Category: Info Point

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A quartet of young Zurich restaurateurs consisting of Beni Ott, Simon Leuzinger, Markus Ott and Basil Nufer run the new restaurant in the National Museum.

They simply call their restaurant “Spitz”, a reference to the nearby Platzspitz. Consisting of a bistro (Musuems-Cafe), a bar (with a large exquisite whisky collection) and a restaurant.

The Spitz’s kitchen concept is based on the slow food concept, but takes a broader view. The focus is always on a first-class, sustainably produced product – preferably from Switzerland. Without much frippery, Basil Nufer explained to the Tagesanzeiger on 18.3.2016
here
.

Incidentally, the main supplier is Pico Bio, from whom we (vegan kitchen) also obtain all the vegetables for our catering.

The prices in the new Landesmuseum restaurant are somewhere between the lower and upper mid-range.

But quality comes at a high price:

As an appetizer (CHF 16.-) I got a hearty salad of fresh cherries and herbs, I’ve never had anything like it and it was indescribably good!

For my main course, a vegetable arrangement (pictured) with edible capuchin flowers and cress, dried fennel and beans, I paid CHF 38. But it was also really excellent.

My main course also (unconsciously?) referred to the
biological value
was taken into account: In addition to my beans (protein in the vegetable arrangement), mashed potatoes (starchy side dish) in the form of white mousse- points served. What I found particularly refreshing about the choice of dishes is that they were both made without any
meat analogs
at all.

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For dessert, we topped off the pure plant-based meal with a sorbet of two kinds of passion fruit and wild berries decorated with various fresh berries on a lavender sauce: despite the bad summer, the berries were not sour (but not too sweet either) and the whole dessert was simply perfectly balanced.

This finish was too good to remember the price. Anyway, I can highly recommend the Spitz – just ask for vegan options, they are not on the menu! It’s not a vegan restaurant, but open to your wishes (Basil, the chef himself, tells me).

You can also do as I did: simply order a “vegan three-course meal” when you make your reservation and be surprised.

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My new vegan Cookbook Corner

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Against dreary rainy days, it helps to set up a cozy reading corner to survive the weather with a good vegan cookbook and various fresh summer berries.

You don’t have to turn your living room into a library, there is room for your own book corner even in a small apartment.

Small niches and corners are usually ideal for creating a cozy corner. However, it is important to ensure that there is sufficient light. Ideally, there should be a window nearby that lets in enough sunlight.

I own at least fifty vegan cookbooks

There are also another dozen vegetarian cookbooks.

I have also read other standard vegan books such as the
book by Jonathan Safran Foer “Eating Animals
” or T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell’s “China Study” at home.

But I also have books on“Cooking and Art“,“Cooking and Activism“,“Cooking and Womenand “Cooking and Celebration“.

But unfortunately my beautiful books had been lying dishonorably on the floor for some time after our move.

It was time to give them a noble place to read:

A place near a window is particularly suitable for a reading corner. Many reading researchers have apparently already discovered that a good book and the sweeping view from the window simply belong together, so that the imagination can be stimulated even better. That’s why I chose our most beautiful window, as we have a bay window in our apartment! By the way, the seating area should be arranged so that you’re not sitting facing the window, otherwise the book will be in the shade.

Here you can see the result by clicking on the pictures in large:

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All fabrics from IKEA & the topic of sustainability at Ikea right
here
.

 

Vegan ice cream from Lusso.

Screenshot 2016-07-20 at 11.32.36The rain clouds have cleared and made way for the summer sun – a good time to try the new vegan ice creams from Lusso for the first time.

I’m holding two multipacks of Tofuline vegan ice cream in my hands. Big Peak, the cornet version and Pearl, the little sister on a stick. The packaging is too cheerfully purple for my taste.

Screenshot 2016-07-20 at 11.23.36 Screenshot 2016-07-20 at 11.23.30

But well, I don’t eat the packaging, I eat the contents and I decide to unwrap the Big Peak glacé first. My fiancé and my two-year-old daughter are also getting one.

A ball covered in a thin layer of chocolate sits on a cornet wafer, unaware that it will soon end up in my stomach. First I nibble away a piece of chocolate – it tastes delicate and fine – and then I uncover the vanilla ice cream.

A first lick, a first bite and I’m amazed. It really does feel like a cream glacé, even though there isn’t a drop of milk in it. The ice cream is made from soy. The vanilla flavor is neither too intense nor too weak and the sweetness is just my thing.

