Smantry.Blog

Since version 1.39, two updates have been released, and together they shift the app’s focus. Until now, it was mainly about recording and keeping track of individual items. From now on, it’s about your inventory as a whole: With the new inventory mode, you can update an entire stockroom in just a few minutes, minimum stock levels tell you what’s missing rather than just what’s there, and the interface has been redesigned in the places you tap most often.

The new inventory mode: keeping each warehouse up to date

The most common reason why inventory in an app eventually becomes inaccurate is simple: over time, a gap develops between what is listed and what is actually on the shelf. Until now, your only option was to correct items one by one. Now there is a dedicated mode for that.

The inventory mode doesn't start with your entire stock, but with the question of where you are right now. You select a storage location—“pantry,” “freezer,” or “cellar”—and Smantry shows you only the items stored there. The on-screen prompt says it plainly: _“Start taking inventory right in front of the storage location.”_ That's exactly how it's meant to work—phone in hand, cupboard door open.

The counting flow itself is deliberately kept simple so that it runs quickly:

• Each row shows Expected and Actual. If the stock count is correct, tap "Correct"—one tap, and on to the next item.
• If it is incorrect, use − and + to correct it, then confirm by selecting "Apply".
• At the top, the progress indicator shows: _“12 of 30 reviewed”_. Use the “Open” filter to hide everything you've already checked off.
• Once all the rows have been checked, the screen displays "Everything checked!" and you complete the inventory count at the bottom.

Two details that make the difference between a counting aid and an honest supply:

Which unit do you mean? If a product with multiple expiration dates is stored in the storage location, Smantry does not guess. When you remove a unit, it asks: _“Which unit are you removing?”_—and indicates which one you should use first. When you add one, it instead asks for the new unit’s date, which you can either copy from the existing stock or enter manually.

Why is it being removed? When you reduce a quantity, Smantry asks why: _“Did you use it up, or did you have to throw it away?”_ This ensures that anything removed during an inventory count is included in your waste figures—instead of being hidden in a silent adjustment entry.

The summary: Taking inventory to its logical conclusion

An inventory count is only worthwhile if it ultimately leads to action. That’s why the process doesn’t end with “saved,” but with a summary: how many items you checked at this storage location, how many stock levels were adjusted, and how many items were removed—broken down into used up and discarded.

And then comes the part that saves you work: Smantry lists everything that has fallen below your minimum stock level during inventory directly underneath—with a button labeled "Add to shopping list". From the shelf to the shopping list, with no extra steps.

Minimum stock levels: finally see what's missing, too

For this to work, Smantry needs to know what counts as “enough.” You define that in the minimum stock levels—not laboriously for each individual item, but by category: two kilos of flour, six liters of milk, ten packs of pasta. The screen continuously shows you how many categories are active and what is still needed to reach the minimum levels.

New in the inventory list is the handy filter: “below minimum stock”. With a single tap, it turns the inventory list into a list of missing items—the view you actually want before going shopping. (A frequently requested suggestion from the feedback portal)

And if you're starting from scratch, you don't have to come up with the numbers yourself: Use "Load template" to import a ready-made set of minimum stock levels. The quantities are then scaled to the number of people and the desired period—you say "3 people, 10 days," and Smantry does the math.

Emergency supplies according to the BBK – with real figures

The most important of these templates is the emergency supplies table from the German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). It is now available as a template in Smantry, using the published table as its source—so it contains the quantities actually listed there, rather than estimates. The source is identified in the template dialog, and a preview shows you what will be imported before you apply it.

This is accompanied by a small but important correction to the preparedness indicator: An item can now be marked as "Do not count toward emergency supplies"—intended for anything that may be on the shelf but won't keep anyone fed in an emergency. Wine and sweets are listed as examples directly in the setting description. This simply makes the statement "Prepared for 12 days" more accurate.

A fresh look for the places you visit most

At the same time, we’ve refined the interface in the areas where most of the action happens. Not as a redesign for redesign’s sake—the list of changes may sound unremarkable, and that’s exactly the point:

• The inventory toolbar is now evenly divided between search, sorting, and filtering. The search pill is labeled instead of showing only a magnifying glass, and the item count is back above the list.
• The Add button on the inventory screen is now significantly larger—the app's second most common action used to have the smallest button.
• The scanner now uses the full camera view, with the controls floating above it. The flashlight, camera switch, and manual input are all in one place instead of cropping the image.
• Instead of spinners, while loading you'll see shimmering placeholders shaped like the content that's about to appear. It doesn't make loading any faster, but it does make the experience feel noticeably calmer.
• Empty lists are no longer just empty lists—they now explain what to do next, tailored to the goal you selected when you started.
• The tab bar retains the new glass look, while the page header is back to being simple and easy to read. We tried both in glass, but that was one idea too many.

Declutter: used up or thrown away, now at a glance

The cleanup list introduced in version 1.39 has gained the step it was missing. When you remove an item from it, Smantry no longer asks why in a text dialog, but instead displays two illustrated cards: used up or thrown away. You can grasp the difference in half a second instead of having to read it.

The fact that the loading spinner appears on the card you tapped may sound like a minor detail—but it makes the difference between “I know what’s happening” and “I’ll tap again.”

Expiration dates: the finishing touches

We’ve made adjustments to the new durability screen introduced in 1.39 based on the feedback we received:

• One tip instead of two: The date input opens directly, without an intermediate step.
• The year list now starts with the current year – instead of somewhere in the forties, requiring minutes of scrolling to reach the present.
• On the iPad, the dialog now follows the device's orientation, including in landscape mode.
• "Does not expire" is finally respected everywhere: no expiration indicator in the list and no best-before status for items you've marked as non-perishable.
• In the article detail view, the workflow status is now displayed as text instead of just as a colored dot.

Sign in: one tap, one account

Sign-in now takes place on a dedicated, secure sign-in page (`identity.smantry.com`) – and best of all, it opens with a single tap and already knows whether you wanted to sign in or register. Cases that previously resulted in two accounts being created because an email address was already linked to a different sign-in method now prompt you for confirmation instead of displaying an error.

By the way: New accounts are now set up in your language. Previously, welcome content and emails could appear in English without warning, even though the app was running in German.

Further improvements

• Full-size product images: Tapping a product image now opens it in full view again—even directly from the inventory list, and above the header instead of below it.
• Form stays open: When you select a photo while creating a new product, the form no longer closes—your entries remain in place.
• All storage locations in the Move dialog: When moving an item, not all destinations were always visible. Now they are.
• Create storage location: If creation fails, the app now tells you instead of silently doing nothing. It also now rejects names consisting only of spaces.
• Printing on Android: The stock list printed as a PDF can be reopened.
• Product database: If a product cannot be synchronized with the product database when saving, you will now be notified—instead of it being silently lost.
• Barrierefreiheit: Filterzeilen werden korrekt als Auswahlkästchen angesagt, die Knöpfe für den Entnahmegrund haben sprechende Labels, und kleine Knöpfe halten wieder die 44-Punkt-Mindestgröße ein.
• Weniger Fehlalarme: Kurze Netzwerkaussetzer werden nicht mehr als Fehler gemeldet, und hängende Verbindungen zur Datenbank stellen sich selbst wieder her, statt in einer leeren Liste zu enden.

Und für Unternehmen: Smantry Enterprise

Ein großer Teil der Arbeit dieser beiden Versionen ist im Privathaushalt unsichtbar, weil er für Betriebe gedacht ist: Haushalte können jetzt zu einem Unternehmen gehören, mit Rollen, Sitz-basierter Abrechnung und einem Protokoll aller Bestandsänderungen. In der App siehst du davon nur, was dich betrifft – etwa den Hinweis „Dieses Konto wird von deinem Unternehmen verwaltet" – und die Möglichkeit, Material an Personen auszugeben und zurückzunehmen, direkt am Telefon.

Wenn du Smantry beruflich einsetzt: Schreib uns, wir zeigen es dir.

Jetzt aktualisieren

The summer update is here – and it’s one of the biggest in a long time. Smantry 1.39 brings together everything that has been added since version 1.37: expiration dates now appear right on your home screen, entering best-before dates has its own dedicated page, and for the items you eventually just forget about, there’s now a cleanup list. Here’s an overview.

Your pantry on the home screen: widgets for iOS and Android

The most important view in Smantry is the one that answers the question: What’s expiring soon? From now on, you don’t even have to open the app for that anymore – the “Expiring soon” widget brings the answer straight to your home screen. On iOS it’s brand new, and on Android we’ve completely overhauled it in this version: it reliably receives data again, now shows the same countdown texts as on iOS, and opens the corresponding list when you tap it.

On the iOS home screen, the widget is available in two sizes:

• Small: a large number shows how many items are due in your reminder period – plus the most urgent product.
• Medium: multiple items with countdown (“today”, “tomorrow”, “in 3 days”).

In addition, on iOS there are three lock screen widgets: circular, rectangular, and a slim line above the clock – so you can glance at the display without unlocking it.

The colors help you prioritize: Red means overdue, Orange due today, Yellow due within the next three days. Important: The time period the widget considers as “soon” is not a fixed value – it adopts the reminder lead time from your settings. And when there’s nothing coming up, a green checkmark shows “Your pantry is in good shape” – sometimes the best widget is the one that leaves you in peace.

