Dietary Symbols

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Those of you who have already tried our recipes will have noticed that there are some circular icons with different motifs just below the recipe title. These nutritional symbols provide information about which nutritional characteristics apply to this recipe. This makes it easy for you to see if this recipe suits your needs or desires. Here in this section we explain what the symbols mean exactly. By the way, if you have specific requirements for a recipe, you can also use our search function and preset the nutritional symbols discussed here as a filter as well.

Vegan

Vegan means that this recipe does not use ingredients with animal origin. No meat, no dairy products, no eggs and no honey. All recipes in our blog are vegan.

Gluten-free

This means that no cereals containing gluten, such as wheat, spelled or rye, are used for our recipes. Instead, we use gluten-free oat flour, millet flour, whole grain rice flour, chickpea flour, almond flour or coconut flour. So we avoid gluten, but provide a lot of nutrients with these alternative flours. All recipes on this blog are always gluten-free.

Grain-free

Grain-free means that no type of grain, e.g. gluten-free oat flour or brown rice flour, and no pseudo-cereals, e.g. quinoa or amaranth, are used for this recipe. This criterion does not apply to all our recipes. There are many recipes on this blog that are made with healthy gluten-free grains. However, this filter could be helpful for those who have certain allergies or need to avoid grains altogether.

Soy-free & Corn-free

Soy and corn are never included in our recipes. Neither in raw form nor in processed form, e.g. as corn starch, soy cream, etc.

Legume-free

Legumes are definitely healthy, but some people don't tolerate them well, are allergic, or choose not to eat them for other reasons. Legume-free means there are no beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas, or lupins in these recipes. Of course, no soybeans are included, because all our recipes are always soy-free. If you are looking for legume-free recipes, please keep an eye out for this logo and enjoy recipes marked with it or use our search function.

Nut-free

Nut-free is a very difficult term. This is because opinions as to what a nut is, popularly and botanically, differ widely. Some fruits are called nuts and are not nuts at all: the coconut, for example, is a drupe and the peanut is actually a legume. From a botanical point of view, cashew nuts and almonds are also not nuts, but drupes. Real nuts are hazelnuts and walnuts. But it's not that easy, because nut allergy sufferers mainly react to hazelnuts and peanuts. The American Food and Drugs Association summarizes the following fruits as allergens under the term "tree nuts"¹: Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecan nuts, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, chestnuts, coconuts, and a few others. There is also a list of allergens that must be labeled in the EU. Behind the letter H hide the so-called shell fruits. According to the European directive of 2003 and 2007², this includes: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios and macadamia nuts. This means that coconuts and chestnuts are included in the American classification, but not in the Europe. Since coconut and chestnuts only very rarely cause allergic reactions, we adhere to the European convention. However, if you are allergic or sensitive to coconuts or chestnuts, please take a closer look at the ingredients of the recipe. You can also use our search engine, which allows you to exclude individual ingredients such as coconuts or chestnuts when searching for recipes.

Raw

Opinions are also divided on the subject of raw food cuisine. There are the radical raw food advocates who will only use raw ingredients. And there are more moderate proponents who declare a dish raw if the main ingredients remain raw. We want to join the second group and rate a dish raw if all the vegetable and fruit components are not heated during the preparation. Because some ingredients are not available in raw food quality: On the one hand, this applies to the coconut milk, which is heated before it is sold. But you can find a recipe on our blog on how to make raw coconut milk yourself. So you can also prepare the recipe completely raw if you want. However, since not everyone has that much time, the recipe is also considered raw with the finished coconut milk, since in our opinion the advantage of raw cooking is the high concentration of vitamins and minerals in the fruit and vegetable components and the coconut milk, whether raw or not, does not contribute too much to this anyway, and contributes to the dish mainly in terms of its taste. On the other hand, the maple syrup is obtained from the natural maple sap by boiling it down. Therefore, maple syrup can never be raw. Honey is the only sweetener that is raw, but it's not vegan and it also has a special flavor of its own that doesn't go well with every dish.

