Calculate the body mass index and live according to calorie dictates? These six women don’t care. You know intuitively: nutrition is also a source of strength and balm for the soul. That’s why they invite us to dinner:
The connoisseur
Tina Katharina Grone, 34, office manager Eat what I like – the Berliner treats herself to whatever she feels like. Her personal luxury consists of three hot meals: porridge (porridge) with fruit in the morning, lunch in a restaurant or café around 1 p.m., and in the evening she cooks pea soup with smoked eel or turnips with Parma ham or…
Tolfioow: Apparently food means quite a lot to you.
Tina Katharina Grone: You are what you eat – I believe in that. Nothing in life comes as close to you as food, for it becomes a part of your body.
It’s correct. But for the body, Parma ham is definitely not the best…
But my soul loves it. Food is much more than adding nutrients to the body . When food makes me happy, I am flooded with happiness hormones. And that’s pretty healthy, isn’t it? I also often buy organic because I find that many products simply taste better.
It all sounds pretty expensive.
It is. But could I invest my money better? I learned this appreciation for food from my parents. You have always bought only the best quality and lots of fresh produce. My mother cooked everything herself, right down to the jam. Sometimes she even made sausages with my grandmother.
Your friends will definitely be happy when you cook for them.
I hope so. I’m also happy when they invite me. And hey, don’t stress, I like spaghetti with pesto too.
Not afraid of calories?
So far, eating warm food three times a day hasn’t made me fat. Although I often treat myself to three fresh chocolates for dessert, my passion. If I ate candy bars all the time in between, I might be worried. But between meals I’m not hungry at all.
Nutrition fact sheet
Eat like a Frenchwoman: everything, but in moderation and only three times a day. This allows blood sugar levels to drop between meals, allowing the pancreas to recover and keeping you slim.
Favorite foods : fish, vegetables, delicatessen, fresh chocolates
The Disciplined
Gesa Schwanke, 28, volunteer The main thing is to be slim! The young professional is very careful about her weight. She doesn’t eat breakfast, but eats a bowl of muesli at her desk around eleven o’clock. For lunch, she buys a bagel without toppings. But in the afternoon she nibbles biscuits or wine gums. In the evening there is pasta or vegetable soup about three times a week and pudding twice a week.
Tolfioow: Is eating the same as counting calories?
Gesa Schwanke: No, but I want to keep track. I love sweets and especially pudding. That’s why I make sure that I make up for small sins quickly.
Can you do it?
Less lately. Since I stopped studying and started working, I haven’t had enough sport. In the last six months I have gained three kilos.
And what happens now?
I would love to take that off again. In any case, I want to avoid adding more. I cycle to work and climb all sorts of stairs every day. I also try to control myself even more when eating. But that’s difficult for me. I just moved in with my boyfriend, we like to cook together on the weekends.
Funny: With this amount of food, others would rather lose weight than gain weight.
As a teenager I was chubby, since then discipline has been the order of the day. Unfortunately, I gain weight from the smell of the kitchen even before I’ve had a bite.
Nutrition profile
Disciplined eating: Calories are restricted, but nothing is forbidden. Sport and healthy food balance this out. This is how you persevere and don’t slip into the yo-yo effect.
Favorite Foods : Dairy products, cereals, fruit, sweets
The Nah Eater
Mirka Raito, 35, artist and mother Ecological, regional, tasty – Mirka has ideals, also when it comes to food. That’s why she founded a food coop with her husband and others: once a week, an organic farmer from the area delivers to the food cellar they rent. Everyone transfers a fixed amount every month.
Tolfioow: Speisekeller – sounds like work and adventure.
Mirka Raito: We take it in turns to do the cellar work: Sorting in new goods and disposing of old ones. My husband and I have been here since 2004, with a year off. The festivals on the organic farm are an adventure. The children in particular then understand where their food comes from.
And you? Do you appreciate the food more today?
Today I see organic food as part of my eating culture. Not all tomatoes are the same – but it was only as an adult that I learned to taste the difference. I grew up in Finland, where ready meals and fast food are very common. As a kid, I almost felt like eating was one of the seven deadly sins. With every bite I thought about my figure.
So set something different for your children.
We collect mushrooms and berries together, cook and eat together and talk a lot about food. The children should learn that eating can be fun. My husband and I train their taste in a playful way: We put a surprise snack in the children’s mouths and they guess what it is.
Nutrition profile
Eco-correct food: Only regional, organic and fairly produced food is served. Only a relatively small amount of energy is required to produce them. Due to short transport routes and organic cultivation, manyTolfioow substances are preserved, and the fresh food tastes particularly aromatic.