Technically nicely implemented: The widget keeps counting the days on its own and stays accurate, even if you never open the app. It doesn’t need the internet or its own database access for this – when you use it, the app simply stores a local snapshot of your expiry data. On iOS, the widget works from iOS 16.

Tapping the widget now no longer just takes you into the app, but directly to the filtered view with exactly the items in question – including expired ones.

The new shelf-life screen: enter the date without any detours

Entering the best-before date is the most common action in Smantry – and that’s exactly why it now has its own, tidy page. Whether you scan an item or create it manually: instead of a small dialog with number wheels, the new shelf life screen opens with everything in one place:

• Choose the type of date: Best-before date or use-by date – with a note that explains the difference (“Usually still fine to eat afterwards.” versus “Do not eat after this date.”). The save button always tells you what you’re setting: “Save shelf life” or “Save use-by date”.
• Quick selection: “In 3 days”, “In 1 week”, “In 2 weeks”, “In 1 month”, “In 3 months”, “In 1 year” – one tap is enough. For rice, canned goods & co. there is “No best-before date (long-lasting)” – this selection is now also reliably saved. For the storage date, which lies in the past, the list is reversed accordingly: “Today”, “Yesterday”, “1 week ago” and so on.
• Fine-tuning: Use − and + to jump by whole days; the relative display (“In 31 days”) immediately gives you a feel for the date.
• Calendar included: The built-in calendar is limited to sensible years – no more accidentally scrolling all the way back to 1900.

The storage date now has its own screen instead of sharing a selection list with the expiration date. The two dates are never edited at the same time – that may sound like a small detail, but it has eliminated exactly the mix-ups that previously generated the most feedback.

Also handy: The input now always remains visible above the keyboard, and the scan flow no longer gets interrupted when the notification permission is requested for the very first date.

Only month and year? That’s enough for now.

Many products don’t show a full date, but only “best before 05/2027”. One of the most requested community suggestions has therefore now been implemented: the “month-only” mode.

Simply switch from “Exact day” to “Month only” in the shelf life screen, type in “MM.YYYY” – done. Smantry automatically saves the end of the month, i.e. the last day on which the product is still good according to the printed date. No more guessing which exact day it’s supposed to be.

Smantry only records the month in this case: in the list, on the website, and in the PDF export, only the month will appear – not an exact day, which never actually appeared on the packaging.

Forgotten items: the new decluttering list

Every pantry has them: items that expired long ago and have still been sitting untouched on the list for weeks. Until now, Smantry has only pointed them out – but hasn’t offered anything to help you get rid of them.

That’s what the new “Clean up” screen changes. It gathers all items that expired more than 14 days ago and haven’t been touched since, with the most overdue ones first. And it gives you exactly two buttons per item:

• Red trash can (“Gone”) – the item is removed from stock.
• Green check mark (“Still there”)– nothing changes; you’ve just confirmed that the item still exists.

On the dashboard, a card points the way (“3 items are waiting for you”), which automatically hides itself as long as there’s nothing to tidy up. No badge constantly nagging you.

Best-before date or use-by date? The difference matters everywhere now

“Best before” is a recommendation – “use by” is a limit. Smantry now consistently distinguishes between the two, in the app and in the web version. For ground meat you set a use-by date, for pasta a best-before date, and you mark long-lasting items as “does not expire” – they then won’t appear in the expiry warnings at all.

There are two new filters to go with this: “not yet expired” – a view for everything that’s still good, as a counterpart to the existing “expired” filter – and “expiring soon or expired”, the view you land in after tapping the widget.

Reminders that match the product

Up to now, there was one reminder period for everything: five days before the best-before date, whether it was yogurt or frozen pizza. Now you can set it per item. In the item form there is a field called “Reminder (days before best-before date)” – if you leave it empty, your default value from the settings will still apply.

Practical for anything that needs more lead time: for a pack of meat you still want to freeze, two days’ notice is already too late – for canned goods, on the other hand, two weeks’ warning is just noise.

Expired is not the same as expired

A yogurt that is three days past its best-before date is a different matter than a canned good that is three days past. That’s why Smantry can now assess expired items in relation to their original shelf life instead of just counting the days since the best-before date.

You can find this option in the settings under “Grade expired items by their original shelf life” – along with two thresholds that define at which remaining percentage of the original shelf life an item turns yellow or red. If you prefer to keep things simple, just leave this option disabled.

Used up or thrown away? One tip makes the difference

When you take an item out of your stock, you can now quickly record whether it was eaten or thrown away – either directly on the item using the fork or trash can button, or when removing it via the dialog (“Was it used up or did you have to throw it away?”). This also works for partial quantities, for example if you only had to throw away half of it.

Why this matters: Smantry helps you avoid food waste. And that works best when you know exactly what regularly ends up in your trash. This data stays within your household and will form the basis for future statistics – you’ll be able to see how much you’re really saving.

Date format: DD.MM.YYYY, also in English

Previously, the way dates were written depended on the app language – if you used Smantry in English, you were forced to use “MM/DD/YYYY”. These are now two independent settings: Under “Date format” you can choose “DD.MM.YYYY”, “MM/DD/YYYY” (US) or “DD/MM/YYYY” (French) – regardless of which language the app uses to talk to you. In the app and in the web version.

Further innovations at a glance

• New units: You can now also count items in portions and packages – for everything that can’t really be measured in grams or liters.
• Premium for two: Your individual Premium subscription now includes a second license. Simply invite your partner to join your team – at no extra cost.
• Shelf and compartment in view: The stock list now shows the specific compartment of a storage location and the earliest best-before date of an item directly in the row.
• Move instead of delete: When deleting a storage location, Smantry offers to move the items instead – even to the storage location of another household.
• Filters that stay: Your filters in the pantry list now survive an app restart.
• Nothing gets lost anymore: If the app is terminated by the system while you’re entering an item, your typed data will be there again the next time you start it.
• Scanner fine-tuning: Barcodes are now correctly recognized even with the front camera and when the device is rotated, the scanner no longer freezes when you return to it, and if camera access is missing, the app takes you straight to the settings.
• Siri and Shortcuts (iOS): In the Shortcuts app, you’ll find three new Smantry actions – “What expires soon?” responds directly in Siri without launching the app. The actions require iOS 17 and are currently only available in English.
• Emails in your language: Confirmation and password reset emails will now be sent in your app’s language.
• PDF export cleaned up: The printed stock list is now sorted and filtered exactly like your view in the app.
• Subscription management: Plan changes now work without the risk of double billing, and with “Refresh status” you can immediately refresh the subscription status after a purchase – in case it’s still lagging behind.
• Improved readability: Large system fonts are now supported – scaling is capped at an upper limit instead of being ignored, so the layout stays intact.

Update now

Summer brings barbecues, vacations, and bustling farmers’ markets. What often goes unnoticed: it’s precisely in the warm months that especially large amounts of food end up in the trash in German households. The reasons are surprisingly everyday ones – and with a bit of awareness, they’re easy to avoid.

How big is the problem? The figures

Maybe you recently searched for “Speisekammer App” and suddenly saw a different name. Maybe that confused you, or you thought the app no longer exists. Maybe you even switched to another app because you couldn’t find us again.

We’re sorry about that. And that’s exactly why we’re writing this article today.

We’re still here. We are Smantry. And we’d be happy to explain to you what happened, why we took this step, and why this really only means good news for you as a user.

What was Speisekammer.App anyway?

Speisekammer.App was the name we started with. The idea behind it was as simple as it was important: an app that helps you keep track of your pantry, reduce food waste, and shop more smartly.

Every day, food ends up in the trash just because people forgot there was still something in the fridge. Because they bought the same thing twice. Because the best-before date was overlooked. Speisekammer.App set out to change exactly that, with a digital pantry system that simply works.

And it worked. Thousands of people have used the app, organized their fridges better, and thrown away noticeably less. That makes us proud.

But at some point we realized: the name is holding us back.

Why the name Speisekammer.App has reached its limits

A good product name grows along with the product. And that was exactly where the problem lay.

"Speisekammer" is a wonderful German word. Everyone knows it, everyone understands it immediately. But it is also a very specific word. It describes a place, a single room in the house where supplies are stored.

What we’ve built has long since grown beyond this one room. We don’t just help you manage your pantry. Together with you, we think about how your household as a whole can handle food more consciously: from the shopping list to using up leftovers, all the way to the question of what you can even cook this week based on what you already have at home.

From awareness to responsibility: Why each of us should think of Timmy the next time we buy fish.

Since the beginning of March 2026, a humpback whale has been keeping Germany on edge. First spotted in the port of Wismar, “Timmy,” also affectionately called “Hope,” had become entangled in a net and was rescued. Since then, volunteers, veterinarians, politicians, and the entire nation have been emotionally fighting for him. Human chains, rescue boats, sandbags, drones. Everything is being tried to save this one animal.
That’s beautiful. And it’s a good thing.
But it also confronts us with an uncomfortable question: Why are we so deeply moved by a single whale, while every day we buy products that systematically kill whales and dolphins?

What connects Timmy with our everyday life

Timmy’s story is not just a natural spectacle. It is also a mirror. According to Wikipedia, his appearance on German coasts is a sign of the partial recovery of humpback whale populations – the result of decades of international protection measures and the moratorium on commercial whaling. Protection has worked.
At the same time, Timmy may be dying from exactly what happens every day: fishing nets.
His first appearance: he had become entangled in a net.