Oh, what’s that? After the second bite, I taste strawberry and my eyes confirm what my tongue has reported: a strawberry-red dot appears on the ice cream ball.

This strawberry sauce turned out a little too sweet for me, but as the vanilla is the main flavor component, I can live with it.

My fiancé is even very good. He didn’t take the step from vegetarian to vegan for a long time, mainly because of ice cream and desserts. Now he’s grinning like a boy and thinks the strawberry sauce is so delicious that he even dips the tip of his tongue in it. My little daughter watches him and utters a vehement “Mis Glacé!”, clutching her vanilla cornet tightly.

Now I’m curious about the yellowish waffle. Yellowish waffle? Yes, the waffle is made from corn. After all, Lusso wasn’t just thinking of vegans and people with lactose intolerance, but also anyone who suffers from gluten intolerance.

The corn waffle tastes good, but is too moist and could be crispier. I don’t know whether it’s the corn or the fact that the chocolate coating on the inside of the cornet isn’t thick enough to separate the wafer from the moist ice cream and keep it dry.

Njam, njam, njam, I’ve almost reached the end. With the last bite, Lusso fulfills an old cornet tradition: the waffle tip is filled with chocolate.

Enough ice cream for today. We save the second variety, Tofuline “Pearl”, for tomorrow.

When I tear open the multipack, the first thing I notice is that the ice cream is a dwarf ice cream. The oval glacé body on the stick is seven centimetres long. It seems as if it was produced for (small) children or did someone at Lusso also have women in mind who pay meticulous attention to their summer figure?

Be that as it may, the chocolate coating on this version is also fine and delicate, but it covers a strawberry glacé rather than a vanilla glacé. Here, too, the framing effect is astonishing, but the family verdict is unanimous: the strawberry ice cream tastes too sweet.

Conclusion: The Cornet “Big Pearl” will find its way back into our freezer, but “Pearl” tastes too sweet for us. Both are available in larger Coop supermarkets.

 

 

 

 

 

Cereal milk with no added sugar – but still sweet?

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A friend recently drew my attention to the sugar in oat milk, and we found the following article on the web:
Suddenly I was a little worried about 10 teaspoons of sugar in a liter of oat milk, which we drink quickly as a family in one day. I didn’t have any weight problems because of this, but I didn’t want to give my daughter too much sugar.
Since I myself have been consuming the best and finest oat milk from Soyana for many years, I simply asked Mr. A. W. Dänzer (owner of Soyana) directly.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for taking the trouble to clarify my concerns and also for allowing me to submit his opinion, including a copy. publication here again:
Swiss Rice & Cereal Drinks: Without added sugar
How is that possible? All Swiss Rice and Cereal Drinks are fermented with natural enzymes so that the whole grain used by Soyana is broken down and is more easily available to humans: Maltodextrin and some sweet-tasting glucose are produced from the cereal starch. Maltodextrin is a long-chain carbohydrate. It tastes only very slightly sweet and is not classified as sugar. This production method adds value to Swiss Drinks because it provides the body with maltodextrin together with the naturally present B vitamins and minerals with a slow but sustained supply of readily available energy, which is important for endurance athletes and valuable for everyone.

1. soyana only uses naturally derived enzymes that are guaranteed to be produced without any genetic engineering.