Favorite foods : Vegetables, fruit (preferably apples), cheese and olive oil bought on vacation
The frugal
Sabine Luckmann, 43, single parent Her four children are 4, 7, 11 and 14 years old. Despite the tight budget, Sabine pays attention to healthy eating. She buys a lot of whole grain, seasonal vegetables and dairy products – as long as the money lasts, in the organic market and organic quality from the discounter. At the end of the month, she switches to conventional goods.
Tolfioow: Don’t you have to buy mountains of groceries every month?
Sabine Luckmann: For the five of us I really have to carry something, especially since I don’t own a car. Luckily, I enjoy shopping and cooking. If I didn’t spend two hours in the kitchen every day, I couldn’t eat healthily. Vegetable soup, potatoes with homemade sour cream, spinach and potato fried egg, wholemeal school sandwiches with butter: it’s all affordable. Organic convenience food would be too expensive.
Is there meat in it?
If so, then only from the organic butcher – and that costs money. But meat from conventional animal husbandry is not in my bag. Actually, I would like to prepare something with meat once a week. But that’s how it stays every two weeks with minced meat or chops.
Do you go to work?
No, because then I would have to leave the children at the day-care center until late afternoon. But I want to spend time with them and encourage them. The two older ones go to high school and learn an instrument.
Nutrition profile
Make a lot out of little. The Luckmanns don’t live on Hartz IV, but this standard rate allows for 4.30 euros a day for food, and 3 euros for a child. One can only feed oneself wholesomely and wholesomely with iron discipline.
Favorite foods : muesli, potatoes, brown bread, milk, butter, apples
The Ayurveda enthusiasts
Alexandra Kapa, 34, Ayurveda masseuse Ayurvedic dishes are meant to nourish and warm. During her training in 2004, Alexandra changed her diet. Warm porridge for breakfast, a lentil dish for lunch, for example. By 6 p.m. at the latest, Alexandra has dinner: vegetable soup or rice with chicken. She mainly drinks hot water.
Tolfioow: Never coffee and no salad?
Alexandra Kapa: Ayurveda believes in warming and cooling foods. Coffee has a heating effect. It promotes thirst for action, but also anger. In some situations it is soul medicine, then I like to drink a cup. I would never eat salad or raw vegetables in general, they cool you down too much. I risk digestive problems.
Is that why you eat “supper” so early?
Exactly. From 7.30 p.m. the digestive fire weakens, the body is tired from the day.
Do you watch yourself very closely?
That’s what Ayurveda is all about: being mindful and getting to know yourself better. I find Ayurvedic typing very useful. I’m the Vata/Pitta type.
So half air, half fire. What does that mean for you?
Because of my air content, I have to be careful that my digestive fire doesn’t go out. Warm water will help. As a fire element, I need a lot of relaxation through food and yoga.
Nutrition profile
Ayurveda means “knowledge of life”. The diet is tailored to the Ayurvedic type. Important: never eat until you are full, stop before then.
Favorite Foods : Rice, Vegetables, Lentils
The halal eater
Arzu Asani, 30, lawyer She follows the dietary regulations of the Koran and eats halal, which means, for example, no pork and other meat only if it is halal. Most of the time, however, Arzu has an appetite for vegetable dishes.
Tolfioow: The slaughter ritual appears cruel to Europeans.
Arzu Asani: It’s always brutal to kill an animal. Nothing is more primitive than eating meat. How it is slaughtered makes no difference to me. It makes more sense to think about how to give the animals a comfortable life. And to protect them from being driven through Germany in cattle trucks.
Still, you eat meat, at least sometimes.
Yes, when I visit my parents. I love my mother’s cooking, many beautiful childhood memories are in these flavors. And sometimes I buy a doner kebab during the lunch break.
I’m sure your parents eat halal too.
They are very religious and pay close attention to the dietary laws.
Can you do it yourself?
Yes. But I also have it much easier today than my parents used to. Even Aldi and Penny now have halal groceries. I also avoid pork gelatin. Luckily Nutella doesn’t contain any!
And in the restaurant?
I prefer to order vegetarian anyway. And of course I don’t drink wine, but water. Alcohol is also not halal. But I wouldn’t feel like drinking any anyway.
Nutrition profile
“Halal” in Islam describes all things that are permitted and pure. Muslims are allowed to eat meat if the animal has been slaughtered, ie killed by bleeding. Pork is never halal, it is considered impure (= haram, forbidden). Other foods such as dairy and vegetables are always halal.
Favorite foods : Vegetable casseroles, salad, doner kebab, Nutella
