Local superfood

Millet, eggs, quark: superfood alternatives

You don’t need an exotic “superfood” to feel fit and healthy. Because eggs, quark, vegetables and the like contain everything your body needs - even if you train regularly. Here you can read what local superfood can do and how you can eat a varied and balanced diet using the plate method.

Quinoa, goji berries and spirulina algae? You can eat, but you don't have to. Even if new exotic foods are constantly being touted as true nutritional miracles in magazines and social media, many local products are in no way inferior to the supposed “superfood”. On the contrary. Did you know, for example, that blackcurrants contain 180 milligrams per 100 grams, more than three times as much vitamin C than goji berries ? Or that good old millet provides you with 11 grams per 100 grams of grains, almost as much protein as South American quinoa?

Take a look in your refrigerator: Many basic foods such as eggs, vegetables or quark are secret superheroes that provide your body with everything that makes it fit and strong. At the same time, local superfood also protects your wallet and the environment, as long transport routes are no longer necessary.

What grows next door in the fields and bushes also ends up fresh and crunchy on your plate. On the other hand, you can often only get “superfood” from distant countries in dried form. We'll tell you which local superfood alternatives are full of healthy ingredients .

Local superfood cleverly combined: What is the plate method?

But how do you put together a healthy and delicious meal from local superfoods? One thing is certain: healthy foods only develop their full potential when they have the right composition. Because our body likes to consume nutrients in a package - studies also confirm this . Minerals, for example, are readily absorbed by the body together with amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

The Healthy Eating Plate is a simple and effective tool for putting together nutritious and balanced meals. Scientists from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and editors from Harvard Health Publications developed the method together. It is based on nutritional science and is particularly easy to implement. We'll tell you how it works.

Two quarters of vegetables and fruit

Divide your plate into four quarters. Now fill two quarters with vegetables and fruit. It can look colorful - the more color, the more variety. Attention, potato lovers have to be strong now: Unfortunately, the delicious tubers are not part of the vegetable when using the plate method because they have a negative effect on blood sugar levels.

A quarter of whole grain cereal

Another quarter of your plate belongs to grains, preferably the whole grain variety. Whether whole grain wheat, millet, barley, oats or brown rice is up to your taste. Whole grain products contain more vitamins , minerals and fiber and do not cause your blood sugar levels to rise as quickly as heavily processed grain products. This also means that you feel fuller for longer and the energy hole doesn't come as quickly as after consuming sugar or generally low-fiber meals.

A quarter of healthy protein

Fish, eggs and poultry are healthy and versatile sources of protein. Vegetarians and vegans rely on legumes and nuts: beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas are rich in protein and fiber and can be on their plate at any time. Hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds are rich in valuable fatty acids, minerals, vitamins and trace elements and are therefore also local superfoods.

Protein bars like the Crispy Bar are a practical alternative when you're on the go or to bridge mealtimes. A generous sip of healthy oil - suitable options include olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower, linseed and walnut oil - can round off your meal.

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Green vegetables: vitamin bomb from local fields

Vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and savoy cabbage are among the healthiest foods ever. That's why the crisp leaves should best be served on your table every day. The reason: Green vegetables contain a lot of fiber , which is important for your intestinal flora and digestion.

Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function - and the local superfood contains a lot of it: 100 grams of baby spinach, with the almost 100 milligrams it contains, already cover a third of the daily requirement of 300 to 350 milligrams. You can also cover a quarter of your daily vitamin C requirement with 100 grams of baby spinach. These contain 26.5 milligrams - 100 milligrams of vitamin C daily are recommended . Vitamin C contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system. Leaves (Latin: folium) also provide your body with vital folic acid – the name suggests it.

If you don't like green vegetables cooked, try a green smoothie that also contains whey protein powder in the flavor of strawberry and sweet fruits such as banana and apple.

Green whey smoothie

Recommended consumption amount:

one to two servings a day

Preparation tip:

You can easily prepare a green whey smoothie: put a handful of spinach in a blender and add a measuring spoonful of whey protein powder. One measuring spoon corresponds to 30 grams of product. Chop up half a banana and half an apple and add both to the spinach and whey.

Then add apple juice, milk or a plant-based milk alternative made from almonds or oats as desired . The fruits balance the slightly bitter flavors of the vegetables. Whey protein powder has a high protein content with up to 24 grams per serving. Proteins contribute to an increase in muscle mass and the maintenance of muscle mass and normal bones.

Eggs: Protein-rich powerhouses full of vitamins

Eggs support muscle building and fill you up. In addition, the small bundles of energy contain an average of around 1.5 micrograms of vitamin B12 . One and a half large eggs cover almost half of your daily requirement . B vitamins contribute to normal energy metabolism.

Real retinol (vitamin A), which does not have to be converted from provitamin A by the body, is not found in such concentration in many foods. 100 grams of eggs contain 280 micrograms of retinol , more than a quarter of the daily requirement. They are also a valuable source of protein, not just for vegetarians. The protein from chicken eggs is very easy to digest.

By the way: Its high cholesterol content gave the egg an image problem for a while - but a current study with 177,000 participants gives the all-clear. Those who ate one or more eggs daily had neither increased blood lipid levels nor more cardiovascular disease .

In fact, the cholesterol content of eggs has little influence on human cholesterol levels - and if so, not necessarily negatively, since eggs can also raise the "good" HDL cholesterol. If you are healthy, eat little or no meat and exercise regularly, you can safely eat eggs every day.