Bycatch: The Invisible Catastrophe

Bycatch is the leading cause of death for marine mammals worldwide. What few people realize: with every fish stick, every can of tuna, every shrimp cocktail, this silent mass dying can be co-financed.
What exactly is bycatch? When fishing with large nets (trawl nets, gillnets or purse seines), it’s not only the target fish that end up in the net. Whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and seabirds are also caught. Many die in agony because they can no longer surface or are injured by the pressure of the net.
Particularly dramatic: the death of a single whale can destabilize an entire family group. Whales live in close social units. If the experienced matriarch, who knows the best feeding grounds, dies, the entire group suffers.

The MSC label: No free pass for whales

Many consumers trust the blue MSC label (Marine Stewardship Council) as a guarantee of sustainable fishing. The problem: even MSC-certified products do not guarantee adequate whale protection.
According to a study by NABU and BirdLife International, only 13% of the MSC-certified fisheries examined received a good rating on the issue of bycatch. For the overwhelming majority, the unwanted bycatch rates of whales, dolphins and other threatened species did not even decrease after certification.
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation organisation (WDC) is also clear: MSC certifications do not guarantee that whales and dolphins did not suffer or die during the catch.

Which fish products are particularly problematic?

These products and fishing methods are particularly under criticism:

🚫 Avoid or question

• Tuna from purse seine nets (often canned). High dolphin bycatch; even MSC-certified fisheries in the Mexican Pacific have been criticized
• Prawns and shrimpEspecially from trawl fisheries using bottom trawls, which also destroy the seabed; in addition: North Atlantic prawn and lobster fisheries demonstrably contribute to the decline of the North Atlantic right whale
• Fish sticks, breaded fish and convenience products.Here, the origin and fishing method are often not declared.
• Krill products (dietary supplements, omega-3 from krill). Krill is the main food source for whales; fishing it literally deprives them of their means of survival
• Gillnet fishing in the North and Baltic Seas. According to WDC, very likely associated with negative impacts on harbour porpoise populations

What can we do? The good news

Consumption plays a part in the decision. And this is where smantry becomes relevant: anyone who shops consciously, wastes less, and deliberately chooses alternatives is already doing a lot.

📱 How the Smantry app helps

When you use Smantry to plan your food and avoid leftovers, you automatically reduce your footprint – including on the oceans. Anyone who plans more consciously shops more purposefully, chooses plant-based proteins more often, and takes a second look at the label when buying fish.
Tip: Use Smantry to replace fish meals more often with sustainable alternatives, e.g. legumes, mushrooms or tofu as the main protein source, and save fish for moments when you really know what’s in it.

The conclusion: Timmy as a turning point?

Millions of people have been rooting for Timmy in recent weeks. This shows how deep our connection with these fascinating animals is. Now it’s time to turn this feeling into action.
Because while Timmy’s rescue is in the spotlight, whales and dolphins are silently dying in nets every day. Without a name, without a hashtag, without a live blog.
Let’s make sure that the empathy we feel for Timmy doesn’t end with his fate, but begins with our next purchase.

Read this articles as well:

Do you know that?

You’re looking for your favorite cream and instead you find three half-used ones.
Last summer’s lipstick is buried somewhere at the very bottom.
And with the mascara you’re wondering: Can I still use this… or is it better not to?

Cosmetics can quickly become confusing. And just like with food, something happens here that many people underestimate:Products are bought twice, forgotten, and ultimately thrown away.

But it can be done differently.

Why organizing your cosmetics is so important

Cosmetics, just like food, have a limited shelf life.
The problem: it’s often less visible.

Many products bear the so-called PAO symbol (Period After Opening), for example:

• 6M → 6 months shelf life after opening
• 12M → shelf life of 12 months
• 24M → Shelf life 24 months

👉 But: Who actually remembers exactly when something was opened?

The result:

• Uncertainty in use
• Skin irritation caused by expired products
• unnecessary new purchase
• more trash

The solution: Organize your cosmetics like your pantry

With the Smantry app you can not only manage your groceries –
but also organize your cosmetics smartly.

And this is where it really gets exciting.

How to use the app for your beauty products

1. Record all products

Simply add your cosmetic products in the app:

• Face creams
• Make-up
• Hair products
• Sunscreen
• Perfume

💡 Tip: Create categories like “Skincare,” “Makeup,” or “Haircare” so you can find everything again more quickly.

2. Record opening date

This is the game changer.

As soon as you open a product:
👉 enter the opening date in the app

This way you can always keep track of:

• how long you have been using it
• whether it is still safe

💡 Especially important for:

• Mascara (very short shelf life!)
• liquid products
• Natural cosmetics

3. Keep an eye on shelf life

Even though cosmetics don’t have a classic “best before” date:

👉 You can set your own reminders
👉 or sort by usage time

This is how you immediately recognize:

• which should be used up soon
• which has been open for a long time

4. Avoid duplicate purchases

How many times have you bought something and only realized at home:

"But I’ve already done that…"

With your digital overview, that won’t happen anymore.

👉 Take a quick look in the app before buying
👉 see what you really need

This saves:

• Money
• place
• Resources

Sustainability starts in the bathroom

Cosmetics is an often underestimated area when it comes to sustainability.

Many products:

• contain microplastics
• come in elaborate packaging
• are disposed of when half full

With better organization, you can:

✔ Use up products completely
✔ Consume more consciously
✔ Reduce your waste

Bonus: Less chaos in your head

Keeping things tidy in the bathroom also means:

• less stress in the morning
• clearer routines
• more conscious decisions

You just know what you’ve got.
And that changes more than you’d think.

Conclusion: Small habit, big impact

Organizing cosmetics might sound trivial at first.
But it isn’t.

Because this is exactly where the following are hiding:

• unnecessary expenses
• unconscious consumption
• avoidable waste

Spring brings back not only sunshine and fresh ingredients – but also a new wave of food trends on TikTok and Instagram.
This year it’s less about classic “healthy bowls” and more about contrasts, textures, and surprising combinations.

Here are 5 new, unusual trend recipes that you definitely haven’t seen a thousand times before – but will soon be seeing everywhere.

🍓 1. Whipped feta with warm strawberries & chili honey

Why it’s trending:
Creamy + sweet + spicy = exactly the flavor combo that’s going viral right now.

Here’s how it works:

• Blend feta with a bit of yogurt and olive oil until creamy
• Briefly roast the strawberries in the pan
• Drizzle with chili honey
• Serve everything on the feta

Why it’s perfect for spring:
Fresh strawberries + a hint of heat → surprising and elegant

🥒 2. Crispy Rice Paper Rolls (Inside-Out Style)

Why it’s trending:
Rice paper is currently being completely reimagined – crispy instead of soft.

Preparation:

• Moisten rice paper
• Fill with leftovers (vegetables, rice, herbs, tofu or chicken)
• Fry in the pan until crispy
• Then slice it and serve it inside-out

Twist:
With peanut-lime dip or mango-chili sauce

🍋 3. Lemon pasta with caramelized butter & burrata

Why it’s going viral:
Minimalist pasta plus a “luxury finish” is huge on Instagram right now.

How it works:

• Slowly brown the butter (for a nutty flavor!)
• Add lemon juice + lemon zest
• Toss with the pasta
• Place the burrata on top and tear it open

Foodie tip:
Top with roasted pistachios → extra crunch

🥬 4. Crunchy Herb Salad with Baked Lemon Rice

Why new:
Not the salad itself – the texture is the real star.

Preparation:

• Pre-cook the rice, then bake it in the oven until crispy
• Roughly chop the fresh herbs (parsley, dill, mint)
• Cucumber & spring onions with it
• Mix with lemon dressing
• Sprinkle crunchy rice on top

Trend factor:
“Soft + Crunch” is currently one of the biggest food trends

🍰 5. Frozen yogurt bark with spring toppings

Why it’s popular on TikTok:
Snackable, pretty, looks healthy – perfect for Reels.

Here’s how it works:

• Spread yogurt onto a baking tray
• Top with berries, edible flowers, and nuts
• Freeze and break into pieces

Upgrade:
Fold in white chocolate or a matcha swirl

🌼 What these food trends have in common

The viral spring recipes of 2026 are all about:

• Contrasts (creamy vs. crunchy)
• simple ingredients with a twist
• visual aesthetics (Instagram-worthy!)
• quick preparation

The best part: you don’t need any fancy equipment or pro skills—just the desire to try something new.

🚀 Conclusion: Spring = time to experiment

The new food trends show:
It’s no longer just about “healthy” or “simple”, it’s about an experience on the plate.

If you’re in the mood to make your kitchen a bit more exciting, these recipes are the perfect way to kick off the culinary spring.

👉 Call to action

Which recipe will you try first?
Share your result on Instagram with #SmantryFrühling🌸

Download the app and check right away what you already have in your pantry. That’s how spring can begin!

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We are continuously working to make Smantry even clearer, more stable, and more helpful in everyday life. That’s why we’re excited to give you a first look at the new version:

Version 1.25.0 is now available for you.

Here are the most important new features.

New settings area with profile overview

The settings have been revised and made clearer.
In the new profile sectionyou’ll now find all the key information about your account in one central place – from language settings and premium features to account settings.

