What should we eat now? Nutrition expert recommends: Only this diet helps us to stay fit in the long term
Mrs. von Cramm, eat this month vegan?
No, I am a fan of the varied diet. I eat very plant-based, but certainly not vegan, because it also means a gourmet restriction for me. Besides, if I were to eat a vegan diet, I would have to spend more time on it or consume lots of convenience foods.
The "Veganuary is just in all mouth, what do you think of the movement, which calls to it to nourish itself the January over vegan?
Every movement needs its attention and especially with vegan nutrition the motivation is usually not health, but ethical reasons like animal welfare, environment and sustainability. You need a clear message. If you say you live flexitarian or plant-based, that doesn’t sweep anyone off their feet. The "Veganuary is very striking and also works on social media. I find that per se good, because the Germans still eat too much meat. If one stamps now in such a way a Challenge, perhaps afterwards also something remains hanging.
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What are the advantages and disadvantages for you, for example, compared to a vegetarian diet??
There are not so many advantages. The disadvantages: There is a very limited menu, many things I get only with aids. For example, I’ll pass on this wonderful variety of cheese that exists in Europe. To simply leave them out, I find sad. I understand the vegan diet from an ethical point of view, but from a nutritional point of view I see no advantage: vitamin B12, iodine and calcium are problematic.
So would you say that such a short-term dietary change of four weeks is not worth it for body and health.
Yes, it probably does in the short term. So if someone eats a lot of meat and eats vegan from one day to the next, then the blood values are immediately better. But I think many who do this already eat healthy anyway. But you can also eat vegan super unhealthy.
By eating a lot of sweets.
Exactly, brownies, cookies or muffins can be baked vegan, but then there is the sugar and white flour the problem. Vegan doesn’t automatically mean healthier, again it depends on what you eat. Just as difficult are coconut and palm fat.
What is problematic about it?
Coconut and palm fat contain a lot of saturated fatty acids, so they are not much better than butter for example. The fatty acid composition with the vegan nutrition is not per se better thus. And it lacks the fish oils, which one can supplement, but so the diet also quickly becomes artificial. I fear then that we will become dependent on convenience foods and supplements.
Seven recipes for a healthy start to the year
Stuffed kohlrabi with radish salad
Ingredients:
For the kohlrabi: 4 large kohlrabi, 100 g couscous, 1 geh. tsp. coconut curry paste (,substitute ½ tsp. red curry paste), 1 tsp. vegetable stock (instant), ½ bunch of parsley, 2 tbsp. grated coconut, salt 6 tbsp. breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp. neutral vegetable oil
For the salad: 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of radishes, 1 bunch of dill, 2 tablespoons virgin linseed oil, 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup
For the sauce: 1 organic lemon, 1 geh. tablespoon cashew puree, 3 tsp. Kala Namak (Indian sulfur salt), 1 pinch of sugar
Preparation:
1. Peel the kohlrabi and cut off the woody roots. Place the vegetables (whole) in a saucepan and cover just with water, bring to the boil and cover in approx. 15 min. cook a little over al dente. Remove from the heat, measure out 500 ml of the cooking water and pour away the rest. Leave the cabbage – rabi to cool.
2. For the salad, wash, clean and finely dice the cucumber and radish. Wash the dill, shake it dry and chop it finely. Mix the vegetable cubes with the remaining ingredients for the salad and let it stand until serving time.
3. Put the couscous, coconut curry paste and broth in a bowl. Pour 200 ml of boiling water over the ingredients, stir well and cook for 10 minutes. cover and leave to soak. Wash the parsley, shake it dry and chop it finely. Fold into the couscous with the coconut flakes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180. Hollow out the kohlrabi until firm to the bite using a baller. Set aside the kohlrabi flesh for the sauce. Wash the lemon hot, dry it, grate the peel and squeeze the juice from one half of it. Set both aside.
5. Place the hollowed out kohlrabis in an ovenproof dish, lightly salt the inside and fill with the couscous. Press the filling firmly with a spoon. Mix the breadcrumbs with oil and citrus zest and place the topping in the center of the kohlrabis. This in the oven (middle) 25-30 min. cook until the crust is lightly browned.
6. In the meantime, puree the leftover kohlrabi with the cashew puree, lemon juice and the reserved cooking water. Boil the sauce in a small pot and season with Kala Namak and 1 pinch of sugar. Remove from heat and let sit covered until just before serving.
7. Take the kohlrabis out of the oven, divide them among 4 plates and serve them with the sauce and salad
What do you think of meat substitutes?
The eco-balance is better, even if they are made with soy. Most of the products are flavored and too salty, but there are also quite good products. One should pay attention to the list of ingredients. For cold cuts you should stay under three grams, for sliced cheese under two grams and for cream cheese under one gram of salt. In addition, make sure that no iron oxide is used and pay attention to the list of ingredients: the shorter it is, the better. At the end the taste decides.