2. The enzymatic process used in the production of all Swiss rice and cereal drinks – including Soyana’s oat drink – is completely natural, because the body does exactly the same thing when we eat rice or oats or any other grain: Our organism converts the starch into sugar so that our brain, in particular, can use it.
Our brain really wants simple sugars that are as pure as possible, and as a whole grain freak I had to accept that…
So the organism produces it from all possible sources of carbohydrates that we give it with our diet.
I am still of the opinion that it would be slightly better to eat whole whole grain cereals instead of pre-digested, liquid cereals, so to speak, because then all the cellulose in the body would still be processed, which the consumer perceives as a burden (real fiber), which helps intestinal health.
But hand on heart: who likes to chew their original muesli made from soaked wholemeal for an hour, as the original Swiss did?
The quick cereal drink is a blessing of civilization. And I maintain that the result for our organism in terms of physical nutrients is quite similar.
However, you must remain aware that the modern cereal drink tempts you to consume much more cereal because it is so easy to consume as a drink. The fact that you then put on little pads should honestly not be blamed on the cereal drink, but on human weakness towards all things sweet. So the blessing of civilization here is a tasty drink instead of a tedious mush, but it also requires a little more caution and conscious self-control – or simply a lot of exercise… If you walk 20 km every day, as our ancestors did, who still genetically determine our bodily functions for tens of thousands of years, you will always be hungry and are guaranteed not to put on any flab!
Thanks to the early conversion of part of the starch into maltodextrin and sugar (which is all classified as sugar by the authorities today and which really cannot be compared with “sugar”, especially not with the much-used image of sugar cubes, which paints a completely false picture here), the cereal drink tastes pleasantly sweet, while the cereal porridge contains exactly the same amount of calories in the form of starch before digestion, but does not taste attractive.
3. there are differences depending on the manufacturer, which each consumer can find out for themselves, as the limited space available on the packaging offers far too few opportunities to point out subtleties and differences. For example, Soyana always uses whole grain, with very few exceptions: Of the 25 different Swiss Drink milk alternatives, only two are not made with whole grains for taste reasons, while there are hardly any manufacturers who actually use whole rice, for example. Rice milk made from rice is made from husked rice, and this is noticeably sweeter. What’s more, ma hardly notices that salt is added to many drinks, which results in a dramatic difference in taste. Salt gives our taste buds a much fuller and rounder impression, and together with the stronger sweetness of white rice, a whole rice drink without added salt is less attractive, even though it contains more B vitamins and minerals.
The Soyana team has avoided adding salt in most cases and pays for this with the fact that few people can appreciate the health benefits of whole rice Swiss Drinks because it is simply the taste that counts.
4) So there are definitely differences between different manufacturers in terms of physical-material substances and in terms of subtle realities, which are no less important, as anyone can see in my book “The invisible force in food”. Today it is normal for this whole invisible part of food to be completely forgotten. We are usually limited to the purely material processes and functions in our organism, but in reality there are many more interesting processes taking place in the subtle realm, where, for example, information is transferred into our lives.
What differences can be found between cereal drinks from different manufacturers in the subtle, informational area of life energy? I can’t show a direct comparison with photos from our LifevisionLab here, because in my gut I was wary of exposing other manufacturers with such a comparison. But we can look at the pictures of the vitality of Soyana’s Swiss drinks and compare them with the pictures of sugar, because it has often been suggested here that cereal drinks are full of sugar, so to speak – and what a fraudulent deception on the part of the industry that is. Now we can test the truth of this theory. What do we observe now?
The following pictures are taken from the book “The invisible power in food, organic and non-organic in comparison”:
– Soyana Swiss BioDrink Millet (p. 235)
– Soyana Swiss BioDrink whole rice plus calcium (p. 235)
– Soyana Swiss BioDrink Spelt (p. 240)
– White organic cane sugar (p. 76 and 77)
– White non-organic cane sugar (p. 78)
What does the universal language tell us here with the insight into the world of the organizing power of these foods?
You can see it for yourself: Soyana’s whole grain drinks are all designed with beautiful organic and expressive shapes full of vitality. The whole rice drink even contains 6-petaled flowers and thus the culmination of life with the so-called flowers of life in alchemy. In contrast, white cane sugar, although organic, shows many right-angled industrial patterns and little vitality. The pictures of the white non-bio cane sugar show that things can get much worse.
It is therefore clear that the conclusion that oat drink is a kind of sugar drink is not correct and is a fallacy to which the material consideration of the nutritional value analysis has led.
These pictures also show that at least the Swiss Drinks from Soyana examined here provide consumers with food that is full of vitality.
Thank you for the opportunity to make a small contribution to the discussion in this forum

Aquafaba

aquafabaA waste product can now replace industrial vegan protein alternatives.

Aquafaba is the vegan answer to egg white snow, is quick to make and costs very little. The chickpea water can be obtained either from the can (it is best to use organic products for this) or from the cooking water from the dried peas. The second method requires a little patience, as the water with the chickpeas should be kept in the fridge overnight after boiling.

But let’s start from the beginning: The magic word here is vegetable protein snow, for years we thought we could only imitate it with apple sauce. Or we usually use a soy-based vegetable cream that can be whipped: soy cream/cream such as SojaLine from Migros (unsweetened) or SOY WHIP from Soyatoo (sweetened).