This way you can more quickly see which features are enabled and manage your settings more easily.

Blog preview directly on the dashboard

From now on, you’ll see the latest blog posts displayed directly in the dashboard.

This keeps you up to date on new features, updates, and tips related to Smantry at all times. The blog preview serves as a handy add-on and gives you a quick overview of news, helpful tips, and important posts about the app.

Articles are automatically merged when moved

A small but very helpful improvement:
When you move an item to another storage location and an identical item already exists there, the quantities are now merged automatically.

This ensures:

• more clarity
• fewer duplicate entries
• a cleaner inventory list

Simplified onboarding

New users in particular should be able to find their way around Smantry quickly. That’s why the onboarding process has been revised and simplified.

Getting started in the app is now even more clearly structured and guides you step by step through the most important features.

Improved email verification

We’ve also made some important improvements behind the scenes.
The email verification process has been optimized, so new accounts can be confirmed more reliably.

This ensures a more stable sign-up process and fewer issues during registration.

Additional bug fixes

In addition, various minor issues have been fixed, including those affecting:

• Account connections
• Navigation within the app

Our goal is to make Smantry a bit more stable and pleasant with every update.

Update now

Version 1.25.0 is already running and is available as an update.

Many thanks to everyone in the community who regularly sends us feature requests, feedback, and bug reports. You’re helping us make Smantry better step by step. 💚

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Many of our users write to us that theyhave been looking for exactly this kind of app for a long time. At the same time, we also read reviews that say:“Good idea, but …”
And that’s exactly what we want to talk about openly today.

An app for everyday life – not for perfection

Smantry is designed to make everyday life easier: manage groceries, stay on top of things, waste less.
Your feedback shows us that this is already working well for many of you:

• Inputs are quick and straightforward
• The scanner reliably detects most products
• Editing and making changes is easy
• Our support is perceived as fast, friendly, and solution-oriented

We’re really glad to hear that – because that’s exactly what we’re building Smantry for.

Why some things are (still) not perfect

What you often don’t see from the outside: Smantry is developed by a very small team.
Right now we are 5 people, and none of us works full-time on the app. We do this alongside other projects, jobs, and commitments – with a lot of passion, but limited resources.

That doesn’t explain everything, but it provides context:

• Some functions take longer
• Technical issues (e.g. with premium activations) unfortunately happen sometimes
• Not every idea can be implemented right away

Frequently asked questions from your reviews

Why a subscription?
The subscription allows us to cover server costs, ongoing development, updates, and support in the first place. Without continuous revenue, Smantry would not be able to exist in the long term.

"Why isn’t the bug I reported being fixed?"
Sometimes there are several bugs at the same time and we have to prioritize the ones that affect core functions. That can mean that a different bug gets fixed first. We always try to resolve everything quickly – but unfortunately we can only do it step by step.

Why doesn’t Premium sometimes work right away?
Subscriptions are managed through the app stores. In rare cases, synchronization issues can occur. That’s annoying, but not intentional – our support team will always help you with this personally.

Where we want to go

Smantry is meant to get better – not just on paper, but in real everyday life.
This includes:

• more features from the web app
• better stability
• more flexibility with categories
• clearer communication

Your feedback plays a central role in this.

In conclusion

We’re not a corporation.
We’re a small team that believes in a good idea and is putting it into practice step by step.

If Smantry is helping you – even if everything isn’t perfect yet – we really appreciate your trust, your feedback, and of course a fair rating in the App Store 💛

Thank you for being part of this development.

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An unexpected power outage in Berlin has recently shown how quickly our daily life can become unbalanced. Traffic lights went out, card payments stopped working, and many households were suddenly without light, internet, or cooking facilities. Such events highlight: emergency preparedness and prepping are not about spreading panic, but rather a sensible and responsible preparation for real risks.

Power Outage – A Real Risk for Major Cities

Whether it's technical malfunctions, construction work, or extreme weather conditions: A Blackout or regional power outage can occur at any time. Especially in large cities like Berlin, the effects are immediately noticeable. Without electricity, many basic systems no longer function – from supermarkets to ATMs to communication.

The most important question is:

Am I prepared for this?

Prepping: Preparedness instead of fear

Prepping does not mean preparing for apocalyptic scenarios. Rather, it's about everyday readiness:

• remain capable of acting
• be able to provide for the family
• Reduce stress and uncertainty
• not be immediately dependent on external help

The power outage in Berlin demonstrates: Just a few hours without electricity can cause major problems.

Stockpiling food as a key to emergency preparedness

A well-thought-out food supply is the foundation of any emergency preparedness. Experts recommend having supplies for at least 7 to 14 days. These include:

• non-perishable food items such as rice, pasta, canned goods
• Drinking water
• long shelf-life snacks
• Baby food or special diet
• off-grid cooking options (e.g., gas stoves)

Yet many households quickly lose track: What's available? What's missing? What's about to expire?

Digital preparation with the Smantry App

Here comes the Smantry App into play – your digital companion for prepping, preparation, and stockpiling. The app helps you to plan your supplies in a structured way and to keep track at all times.

With the Smantry App you can:

• Easily capture food supplies digitally
• Define minimum quantities for emergencies
• Monitor expiration dates and prevent food waste
• prepare specifically for power outages, blackouts, and crises
• Integrating prepping step by step into daily life

This makes emergency preparedness simple, transparent, and efficient.

Prepare now instead of improvising later:
👉 Download the Smantry App and start your digital emergency preparedness today.

Power outage in Berlin as a wake-up call

The power outage in Berlin was an eye-opener for many people. It demonstrates how quickly familiar structures can collapse – and how important it is to be prepared. Those who take precautions in time remain calm, safe, and independent.

Conclusion: Take precautions now instead of reacting later

Power outages, supply shortages, and crises are part of the reality of our time. With a well-thought-out food stockpiling and digital tools like the Smantry App you can make your emergency preparedness simple and effective.

👉 Start your preparation now

Download the Smantry App and gradually build up your personal emergency preparedness – before the next power outage occurs.

Discover the app now and be prepared.

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When the rain taps on the window and the tea cup becomes a permanent guest, the most beautiful kitchen time of the year begins: autumn. And what could be a better match than stylish leftover cooking – dishes that are not only sustainable but also truly exciting.

Autumn leftover cooking means: use instead of waste, but with a touch of sophistication. Here are some more unusual ideas to turn leftovers into small culinary highlights.

🧀 1. Pumpkin Gnocchi from leftover roasted vegetables

Do you have some leftover roasted pumpkin or sweet potato from the day before? Perfect!
Mash the vegetables, mix them with some flour, salt, and grated Parmesan, shape them into small gnocchi, and briefly cook them in salted water until they float to the surface. Then toss them in sage butter and top with chopped walnuts.
→ Tastes like Italy, looks like fine dining – and it's all made from leftovers!

🥖 2. Rustic bread salad with grapes and goat cheese

Tear stale bread into pieces, toast in olive oil until golden brown.
Add a few grapes (wrinkled ones are especially sweet), arugula or lamb's lettuce, crumbled goat cheese, and roasted hazelnuts. Mix with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, honey, and mustard.
→ A fall twist on the classic Panzanella – sweet, salty, crunchy, perfect!

🧅 3. French onion tart with leftover vegetables and puff pastry

Got some leftover puff pastry in the fridge? Make a tart out of it!
Caramelize onions in butter, add some leftover vegetables (e.g., leeks, mushrooms, or spinach). Spread on the pastry, top with a dollop of sour cream or cream cheese, and bake until golden brown.
→ Wonderfully aromatic, especially with thyme or rosemary.

🍎 4. Apple Sourdough French Toast with Vanilla Rum Butter

A piece of stale sourdough bread is soaked in a mixture of milk, egg, vanilla, and a dash of rum, fried in a pan, and served with fried apple slices and a rum butter.
→ Luxurious, yet made entirely from leftovers – perfect for a Sunday breakfast in pajamas.

🥬 5. Risotto made from leftover vegetables with lemon and herb oil

Chop the vegetable scraps finely and cook with a handful of rice into a creamy risotto.
A dash of lemon juice and some leftover herbs (parsley, basil, arugula) blended with oil make a fresh herb oil as a topping.
→ The acidity of the lemon beautifully enhances the earthy autumnal notes.

☕️ Bonus Tip: Using leftovers in a dessert glass

A few spoons of leftover compote?
Some leftover cake or cookies?
Layer it all with yogurt or mascarpone in a glass – and you have an autumnal "trifle" that looks like it came straight from a café in Copenhagen.

🍁 Conclusion

Autumnal leftover cooking is not a last resort, but a playground for creativity. When you look at ingredients with open eyes – not as leftovers, but as opportunities – small, exquisite dishes full of soul and flavor emerge.

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At Smantry, we don't believe in 'finished'.
An app that is meant to accompany people in their daily lives is never complete – it grows, changes, and evolves. Just like the people who use it. 💛

We regularly pay attention to every detail:
How does a click feel? Is the path to a function clear enough? Does the idea behind a new view come across intuitively?
Sometimes it's just tiny things that make the difference – a better-placed button, a simplified overview, or a sentence that suddenly becomes clearer.

What drives us is the idea that Smantry should feel easy, familiar, and meaningful.
We want you to open the app and feel: "Ah, this is exactly how it should work."

