnt skin on the underside of the peppers. There is no burnt taste, but a delicious mix of cheese and peppers.

Grill vegetables and potatoes without aluminum foil

Vegetables can also be easily grilled without aluminum foil. Choosing organic vegetables is even more sustainable. Here the farmers pay attention to soil-friendly, sustainable cultivation. In order to preserve biodiversity, as few pesticides as possible are used, especially no synthetic ones.

The easiest way is to slice vegetables and place them directly on the grid. Or you string pieces of vegetables on skewers. Dips for vegetables and herb butter (tip: make your own herb butter) refine the vegetables.

Vegetable shish kebab (for four servings)

4 mushrooms
1/2 zucchini
1 onion
1/2 peppers
for the marinade: salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, herbs de Provence, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp olive oil
metal or wooden skewers
Instructions:

Dice the washed vegetables (except the mushrooms) into cubes about 2 cm in size.
Load the skewers.
Mix the ingredients for the marinade.
Place the skewers in the marinade for about an hour. Make sure it’s well distributed.
Place the skewers directly on the rack.

Grilled potatoes (serves four)

8 medium potatoes
for the marinade: salt, pepper, rapeseed oil, sage and rosemary
Instructions:

Pre-cook the potatoes with the skin on. They shouldn’t be soft yet, but firm to the bite.
Drain and cut in half with the peel.
Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and soak the potatoes in it for about 30 minutes.
Then place them cut-side down on the grill.

Grilling fish without aluminum foil

If you want to grill fish without aluminum foil, cedar wood grilling boards are particularly suitable. After soaking, place the grill board directly on the grid and place the fish on top.

When buying fish, you should make sure that it comes from certified fishing. There are differences in the seals. Some are considered “dolphin safe” but don’t take into account the overfishing of the oceans. The organic associations Naturland and Bioland have the strictest guidelines. In conventional fishing, large amounts of bycatch such as dolphins, rays, sharks and seabirds get caught in the nets. The fish stocks in the sea are getting smaller and smaller. Just as in factory farming, large quantities of antibiotics and other medicines must also be used in aquaculture. The wastewater from aquaculture pollutes the environment.

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Cooking Tips

Weighing Without a Scale: 3 Tricks

Weighing also works without scales. We will show you three practical tips that you can use to determine the quantities of ingredients alternatively. You need a few kitchen utensils for this.

Weighing without scales, but with alternative kitchen helpers – that’s not that difficult. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can use the following kitchen utensils instead:

measuring cup
tablespoons and teaspoons
cups
Quantities may be slightly less accurate when measured using these methods. This is usually not a problem. Nevertheless, there are some recipes, for example for cakes, for which you need very precise quantities. In this case, you should use the measuring cup. With this you can get a pretty accurate result.

The kitchen scale alternatives are often more sustainable, after all they do not require electricity or batteries and you most likely already have them at home. We present the three options in detail.

Measuring cup for weighing food

Weighing without a scale works with a measuring cup, for example. It is usually printed with several scales. Thanks to the given units of measurement and quantities, you don’t have to convert anything when weighing. You can read liquids such as water by marking them in milliliters or liters. On the other hand, you can measure the amount of solid food, such as flour or sugar, in milligrams and grams.

Weighing without a scale: This is how it works with spoons

You can also use spoons to weigh without scales. The cutlery serves different purposes in the kitchen: you can use it not only for eating, but also for weighing. Many recipes use tablespoons or teaspoons as the usual quantities anyway. This often means a level, sometimes also a heaped spoon. Quantities may vary slightly depending on the size of the spoon and the density of the ingredients. However, a heaped spoon is always double the amount of a level spoon.

A teaspoon of salt serves as an example:

1 teaspoon (level) equals 5 grams of salt.
1 teaspoon (heaped) is approximately 10 grams of salt.

Weighing without scales, but with cups

You can also weigh food with a cup without needing a scale. As a rule of thumb, remember that a small coffee cup is about 125 milliliters. That’s the equivalent of about 80 grams of flour or 120 grams of sugar. Measuring cups are helpful for very precise information.

Many American recipes give the quantities in cups. But beware, the German cup corresponds to a much smaller unit of measurement than the American cups. The latter contains around 235 milliliters – almost twice as much as a German cup.

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Food

Food-to-go Without Packaging Waste

Especially during the corona pandemic, we should support local gastronomy – for example by ordering take-away food. However, mountains of garbage with food packaging are not an option from an environmental point of view. Reusable containers for food-to-go can be the solution. We present four initiatives to you.

Disposable cups for coffee-to-go are not necessary – many have now understood that and can only fill their coffee in the bakery or in the café into the container they have brought with them. Unfortunately, during the corona pandemic, this no longer works in all restaurants; many bakeries no longer accept cups you have brought with you. That’s why many of us seem to be falling back into old paper cup habits these days.

But that’s not all: Due to the Corona-related restaurant closures or now for fear of infection, many people have food delivered or take it home. This is good for gastronomy, but: Styrofoam packaging, aluminum trays and plastic bags quickly pile up after the meal. And what the pizza boxes on river and lake shores are to in the summer, the paper cups are to the colder months of the year.

Figures from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) show that packaging waste in German households is constantly increasing. In 2018, we caused a new negative record of 18.9 tons of packaging waste, as the UBA recently announced. When walking, it is currently noticeable: In many places, the packaging waste no longer even fits in the garbage cans provided, but ends up in the meadow or next to the sidewalk.