Recommended consumption amount:

The German Nutrition Society recommends three eggs a week. A recent study from Peking University suggests that eating eggs daily is not only safe, but may even reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. Choose free-range eggs - according to a study by the University of Hohenheim, they not only taste better, but also contain more essential omega-3 fatty acids.

Preparation tip:

After exercise, proteins are important for you so that your muscles can regenerate quickly . Pack a hard-boiled egg in your lunch box and you'll have a protein-rich snack for after training. A protein bar like the Crispy Bar Vanilla is an unbreakable alternative. With 30 percent milk protein , the bar supports effective muscle building.

Millet: Versatile super grain

Millet deserves its reputation as a local superfood. With its above-average content of zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium as well as vitamins B1, B6 and the trace element fluorine, millet is considered the most mineral-rich grain on earth . With 750 micrograms of vitamin B6, 100 grams of millet already covers around 50 percent of a man's daily requirement or two thirds of a woman's daily requirement for this B vitamin.

On average, typical wheat only contains about a third of this amount. Millet also performs significantly better when it comes to iron – 3.2 milligrams compared to 9 milligrams. With this high iron content, millet is particularly valuable for your diet if you are vegan or vegetarian . Millet therefore does not need to shy away from comparison with quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth.

Only oats can keep up with this much nutritional power: with 0.6 milligrams of vitamin B1/thiamine, they contain more B1 than any other grain and, depending on age, cover around half of your daily requirement with just 100 grams. Its zinc and iron content are also high, with 100 grams covering almost half of the daily requirement. However, it also contains substances similar to gluten. About one percent of all people tolerate gluten poorly.

Recommended consumption amount:

at will

Preparation tip:

As a patty or in a vegetable stir-fry, millet makes a nutritious, hearty lunch. It provides you with energy without putting a strain on your stomach. Cooked and served with fruit or compote, millet also tastes great as a sweet dessert. She can even make muesli: cook 100 grams of millet with half a liter of milk or a plant-based substitute until al dente. Mix with yogurt, fruit and nuts - voilà, your power breakfast is ready. If you want to promote your muscle building even further , you can supplement your muesli with a measuring spoonful of protein powder .

Low-fat quark: protein supplier deluxe

With an average of 13 grams per 100 grams, low-fat quark is at the top of the list of protein-containing dairy products. This makes it an effective and cheap source of protein . Athletes in particular should put it on their shopping list regularly if they don't already have it in the fridge. It fills you up for a long time and stimulates your metabolism and can help you to influence your calorie balance favorably.

There are also around 90 milligrams of calcium in 100 grams of lean quark - calcium contributes to normal muscle function. Choose the lean version because, according to studies , as the fat content increases, the proportion of unfavorable saturated fatty acids also increases.

Recommended consumption amount:

250 grams per day

Preparation tip:

Quark is almost a classic in muesli. But the white cream can do even more. Together with eggs, milk and birch sugar, you can conjure up a low-carb cheesecake from low-fat quark that tastes light and summery and is also figure-friendly - win-win!

Don't feel like baking? Try a Cream n' Crunchy - available in Peanut Caramel and Hazelnut Nougat flavors. The delicious protein bar has a tender, melt-in-the-mouth cream filling and is coated in a soft protein mass and a chocolate shell with crunchy nut chips.

Superfood hype? These local superfoods are the better alternative

Nutritionists and consumer advocates are rightly critical of the hype surrounding exotic superfoods. These local superfoods can easily keep up with their more widely traveled counterparts. On top of that, they have a lower pesticide load and a better ecological balance:

• Flaxseeds contain more protein and omega-3 fatty acids than chia seeds from Latin America.
• Black currants, nettles and sea buckthorn berries are richer in vitamin C than the Chinese goji berry.
• Blueberries, elderberries and blue grapes protect against damaging oxidation processes just as well as the açaí berry from the South American Amazon.
• With up to 40 percent protein content, lupine seeds are a domestic alternative to soybeans, which are mainly imported from South America.
• Pumpkin seeds and salsify provide plenty of iron - just like the spirulina algae from tropical waters.

A strong team: local superfood and the healthy plate

As an athlete: Is a healthy diet important to you? Combine local superfood alternatives with the Healthy Eating Plate method - and you can be sure that you are eating a balanced and nutritious diet. With our tips you can do it easily!

A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

SOURCES

Li, Y., Jiang, H., & Huang, G. (2017). Protein Hydrolysates as Promoters of Non-Haem Iron Absorption. Nutrients, 9(6), 609. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9060609

Fernandez ML (2006). Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 9(1), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.mco.0000171152.51034.bf

Qin C, Lv J, Guo Y on behalf of the China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group, et al Associations of egg consumption with cardiovascular disease in a cohort study of 0.5 million Chinese adults Heart 2018;104:1756-1763. https://heart.bmj.com/content/104/21/1756

Meyer, R. Deutsches Ärzteblatt (2020). Zoeliak disease: The risk of death is increased despite better diagnostics and gluten-free foods, A-1067 / B-900, 117(20) . https://www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/content?heftid=6939

Hooper, L., Martin, N., Jimoh, OF, Kirk, C., Foster, E., & Abdelhamid, AS (2020). Reduction in saturated fat intake for cardiovascular disease. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 5(5), CD011737.