Of course, not everything always goes perfectly. But that's exactly the point: We take the time to listen, to observe, to reconsider. Every piece of feedback, every use case, every new idea helps us to understand a little better what really matters.

Smantry is not a rigid product for us – it's a living process. A collaborative project that grows step by step.
And every update, every small improvement is a sign that we are on the right track:
A path to an app that doesn't feel like technology, but like support.
Towards a daily life that becomes simpler. Towards clarity, structure – and maybe even a bit of ease. 🌿

We're staying on it.
Because we are convinced that good things take time – and that it's worth creating them with heart.

Your
Smantry-Team

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We all know it: Initially, the motivation is high! You finally want to get your kitchen organized, keep an eye on your supplies, and shop more consciously. But after a few weeks, everyday life creeps back in – and the good resolutions start to falter.

With Smantry we want to support you not only in getting started, but also in sticking with it in the long term. 💪✨

1. Be aware of why you are doing this

Order and sustainability are not short-term trends – they grant you freedom, time, and a good feeling. If you know why you want to keep your supplies in check or throw away less food, it becomes much easier to stay consistent.
👉 Tip: Write down your 'why' in the app note or as a reminder.

2. Set small, achievable goals

Nobody becomes an organizing pro overnight. Start small:

• Today I'm just organizing the spice rack.
• Check the fridge this week.
• On your next shopping trip, purposefully buy only what you really need.
  Small steps lead to success – and success motivates!

3. Make it easy for yourself – with smart helpers

Smantry automatically reminds you of expiring products, helps you keep track of your inventory, and assists you with shopping. This way, you have to think less and can enjoy more.
👉 The less effort required, the easier it is to stick with it!

4. Celebrate your progress 🎉

Creating order or avoiding waste is a process, not a sprint. Regularly review what you have already accomplished – you may already see that you need to throw away less or that your supply is finally manageable. That's great!

5. Make it part of your routine

Schedule fixed 'Smantry moments': for example, briefly check the inventory on Sundays or update the shopping list before going shopping. Routines provide structure and make sustainable actions a matter of course.

💚 Conclusion:
Motivation is not a perpetual flame – but with the right tools and habits, you can reignite it time and again.
With Smantry, you have a smart companion by your side that helps you stay organized, consume more consciously, and incidentally do something good for yourself and the environment.

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Many foods look healthy at first glance – but what's really inside them? Are the nutritional values balanced? How processed is a product? And what impact does it have on our environment?
This is exactly where the Smantry-App comes in: It uses the globally open database Open Food Facts, to give you immediate clarity when scanning your items. But what's actually behind the colorful labels like Nutri-Score, NOVA or Eco-Score, that you encounter in the app?
Let's take a closer look at the background.

Open Food Facts: From the Idea to a Global Database

The journey began in 2012 with the founding of Open Food Facts – a non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and makes food information freely accessible worldwide. The goal from the beginning was to provide consumers with scientifically substantiated information.
What started as a small project has now become a global platform with millions of products. And it is precisely this data that the Smantry-App uses to give you a clear overview directly on your smartphone.

An overview of the most important scores

1. Nutri-Score – how healthy is my product?

Since 2016, the Nutri-Score has been legally established in France – and it has quickly spread throughout Europe.

• A (green) means: very balanced.
• E (red) means: unbalanced, enjoy in moderation.

The rating is based on calories, sugar, salt, saturated fats – but also on positive factors such as fiber, protein, and the proportion of vegetables.
👉 So in the Smantry app, you can see at a glance whether a food item fits into your everyday life – or perhaps should be on the table less often.

2. NOVA-Score – how processed is it?

Not only the ingredients, but also the degree of processing plays a significant role for health. This is exactly what the NOVA-Score (integrated into Open Food Facts since 2018) shows you:

• 1 = unprocessed or minimally processed (e.g., fresh fruit, plain yogurt)
• 2 = ingredients such as vegetable oils, sugar, flour
• 3 = processed foods (e.g., bread, cheese, canned goods)
• 4 = highly processed products ("Ultra-Processed Food"), often with additives, flavors, and industrial processes

👉 With the Smantry app, you can instantly tell if a product is still 'close to nature' – or if it falls into the category of being highly processed.

3. Eco-Score (soon to be Green-Score) – how sustainable is my shopping?

Since 2019, Open Food Facts also includes an environmental assessment: the Eco-Score. It takes into account, among other things:

• CO₂ emissions from production and transportation,
• Packaging and recyclability,
• Origin and seasonal factors.

The rating is – similar to the Nutri-Score – from A (very eco-friendly) to E (less sustainable).
By 2025, this will become the Green-Score, which will take into account even more detailed data and thus provide you with even better guidance for sustainable consumption.
👉 For you in the Smantry app, this means: You can see not only whether a food is healthy for you, but also whether it is good for our planet.

What this means for you as a Smantry user

Currently, you can scan your products in the Smantry-App and view many details. The scores themselves are not yet integrated – but the integration is planned.
This means: Soon you will be able to see not only the nutritional values of a product but also how healthy, processed, or sustainable it is – all directly in your app.

Conclusion: Your Smart Nutrition Compass

The colorful labels are much more than pretty symbols. They are your quick compass in everyday life – whether you want to shop with health consciousness, reduce highly processed products, or pay attention to the environment.
With the Smantry-App you already have strong support for more transparency while shopping. And with the planned integration of the scores, it will become even more valuable – your smart nutritional compass for the future.

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That’s exactly what augmented reality (AR) and smart interfaces bring to the table. They project digital information where you need it most: into your cooking environment. This makes it easier to stay organized, cook more efficiently, and even reduce waste – because less stress in the kitchen often means fewer forgotten or spoiled ingredients.

And here’s where Smantry comes in. The app already helps you keep track of your pantry, avoid food waste, and stay in control of your kitchen. With upcoming features like leftover-based recipe suggestions, you’re already stepping into the smart kitchen future today.

👉 Bottom line: The kitchen of tomorrow is here – and it’s efficient, sustainable, and surprisingly fun.

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Hand on heart: Each of us has them – those little leftovers in the fridge or pantry that somehow never get properly planned for. But it's exactly these remnants that can often be turned into the most creative and delicious dishes! All you need are a few clever kitchen tools that make the work easier and get the best out of your ingredients.

Here are our favorites:

🥣 1. The powerful blender

Smoothies, soups, dips – a good blender transforms leftover vegetables, fruit, or even bread into a new dish in seconds. Perfect when bananas are a bit brown or the vegetables no longer look crisp.

🔪 2. A sharp chef's knife

Sounds simple, but a really good knife is worth its weight in gold. It allows you to cut vegetable and meat scraps precisely and quickly. Moreover, cooking is just more fun when you have the right tools.

🍳 3. A cast iron skillet

The all-rounder in the kitchen: fried potatoes made from leftover boiled potatoes, frittatas with yesterday's vegetables, or crispy bread cubes from stale bread – everything tastes twice as good in a cast-iron skillet.

🥕 4. Vegetable Peeler & Grater

A modest tool with a big impact: grate carrot leftovers, turn zucchini into noodles, or finely shred cheese remnants. With a peeler and grater, you bring variety to your leftover cooking.

🥡 5. Storage Containers & Screw-top Jars

Without proper storage, nothing works. You can keep leftovers fresh, transport them, or even prepare them for the next meal prepping. Tip: Jars are also great for serving small amounts in style.

🌱 6. Kitchen Scale

It's practical to know exactly how much is left over, especially with leftovers. This way, you can adjust recipes and avoid waste.

🥄 7. Personal Blender

The little brother of the blender – perfect for soups or sauces right in the pot. When only a small amount needs to be processed, it's super convenient.

How Smantry additionally helps you 📲

With the Smantry App you can not only keep an eye on your supplies, but soon you'll also be able to discover recipes for your leftovers. This way, you'll immediately know which tool to take out of the cupboard to save your food and create something new.

👉 Because good tools and the right app are the perfect combo to combat food waste.

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Spain has recently passed a groundbreaking law to combat food waste. This law requires all actors in the food chain, from producers to retailers, to implement specific plans to prevent food loss.

Key provisions of the law:

Obligation to donate surplus food: Supermarkets with a floor space of more than 1,300 square meters are now required to form partnerships with non-profit organizations to donate surplus food that is still fit for consumption. These donations are exempt from value-added tax.

Offer of packaging for leftover food: Restaurants and bars are required to provide their guests with free, reusable or recyclable packaging so that they can take home uneaten food. The aim is to raise consumer awareness of food waste and encourage them to take leftovers with them.

Promotion of the sale of products with approaching expiration dates: Retailers should offer products that are nearing their expiration date or have aesthetic defects at reduced prices to encourage their sale and reduce waste.

Hierarchy of priorities for dealing with surplus food: The law establishes an order for handling surplus food. Priority is given to human consumption through donations. If this is not possible, the food should be used for the production of processed products. The last options include using it as animal feed or for energy generation.

Sanctions for violations:

Companies that violate the provisions of the law can expect fines ranging from 2,000 to 500,000 euros.

Critique and Outlook:

While the law is considered an important step in the fight against food waste in Europe, there is also criticism. Some voices argue that the strict framework of sanctions could disproportionately burden companies and that the law does not sufficiently address the role of consumers, who are responsible for a significant portion of food waste.