Fat-free

According to the Codex Alimentarius³, a globally binding guideline for the description and analysis of food from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the WHO (World Health Organization), a dish is considered fat-free if it contains a maximum of half a gram of fat per 100g. Our blog has some fat-free recipes for you.

Low-fat

The Codex Alimentarius³ also clearly defines the term “low-fat” that is often used carelessly these days. A dish can be classified as low-fat if there is a maximum of 3 grams of fat per 100g. Many of our recipes fit this definition. And when they don't, they're still far below the fat content of traditional recipes.

No natural sweeteners

None of our recipes contain refined table sugar, which we consider to be an unnatural, industrially manufactured product. However, we use natural sweeteners such as maple syrup or coconut sugar in some recipes. The coco aminos seasoning sauce is also made on the basis of coconut blossom nectar and we consider it a natural sweetener. If you also want to avoid these natural sweeteners, then the recipes without added sugar are the right choice. A sweet note can here only come from dates or ripe bananas.

High-fiber

The international dietary guideline, the Codex Alimentarius³, stipulates that a dish is considered to be high-fiber if it contains at least 6g of fiber per 100g. Since we use a lot of whole grain products and cook plant-based, a large number of our dishes are conform to this category.

High-protein

A meal is considered high-protein if at least 10g per 100g is protein⁴. Especially people who do a lot of sport and build muscle can find what they are looking for under this filter.

Low-carb

Low-carb simply means low in carbohydrates. But when is a recipe officially low-carb? According to nutritionists, a dish is considered low-carb if less than 25% of the total calories come from carbohydrates⁵. We adhere to this general guideline when displaying this nutritional symbol.

DietTyesLogoOmega

Omega fatty acids balance

The topic of fats is a bit more complex. For a deeper understanding, we recommend that you read the fats section in our explanations of the individual nutrients. A rough distinction can be made between the non-essential fatty acids that the body can produce itself and which are considered unhealthy in excess, and the essential fatty acids, i.e. those fats that we cannot produce ourselves and have to ingest with food. The latter are considered very healthy. They are divided in omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. It is important to note the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The two omega fatty acids act as opponents in the body and should be in balance for the body to perform its functions properly. This ideal ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 should be between 1:2 and 1:5. However, since most foods contain much more omega-6 fatty acids, almost everyone is imbalanced in this regard. We have therefore highlighted all recipes for you under this filter that have an ideal ratio of the two fatty acids. In addition, recipes are also integrated that have an omega-3 dominance. This is very rare and incorporating such foods into our diet naturally helps improve the overall ratio of omega fatty acids. Further down in the recipes, in the nutrient analysis, you will also find the exact ratio of the two fatty acids in the selected recipe. By the way, you can also use our Find a Recipe tool to search for those recipes which have an ideal distribution of fatty acids.

Refereces

References:

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (2016), Section 201(qq) of the Act defines the term "major food allergen" to include "tree nuts." In addition to the three examples provided in section 201(qq) (almonds, pecans, and walnuts), what nuts are considered "tree nuts?", accessed 22 june 2022, <https://www.fda.gov/industry/fda-basics-industry/section-201qq-act-defines-term-major-food-allergen-include-tree-nuts-addition-three-examples>.
European Commission (2007), Richtlinie 2007/68/EG der Kommission, Amtsblatt der Europäischen Union, accessed 20 june 2022, <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32007L0068>.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1997), Guidelines for use of nutrition claims, CAC/GL 23-1997[22], accessed 22 june 2022, <https://www.fao.org/3/y2770e/y2770e07.htm>.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1997), Guidelines for use of nutrition claims, CAC/GL 23-1997[22], accessed 22 june 2022, <https://www.fao.org/3/y2770e/y2770e07.htm>.
Last AR, Wilson SA (2006), Low-carbohydrate diets, in: American Family Physician. 73 (11), p. 1942–1948. PMID 16770923.