Aquafaba not only makes airy meringues (like meringue hoods!), macaroons and whole cakes, but also delicious desserts such as chocolate mousse and much more.

This is because the natural and purely plant-based protein substitute can also be wonderfully processed into savory dishes. Burgers, cheese, butter and mayonnaise get their desired consistency with aquafaba.

Aquafaba translates from the Latin “aqua” = water and “faba” = bean

Most of them can be found in every well-stocked household. Vanilla sugar, powdered sugar, cream of tartar (used in the same way as baking powder or cream stiffener) and lemon juice are not exotic in the kitchen. If you add the chickpea or bean draining water to this and add guar gum, you have a good base for many dishes.

 

Recipe for the purely plant-based beaten egg whites

Ingredients for 1 portion, preparation time is approx.

Ingredients for 1 portion (e.g. one chocolate mousse)

  • 125ml drained water from a tin of chickpeas (preferably with a little salt)
  • ½ tsp guar gum / xanthan gum
  • 4 drops of lemon juice
  • 60g raw powdered sugar
  • 1 pinch of bourbon vanilla seeds

Preparation

Place all the ingredients except the sugar in a bowl and whisk for 2 minutes. Then add the raw powdered sugar and continue beating for 5 minutes until the foam sets and forms peaks.

It is best to process the snow straight away.

Info: Be careful when experimenting in the oven, as the snow does not tolerate high temperatures above 100°C. It is great for drying in a dehydrator or in the oven at low temperatures below 100°C.
More information about aquafaba and recipes right here:

The pineapple grill recipe

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We’ll show you how to make this pineapple barbecue recipe together with children at the lake: Come to the

Vegan Open-Air BBQ & Potluck presented by VGS & vegan kitchen

Info about the Vegan Open-Air Potluck, yeah!

We meet again for a cozy vegan barbecue, eating & chilling by the lake.

The event will be announced on Facebook and vegan.ch by 18:00 the evening before.

Everyone brings something to eat or drink for themselves and about 4 others. Cutlery, plates etc. ….

Date:

Sunday June 26 12:00-16:00

(Alternative date Sunday July 10, 12:00-16:00)

Location:

Next to the Rote Fabrik or GZ Wollishofen, by the large meadow with steps to the lake where we will set up the buffet and barbecue.

 

Your hosts

Lauren (vegan kitchen) & Rafi (President of the Vegan Society)

 

 

3 tips for stylish sustainable shopping

MKG_FastFashion_TimMitchell_1_720x480Clothing today is seen as a disposable commodity and unfortunately, in my view, this no longer has anything to do with fashion. Before the fast fashion era, fashion once stood for expressing one’s personality, for turning one’s inner self outwards. Clothes are the mirror of the soul. But what is left of this idea when everyone is running around in the same cheap outfits and throwing away what they are wearing today without batting an eyelid tomorrow? Shifting responsibility away from oneself is no longer so easy, because thanks to the internet, word of the dark side of the fashion industry has spread to the remotest corners of the world.

So what to do?

So the key question is: how can I dress authentically, feel comfortable and reconcile the clothes I buy with my conscience?

The solution: targeted shopping

We’ve all been in the situation in our lives where we’ve stood in front of a full closet and still have nothing to wear. However, we often don’t wear clothes simply because they are the wrong colors or don’t suit us in terms of style – but we are often simply not aware of the reason. Instead of disposing of the item and continuing to shop haphazardly, read the following 3 tips:

1. Tip: Find out whether you are “cold” or “warm”

Genetically, either “cold” or “warm” colors suit all people better, as we all have either a “cold” or a “warm” skin undertone for genetic reasons (this does not change until the end of our lives!).
Likewise, certain style elements (cuts, designs) based on your physical appearance (figure, bone structure, face shape…) emphasize your individual style mix. In a color and style analysis, both aspects are analyzed in detail and individually. The result allows you to make targeted, resource-saving purchases without any uncertainties. Here you can watch a short instruction video:

How to tell if you are a cold or warm color type.

4seasons

The 4 color types at a glance: Spring, summer, fall and winter: You can find out more
here.

2. Tip: Buy from sustainable suppliers

There are now a lot of sustainable labels and fortunately there are more and more of them. The difference to fast fashion is logically that sustainable labels pick up fewer “trends” due to the longer product lifespan. It is therefore all the more desirable to know exactly what suits you, as the pieces should be wearable for longer and 100% support the wearer’s own type, lifestyle and style.