Nevertheless, the law is seen as a significant advancement in reducing food waste and promoting a more sustainable awareness in society.

Join in and reduce food waste! 🌱📲

Spain's new law demonstrates: Sustainability starts in the pantry! With the Smantry App you can keep track of your groceries, plan meals efficiently, and avoid unnecessary waste.

The concept of Shared Economy has long been more than a short-term trend – it's changing our everyday lives. More and more neighborhoods, shared apartments, and community projects are discovering how practical it is to organize groceries together and manage supplies transparently.

Why sharing supplies is becoming increasingly popular

• Save on costs: Bulk purchases become cheaper when more people participate.
• Save space: Not everyone needs their own package of rice or pasta.
• Better organization: Digital tools make it easy to see what is available.
• Experiencing community: Food brings people together – as does camping together.

From the flatshare to the neighborhood

Especially in shared apartments or families with multiple households it pays off to keep a communal stock of supplies. But neighborhood projects or small communities are also recognizing the added value: shopping, storing, and using together.

How Smantry helps

This is where Smantry comes into play:

• Community Feature: Supplies can be managed collectively.
• Transparency: Everyone can see which items are available.
• Efficiency: Duplicate purchases are avoided, leftovers are used up in time.
• Flexibility: Soon it will become even easier to manage entire communities (including new features such as categories or the option to completely delete communities).

👉 The shared economy doesn't stop with cars – it moves right into your kitchen. With Smantry sharing supplies becomes easier than ever.

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Over the past few months, we have collected numerous feedback from you – and the request for better organization of supplies was one of the most frequent wishes. Soon, it will be possible to sort your items into individual categories, so that you can keep track of everything even more quickly.

Why categories are so practical

• 🥦 More organization in your pantry: Instead of a long list, you can structure your products into categories such as "Vegetables", "Beverages", or "Household Goods".
• ⏱️ Faster Finding: No more long scrolling – jump straight to the right category.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Improved collaboration: In communities or family households, everyone can immediately see where things belong.
• 🌍 Customization: You can create your own categories that suit your needs – whether for meal prep, stockpiling, or just your everyday life.

Your wish will become reality ✨

We know how important this feature is to you. That's why our development team has implemented categorization as a high priority. It will soon be available step by step in the app – fulfilling one of the biggest wishes of our community.

We are thrilled that we can make everyday life even easier for you with this. Stay tuned – as always, we will keep you updated on when the feature will be officially released.

👉 Do you already have ideas on how you want to structure your categories? Feel free to send us your suggestions or requests – your input might directly influence the ongoing development.

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🖼️ Private photos for your articles

Make your inventory management visual! With the feature "Upload Your Own Images" you can add a photo to each item – for example, of the packaging, the jar, or the portion in the freezer. This is especially helpful if you share with others in a community or if you want to visually remember your supplies better.

Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → "Activate Personal Pictures"

🔍 Target nutritional information

The app automatically displays calorie and nutritional information – super convenient when you're shopping or eating mindfully. Don't need this info right now or want a cleaner view? You can also simply hide the display!

Control:Profile → Account Settings → Enable “Hide Nutritional Information”, to hide it.

💶 Prices & Expenses at a Glance

If you want to know how much you spend on which item or how much money is lying dormant in your pantry, the Price Entry feature can help you. With it, you can plan your shopping even better and even track your budget.

Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → “Enable price input”

💡 Prepper Mode: Even More Control

The Prepper Mode has been introduced for those who really want to keep track of everything – including minimum quantities, emergency supplies, and individual notes for serious situations. It's also useful if you just want to make sure you never run out of anything important.

Activation: Open app → Account (last tab in the mobile app) → Settings → “Show Prepper Information”

Here's how you can find your account settings

In the mobile app you can find the settings easily in the last tab on the far right (Account). In the web app click on Account → "Settings".

💡 The new feature: Mark products as "opened"

With the upcoming update, you will soon be able to specify in the Pantry App when a product was opened. This way, you always keep track:

• What is already open
• Since when it has been open

This is particularly useful for fresh or perishable food items, but also for sauces, canned goods, spreads, or snacks.

🔔 Reminders included

Of course, if you wish, you will also be automatically reminded, when an opened product should soon be consumed – all in keeping with the motto: Use rather than waste.

🎯 Why this is important

Food waste often doesn't occur while shopping – but at home, in everyday life. If we know better what is open and should be consumed, it becomes easier to make the right decisions. And that's exactly what the Pantry App wants to support you with even better with the new feature.

🛠 When will it be time?

We are currently working hard on the implementation – the feature is expected to be rolled out in the next update. So you will be able to test it very soon yourself.

If you want to participate in the testing or have feedback, feel free to write to us in support. We look forward to your ideas!

With the Pantry App, stockpiling becomes not only more sustainable, but also easier – step by step.

Stay tuned – it's getting exciting! 💚

Read next

🍏 Foodsi (Poland)

This mobile app connects users with restaurants, bakeries and cafés offering surplus food at reduced prices—especially valuable in Polish cities like Warsaw or Kraków.

What is the 5S system?

The 5S principle originally comes from Japan and was used in manufacturing to organize workplaces efficiently and cleanly. The five 'S' stand for:

Seiri (Sort) – Eliminate all unnecessary items.

Seiton (Systematize) – Everything should have a designated place.

Seiso (Cleaning) – Clean regularly.

Seiketsu (Standardize) – Turn orderliness into a habit.

Shitsuke (Self-discipline) – Persist and improve.

Why is this perfect for your pantry management? Because it helps you keep track, reduce food waste and shop more efficiently.

How the 5S principle works at home

🔍 1. Sorting: What do you really need?

Go through your supplies and get rid of anything that has expired or that you have been ignoring for months. This is where the Smantry App comes into play: It shows you at a glance what should be used up soon.

🗃 2. Organize: A place for everything

Define categories: canned goods, pasta, breakfast, baking ingredients, etc. Label drawers or boxes – or use the digital storage locations in the app, to maintain order both virtually and physically.

✨ 3. Cleanliness: Hygiene is of utmost importance

If you've already taken everything out – seize the moment and clean the shelves or boxes. Clean storage containers not only look good, but also protect against pests.

🧩 4. Standardize: Develop routines

Once you've tidied up – what's next? To prevent it from descending into chaos again, develop small routines: e.g., a weekly check in the app to see if anything needs to be repurchased or is about to expire.

⏳ 5. Keep it up!

Order is not a one-time action. But with small, regular tasks and the support of your digital assistant – the Smantry App – everything stays in flow.

💡 Conclusion: 5S = Efficiency + Sustainability

The 5S principle may sound technical at first – but in reality, it's a surprisingly simple and effective organizational system for everyday life. It helps you to handle food more consciously, save money, and regain control.

And the best part? You don't have to do everything on your own. The Pantry App assists you digitally – with individual storage locations, expiration warnings, and soon even recipe suggestions from your leftovers!

Why is there a team license?

The team license is ideal for anyone who wants to manage groceries together in the household – whether with your partner, housemates, or the whole family. You can share a premium license with up to five people and enjoy the benefits together – such as extended storage locations, filter functions, and a better overview of opened products (also a new feature!).

How to invite team members

You now invite team members yourself, right in the app – no need to contact us anymore. Open your team license in the settings, tap “Add member”, and let the person you’re inviting scan the QR code with the barcode scanner in their Smantry app, or share the invitation link with them.

Manage everything right in the app

You can add, remove, and manage members yourself at any time – simply and intuitively right within your account. That way you use the app together in daily life without having to wait for us.

What is the difference compared to a community?

If you're wondering: A Community within the app is different from a team license. You can join a community with any license and manage articles together – but for exclusive premium benefits like member management, you need the appropriate license. And with the team license, you can share these benefits directly.

This is how it's done already:

If you have purchased a team license (e.g., through a one-time payment or an annual subscription), you invite your team members directly in the app – their premium access is unlocked automatically.

You’ll find the management screen in the settings under “Manage team license” – there you can handle everything yourself at any time.

Stay tuned – we will of course keep you updated on all the new developments. 💚
Until then: Thank you for your patience and for being part of our mission against food waste.

👉 Still have questions? Just message us in the chat – we’re happy to help!

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🍋 Got a leftover lemon? Make lemonade out of it!

Do you have some wrinkled lemons in the fridge? Perfect! With a bit of sugar, water, and optionally some leftover mint or a dash of ginger juice, you can quickly make a homemade lemonade.
Tip: A splash of sparkling mineral water takes the freshness to a new level.

Pantry ingredient ideas:

• Lemon juice (including frozen or concentrate)
• Honey, sugar or agave syrup
• Mint sprigs, Basil
• apple juice remains
• Ginger slices or syrup

🥒 Cucumber in the fridge? Cucumber-Splash!

Got half a cucumber left? Blend it with lemon, some sugar, and cold water or ice cubes for a refreshing detox drink. Make it even fancier with a dash of apple cider vinegar and fresh mint – super hydrating and surprisingly delicious!

🍉 Is the fruit too soft? Turn it into a drink!

Fruit that is too ripe for snacking is perfect for cocktails or non-alcoholic summer drinks. Simply puree, mix with ice, leftover juice, and fresh mint – and it's ready!