Less packaging waste: food-to-go in reusable containers

Dishes to take away or calling the delivery service do not necessarily mean more packaging waste. Reusable systems for food-to-go show that there is another way. We present four Germany-wide examples.

Of course, the following applies to all reusable containers: the more often they (can) be reused, the better. When it comes to the eco-balance, reusables come off much better if one container can replace a large number of disposable cups and the like, making production quicker to pay off.

Reusable with food-to-go

According to its own statement, reCIRCLE Germany is the largest reusable system for takeaway food in German-speaking countries that works with a deposit system. The initiative has existed in Stuttgart since 2017.

This is how it works: The first time you order a reCIRCLE box from a participating restaurant for a deposit of ten euros. You can return the leak-proof and non-toxic plastic box to any participating restaurant and get your deposit back or exchange the used box for a fresh one the next time you order. You can currently choose between five different box sizes. According to the company, it is currently working on additional reusable packaging for pizza.

Here there is the multi-way system: over 200 participating restaurants in Germany, for example in Stuttgart, Munich, Regensburg, Frankfurt, Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin; in Switzerland there are even over 1400 participating restaurants.

Incidentally, when it comes to the ecological balance, reCIRCLE writes that their reusable boxes may pay off after the eighth reuse, depending on the material of the disposable packaging only after the 16th use.

Reusable bowls from Rebowl for zero-waste food-to-go

Quite new on the market: Rebowl, a Germany-wide deposit system for reusable take-away bowls. According to the company, the reusable containers are microwaveable, 100 percent recyclable and BPA-free. You should also be able to reuse them at least 200 times.

Behind Rebowl stands Recup, which many of you may already know from the Recup reusable coffee mugs. Since July 2020, in addition to the Recup cups, there have also been Rebowl bowls, which – if the founders have their way – should become the Rebowlution.

This is how it works: When you order your first meal, you get the reusable bowl for a deposit of five euros. You can then return the bowl and lid to all REBOWL partners throughout Germany and get your deposit back, or you can exchange the used bowl for a new one when you place a second order.

There is a returnable system here: in numerous cities throughout Germany, for example in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, but also in smaller cities such as Konstanz, Braunschweig and Karlsruhe.

Vytal: reusable boxes without a deposit

Vytal is a digital reusable system for takeaway and food delivery. What makes it so special is that it can be used via an app and there is no deposit or other fee for the reusable containers. Recently, Vytal has even been certified with the Blue Angel. Among other things, the seal guarantees that the reusable containers are made of environmentally friendly and durable material and can be washed at least 500 times.

How it works: To participate, you have to download the Vytal app. After successful registration, you can use the map to see which participating restaurants are in your area. With a QR code you will receive your food in a BPA-free reusable bowl when you pick it up. Important: You have to return the bowls to a participating restaurant within 14 days of ordering, otherwise a fee of ten euros will be charged.

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Cooking Tips

Make Ice Cubes Yourself: This is How It Works Without an Ice Cube Mold

Need ice cubes but don’t have an ice cube mold? No problem! We have put together various ways for you to make ice cubes yourself at any time.

If you want to prepare ice cubes, the only option is usually to use molds made of plastic or silicone. You can also buy plastic ice cube bags everywhere, which end up in the garbage after one use. Both plastic and silicone are harmful to the environment and to your own health. Over time, for example, a silicone mold can release plasticizers into the ice cubes. Make sure that your ice cube mold is free of plasticizers such as BPA.

But if you don’t have such a shape or you want to produce ice cubes in an environmentally friendly way, you have to improvise. We have several ways for you to make ice cubes without an ice cube mold.

Make ice cubes without an ice cube mold

Use the shape of a box of chocolates. You can use any type of chocolate. We recommend buying chocolates made from fair trade chocolate. There are some seals for Fairtrade chocolate such as the Fairtrade seal. So keep the shape of a box of chocolates or you transfer the chocolates. You don’t have to throw these away, of course, but put them in a lockable box. The good thing about this variant is that you do not produce any additional garbage. Another plus is that you get ice cubes in special shapes. After all, chocolates often come in a wide variety of shapes. BTW: You can use other forms of candy as long as they are stored in a plastic mold.

Another option is to prepare glasses in advance that you want to drink from later or that you want to serve. To do this, fill in some water (a few centimeters high) and place it in the freezer compartment. But make sure that the glasses are freezer-safe. So don’t use glasses that are too thin. You can then simply pour the drink onto the thin layer of ice.

Crushed ice is also possible. You can use any type of container that is freezer-safe.

Cool drinks with alternative ice cubes

There are other ways you can cool drinks:

You can use frozen fruit as ice cubes: for example, put grapes in the freezer for about two hours and then put them in the glass. Alternatively, you can buy already frozen organic fruit. If the frozen fruit is no longer needed, you can simply eat it – it tastes delicious and you haven’t wasted anything.

You can also slice and freeze lemons or limes. It is best to use organic ones. Then you can be sure that they are free of chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Another option is to pre-chill the empty glasses or just the drinks yourself in the fridge. These are then cool from the start and remain so for a little longer thanks to the cool glasses.

Since the main problem is the material of conventional ice cube molds, you can use stainless steel molds, which can be bought online. There are also so-called whiskey stones made of stainless steel that you can freeze and use again and again.

Try making ice cubes out of liquids other than water. For example, freeze organic juices, yoghurt or fair trade coffee as cubes.

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