3. Tip: Spice things up with vintage and second hand

You can spice up your wardrobe with unusual second-hand fashion items. This adds that “certain something” to your style while still shopping sustainably. In the second-hand fashion jungle, safety is particularly helpful when shopping in terms of color and style, as the variety is enormous and there are no collections, so putting together outfits requires a lot more planning and safety.

INVITATION TO THE FREE WEBINAR

Would you like to know more about this topic?

Then register for the free webinar now:

How to shop specifically for vegan fashion
Tuesday, 24.05.2016 from 20:00 to 21:00

Webinar leader: Lauren Wildbolz and Elisabeth Aubonney

Click here for more information and to register.

A webinar is a seminar held via the World Wide Web. It is designed to be interactive and live, so you can ask us your questions and we will answer them straight away in the webinar.

Is the webinar for you?
The webinar is for you if one or more of the following points apply to you:

  • Do you live a vegan lifestyle or are you interested in it and want to know how to implement the vegan lifestyle in your clothing?
  • Are you familiar with vegan online stores, but find it difficult to put together outfits?
  • You want to make the most of your resources (time, money, nerves, environment) and simply look fresh and dazzling.
  • Bonus material: The best Zurich addresses for sustainable bargains!

AUBONNEY Elisabeth

Elisabeth Aubonney has been helping people achieve an authentic look for 10 years and is a certified color, style and image expert with a focus on sustainable fashion. She is originally from Vienna and lives with her family in Switzerland. Click here for a
video
from Elisabeth.

www.meinfarbtyp.ch

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Biodynamic and vegan

wine-of-the-week

Lunaris 2012 (Image: PD)

Fortunately, many wines are already produced using organic or even biodynamic methods. Some examples are also vegan, as an example from the canton of Zurich shows. We are talking about Lunaris 2012 from Staatskellerei Zürich, which belongs to the Mövenpick Group. The red wine is made from the fungus-resistant Cabernet Jura and Monarch varieties. The use of sprays can thus be kept to a minimum. Chemicals are prohibited in organic viticulture. The fruity, fresh Lunaris has an intense, spicy bouquet, is dense on the palate, with soft tannins and ends with a beautiful length. A wine may be called vegan if the producer does not use any animal products such as protein or gelatine for the fining and clarification of the wine. Alternatives include bentonite (natural mineral clay) or vegetable gelatine. The term “vegan” is not defined in wine law. Certain winegrowers declare their products. Otherwise the consumer must ask the retailer or producer whether the wine is vegan or not.

Lunaris 2012, Staatskellerei Zurich, 26 Fr., Mövenpick Wine

 

Source:
NZZ, Peter Keller

A Declaration of Love Part. 1

A Vegan Food Love Story – Roots

 

Photo: Andrea Monica Hug

Anyone who has ever watched me eat or knows me a little better knows what a connoisseur I am. I’d rather not eat anything than eat something I don’t like.

What food – and I mean “real, proper food” – means for me, for my quality of life, for my body, my psyche and my health, I had to experience this winter in Japan.

Because “real, proper food” makes me healthy, happy and satisfied. It can be so simple!

There are two restaurants in Zurich that earned the title “I really LOVE LOVE LOVE your food” last year.

One of them is the Roots. http://www.rootsandfriends.com/

For almost 10 months, the Roots Boys and Girls! (Thanks Angie & Anja!) to make sure I don’t starve, even when I’m on the road. So I flew from Zurich to London with food from Roots.

Centrally located, within walking distance of Zurich main station, in a street parallel to Bahnhofstrasse between the main station and Globus Bahnhofstrasse, at the back of Fielmann, Roots is perfectly situated in my catchment area.

No matter what you order, everything is freshly prepared for you, which leads to short waiting times during the lunch rush. But it’s definitely worth the wait!!!

 

Photo: Andrea Monica Hug

 

Whether it’s breakfast to go, a smoothie, lunch or the finest Italian coffee, the focus here is on sustainability and quality.

The take-away tableware consists mainly of organic and recycled materials.

Since a few days with new SPRING TIME card: Check it out!!!

 

 

Photo: Andrea Monica Hug

Photocredit: the beautiful photos are by Andrea Monica Hug

http://chic-in-zurich.ch/