Ideas for fruity leftover drinks:

• Soft strawberries + lime juice + soda = Strawberry Fizz
• Overripe melon + lemon juice + ice cubes
• Leftover oranges + frozen berries + mint + water

🍹 Cold Leftover Cocktails (with or without alcohol)

With a bit of creativity, you can also create stylish cocktails. Old juice blends, a dash of syrup, fresh herbs, or even leftover tea (e.g., peppermint or hibiscus) can turn leftovers into real summer hits.

Example Ideas:

• Black tea + Lemon + Honey + Ice = Homemade Iced Tea
• Rhubarb juice leftovers + Gin + Soda = Zero-Waste Spritz
• Apple juice + Ginger + Mineral water + Crushed ice = Apple Ginger Fizz

🔜 Coming soon to the Pantry App: Recipes for your leftovers!

We know how often one asks oneself: What can I make with my leftovers?
That's why we are working on a new feature that will soon allow you to get recipe ideas directly in the app from your inventory – including for refreshing drinks!

Do you have a recipe that you would like to share with others? Feel free to write to us – we regularly publish community recipes.

💚 Cheers to a sustainable summer – with no waste!

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Everyone knows it: Half a zucchini in the fridge, some leftover rice from yesterday, an opened yogurt – not enough for a proper dish? Not at all! With a little creativity, you can conjure up delicious, sustainable, and often surprisingly good meals from your leftovers.

And the best part: Soon the Smantry App will actively support you. 🎉
We are currently working on a new recipe feature, which will suggest suitable recipe ideas based on your inventory – without constant Googling, without any paper clutter.

Here's how it can be done already:

🥘 1. Base + Leftovers = Favorite Dish

• Do you have leftover pasta or rice? Combine them with whatever you find in the vegetable drawer.
• Oven-roasted vegetables, pan leftovers, wraps, or stews – often just a bit of seasoning is enough to turn leftovers into a new dish.

🍞 2. Yesterday's bread? No problem!

• Old bread doesn't have to go in the bin. Make croutons out of it, use it for bread pudding or Panzanella salad (by the way, a real favorite recipe of ours!).

🧊 3. Yogurt, cream, or cheese?

• Leftovers from the refrigerated section can be wonderfully processed into sauces, dressings, or dips.

🍲 4. Soup is always good

• Remaining vegetables, spices, and a broth base – and you have a hearty soup. Also ideal for leftover vegetables from the freezer!

Your recipe with us?

We are excited about inspiration from the community. Do you have a brilliant leftover recipe that you would like to share with others?
Then feel free to send it to us at kira@smantry.com – it might become part of our app!

Achieve great things with small ideas – and saving food has never been so delicious.
Stay tuned – the new recipe feature is coming soon. 😍

Your Smantry App team

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🧹 Communities can now be completely deleted

A frequently expressed wish: From now on you can completely delete communities (meaning household communities) – including all items, members, and settings. Perfect for tidying up or when structures change.
👉 No more legacy issues – full control over your digital inventory!

✅ Improved error handling when deleting

We have improved the error messages and feedback when deleting communities. If something doesn't work, you'll get clear instructions – and if everything has been deleted successfully, you'll see it right away. This makes the app more transparent and easier to use.

🚀 Onboarding with Goal Setting

When you first launch the app, you can now set your personal goals. This makes your start even more personalized – and you'll get tips on how to achieve your goals with the Pantry App.

⚙️ Manage energy needs more efficiently

You can now manage the energy needs of members even more easily and accurately – useful for example for households with children, special diets, or when planning shared meals. Managing your community thus becomes more flexible and personal.

🖨️ New printing features

When printing item lists or community overviews, from now on all set filters and sorting will be taken into account.
🔍 Need only vegan products on paper? Or just the items expiring in 7 days? No problem – that's exactly how it will be printed now.

📂 Improved organization in the sidebar

The sidebar of the WebApp now displays all storage locations of your community as a clickable list. This allows you to switch between the refrigerator, pantry, or cellar much faster – without a lot of scrolling or searching.

🎯 Conclusion

This update not only brings more structure, but also more control and clarity into your everyday provisioning.
The new features make the app more intuitive, transparent, and personalized – for you, your family, or your community.

📲 Haven't tried it yet? Then it's time: download the update, set goals, organize communities – and really take off!

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Between to-do lists, emails, calendars, and shopping apps, everyday life can quickly seem overloaded. This is exactly where a trend comes in that is currently causing a stir everywhere: Digital Declutter.

What does that mean?
Fewer digital stimuli – more clarity.
Less distraction – more focus on what matters.

Digital Declutter: Clarity Begins on Your Phone

We spend hours every day with our smartphones. In doing so, we often use countless apps – many of which are unused, cluttered, or simply unnecessary. Digital Declutter aims to change that: You reduce your tools to the essentials and create space for what truly helps you.

And the best part: You don't need a hundred apps when one well-thought-out solution is enough.

Smantry: The app for organization in your pantry & mind

With Smantry (formerly Smantry App) you not only bring order to your household, but also to your digital world. Instead of sticky notes, shopping lists in different apps, and chaos in the kitchen cupboard, there is a central solution for everything related to food at home:

✅ Klar strukturierte Vorratsübersicht
✅ Automatische Erinnerungen, bevor Lebensmittel verderben
✅ Intelligente Einkaufslisten ohne doppelten Einkauf
✅ Tagging & Filter für deine individuellen Bedürfnisse

Smantry helps you consume more consciously – digitally and analogously.

Fewer tools, more impact

When you tidy up your phone, it's worth taking a look at each app:
Does it really help me in everyday life?
Does it make my life easier?
Or is it just another source of distraction?

Smantry stays because it creates more order – not just in the kitchen cabinet, but also in the mind.

In conclusion:
Digital Declutter is more than a trend – it's a step towards a more conscious life. Reduce what distracts you. Keep what supports you. And bring focus back into your daily routine with Smantry.

🎯 Try it now and focus on what's essential.

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Saving is in vogue – but this time it's different from before. Gone are the days of strict budgets, frustration while shopping, and the feeling of constant deprivation. Welcome to the world of “Quiet Saving” – the new lifestyle that demonstrates: You can save money without it feeling like a chore.

And the best part: With the Smantry App, it's even quieter, simpler, and more sustainable.

💡 What is 'Quiet Saving'?

“Quiet Saving” is a response to the pressure of many traditional saving tips. Instead of complicated budget plans or radical consumption cutbacks, it's about making smart decisions in everyday life, which quickly add up – all without much effort or stress.

It's about inconspicuous ways in which you can save money and resources – through small changes that pay off in the long run.

💚 What does this have to do with Smantry?

The Smantry App was developed precisely for this purpose: it helps you to store food more efficiently, keep track of your supplies, and waste less. And all that without you having to constantly think about it.

Here are a few examples of how you can save quietly with Smantry:

• 🛒 Shop with purpose: Knowing what you have at home means you won't buy duplicates.
• 🧺 Reduce waste: With the shelf-life radar and tips for using leftovers, you save food before it spoils.
• 🧠 Cook more creatively: Instead of buying new ingredients, use what you already have – and often you'll become even more inventive.
• 📱 Smart Planning: Shopping lists, household management, and reminders help you without causing stress.

On average, each household throws away food worth 250 to 400 euros annually. With Smantry, you can significantly reduce this amount – without any pressure.

🧩 Quiet Saving = Sustainability without moralizing

What makes "Quiet Saving" so special: It's sustainable – but unobtrusive. No giving up on the joy of life, no guilty conscience. Instead, many small steps in the right direction – with every saved apple, every cleverly planned purchase, and every recipe made from leftover supplies.

With Smantry, this way of saving becomes a habit – without feeling 'eco-strict'.

🔄 Our Challenge: Save €30 in 7 Days – Quietly

Give it a try:
🏁 Start today, by digitizing your supplies once and see what you really have.
📆 For the next 7 days: Plan your meals from existing food supplies.
💸 Track, how many purchases you avoid or reduce as a result.

By the end of the week, you will be surprised at how quietly you have saved 30 euros.

📲 Try it now and save money effortlessly

Download the Smantry App now and start your own "Quiet Saving".
For your wallet. For the environment. For a more conscious, relaxed life.

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The sun is shining, the evenings are getting longer – it's finally BBQ season again! But even when barbecuing, you can save a lot of CO₂, avoid waste, and even be really creative. In this blog, we'll show you how sustainable grilling works – without sacrifice, but with lots of flavor and responsibility. 🌱🔥

1. Shop regionally & seasonally

The foundation for sustainable grilling starts with shopping. Instead of relying on grill classics that have traveled far, it's worth taking a look at what's available locally:

• Seasonal vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, corn, or mushrooms are perfect for grilling.
• Fruits like peaches or pineapples add a sweet touch to the grill.
• Regional cheese or Tofu from European organic soy are great alternatives to imported or meat-heavy products.

💡Tip: Use the Smantry App to see what ingredients you have at home and what you can conjure up with them.

2. Less (but better quality) meat

Meat has a high carbon footprint – but you don't have to give it up entirely. Pay attention to:

• Organic quality
• Species-appropriate husbandry
• Regionality

Alternatives such as marinated cauliflower, halloumi skewers, or homemade lentil burgers are not only climate-friendly but also really tasty.

3. Grill without aluminum foil

Aluminum foil is harmful to the environment – and can even be hazardous to health when heated. Instead, use:

• Stainless steel grill pans
• Grill baskets
• Banana leaves or corn husks as natural packaging
• Reusable skewers made of stainless steel or wood

4. Upcycling Recipes: Smartly Repurposing Leftovers

After barbecuing, there's often something left over. Here are a few ideas:

• Grilled vegetables can be turned into a salad or wrap the next day.
• Bread leftovers are turned into crispy croutons.
• Fruit leftovers are perfect for a fruity iced tea or sorbet.

The Smantry App helps you keep track even after the BBQ – and avoid wasting food.

5. Conscious Grilling: Ambiance over Mass Production

Sustainable grilling also means: Less is more.

• Eat consciously, instead of preparing extra-large portions
• Plan your shopping efficiently and without excess with the app
• Avoid single-use products like plastic cutlery or paper plates – a BBQ is more enjoyable with nice dishes anyway!

In conclusion: Sustainable grilling is easy – with the right planning

With a little preparation and creativity, your barbecue will not only be delicious, but also good for the environment. And the best part: You don't have to make any compromises. The Smantry App helps you to use everything you already have – for less waste and more enjoyment.

🔥 Open the app now, check supplies, and grill sustainably!

Have fun with your barbecue –
your team at Smantry 🍢🌽♻️

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Even better: You can easily make your own ice cream using ingredients that might otherwise end up in the trash. Overripe bananas, leftover yogurt, or the last bit of almond milk – all of these are perfect for whipping up a delicious and sustainable ice cream in no time.

Why homemade ice cream?

You know what's inside. No additives, no artificial flavors.

You save food. Many leftovers are perfect for freezing.

You save money.Buying ice cream is a thing of the past – your freezer is now the ice cream parlor.

3 simple leftover recipe ideas for ice cream:

🍌 1. Banana Peanut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut leftovers)
• 1 shot of plant-based milk

Preparation:
Slice bananas, freeze them. Then blend with the remaining ingredients – and your creamy Nicecream is ready!

🍓 2. Yogurt Berry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• Leftover frozen berries or fresh berries that have become soft
• 1 tsp honey or syrup

Preparation:
Mix everything and either eat immediately or freeze in ice molds.

☕ 3rd Coffee-Chocolate Slush

Ingredients:

• Leftover coffee from the morning
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• A piece of overripe banana or some agave syrup
• Ice cubes

Preparation:
Crush all ingredients in a blender – a caffeinated summer dream!

Even more leftovers? No problem!

With Smantry you can see at a glance which ingredients you have at home – perfect for creating your own ice cream. This way, your leftovers can become little summer highlights.

In conclusion:

Leftover utilization has never been so tasty! 🍨
So: Open the freezer, scan the leftovers, and start mixing!

🇫🇷 France – Legally Against Waste

France is considered a pioneer in the fight against food waste. Since 2016, supermarkets have been prohibited from throwing away edible food. Instead, they must donate or repurpose it. Schools and universities are increasingly focusing on educational programs for sustainable nutrition. As a result, France is now among the countries with the lowest proportion of wasted food in Europe.

🇰🇷 South Korea – Smart Waste Fees

In South Korea, households pay for their food waste by weight – through RFID chips in garbage bins or special garbage bags with barcodes. This financial incentive has led to South Korea now recycling 95% of its organic waste. The system is combined with extensive educational efforts and the promotion of biogas and composting facilities.

🇩🇰 Denmark – The movement comes from below

Denmark relies on the power of the community. Initiatives such as "Stop Spild Af Mad" (Stop Food Waste) have sparked societal debates. Moreover, supermarkets like Wefood exclusively offer food products past their best before date – and at low prices. The acceptance among the population is high, and schools are actively incorporating the topic as well.

🇯🇵 Japan – Tradition Meets Technology

In Japan, food waste is also culturally associated with a strong sense of shame – this helps. Additionally, there is a focus on innovation: companies use AI for better inventory planning or apps that indicate when food should be consumed in the household. Bento shops also use data to precisely adjust their offerings to the daily demand.

🇩🇪 Germany – Between Movement and Potential

Germany is making progress: Initiatives such as Too Good To Go, Foodsharing or apps like the Smantry App / Smantry help to reduce waste in everyday life. Legally, however, it is not as advanced as France – although the pressure is increasing. 40% of the wasted food occurs in private households – this shows how important individual solutions are.

🌍 What we can learn from it

Whether through smart technology, legal requirements, or social movements: the fight against food waste needs many perspectives – and all are important. The good news: every single step counts.

With the Smantry App / Smantry you can start right at home – with smart pantry management, reminders for expiring food, and clever shopping planning.

What does that mean to you?

🛠 Faster Bug Fixes: When something goes wrong, we are now even quicker to respond.
✨ New Features Sooner: The ideas that are already on our wish list (yes, we really read everything!), we can now implement much more swiftly.
📱 Smoother App Experience: A larger team means more focus on performance and usability – so you can use the app stress-free in your daily life.

Why this is a milestone for us

As a small, dedicated team, we have been working on the Speisekammer App with a lot of passion from the very beginning. But with your growing support and the extensive feedback, it has become clear: We need more hands on the code to meet the expectations – and that's exactly what's happening now.

Our new developers not only bring technical know-how, but also share our enthusiasm for sustainability, smart household management, and modern tools. 💡

And what comes next?

In the coming months you can look forward to:

• faster app updates
• new smart features for inventory management
• more stability & fewer sources of error

to be happy.

Thank you for being part of this journey.
With your feedback, your usage, and your ideas, you make this development possible. 💚

You're scrolling through social media and suddenly you feel a strong desire to cook or bake something new? Welcome to the club! This year also brings creative food trends that not only look good but also inspire you to get started right away – ideally with what you already have at home.

Here are the most exciting recipes from TikTok, Instagram & Co. that everyone loves right now – plus tips on how you can easily recreate them from your pantry.

🥣 1. Baked Oats – the 'new banana bread'

Baked Oats are THE breakfast recipe on TikTok. Quick, filling, and as sweet as cake – but healthy.

What you need (and probably have):✔️ Oatmeal✔️ Banana or applesauce✔️ Plant-based milk or milk✔️ Baking powder✔️ Toppings: nuts, berries, chocolate chips (as available)

👉 Mix everything, pour into a baking dish, and bake for about 20 minutes. Your trendy breakfast is ready!

🍝 2. Pasta Chips – crispy and surprisingly good

Cooked pasta, seasoned and crisped up in the oven or air fryer – it might sound odd, but it tastes really good!

Ingredients:✔️ Cooked (leftover) pasta✔️ Oil✔️ Spices such as paprika, garlic powder, salt, Parmesan

👉 Mix pasta with oil and spices, bake, and dip. Goes perfectly with cream cheese or yogurt dips.

🧄 3. Garlic Confit – Garlic to Fall in Love With

Dieses Trend-Rezept ist ein kleines Aromen-Wunder. Knoblauch wird langsam in Öl gegart, bis er butterweich ist – perfekt zum Verfeinern von Pasta, Brot oder Bowls.

You will need:✔️ Whole garlic cloves✔️ High-quality oil (e.g., olive oil)✔️ Herbs of your choice (rosemary, thyme)

👉 Let everything simmer on low heat for about 30–40 minutes. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!

🍞 4. Upside Down Toast – a different take on the sandwich

A creative toast trend: the topping goes into the pan first, followed by the slice of bread – and then it's flipped like French toast.

Possible combinations:✔️ Cheese & Ham✔️ Tomato & Mozzarella✔️ Apple & Cinnamon

👉 Works perfectly with leftover bread!

💡 Tip: Never miss a trend with the Smantry App

You never know if you have everything you need? The Smantry App shows you what's in your kitchen – and helps you find creative alternatives if you're missing something. This way, you can easily implement viral recipes with the supplies you have.

✨ Conclusion: Social media provides the ideas – you bring the execution!

Whether you just want to try something new or impress guests – these trendy recipes are fun, suitable for everyday use, and can even be made with leftovers. Give it a try!

📲 Haven't installed the app yet? Then it's time: To the Smantry App

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Easter is just around the corner – and with it the perfect opportunity to celebrate family, friends, and of course, good food. But before you rush out in a panic and fill your shopping cart: take a look in your pantry first! Because many Easter classics and creative DIY ideas can be easily conjured up from what you already have at home.

🥚 1. Colorful eggs? Yes – but natural!

Dyes? You don't necessarily need them. Your pantry provides great natural colors:

• Beetroot for pink to red
• Turmeric or curry for yellow
• Spinach or parsley for a gentle green
• Red cabbage for purple to blue (depending on the acidity of the vinegar!)

👉 Tip: Rub the eggs with vinegar water beforehand, then the colors will adhere better.

🐰 2. Easter treats from supplies

Bake something with what you have! How about:

🥕 Carrot cake from leftover carrots:

• 250 g carrots, grated
• 200 g flour, 150 g sugar
• 100 ml oil, 3 eggs, baking powder
• Cinnamon, nuts – whatever is available!
  → Mix everything together and bake at 180°C for about 30–35 minutes.

🐣 Easter rolls made from yeast dough:

Do you have flour, yeast, and plant-based milk? Then you can shape them into sweet Easter rolls – for example, in the shape of bunnies or as mini braids.

💡 3. Give & hide gifts more sustainably

Instead of hiding plastic toys and individually wrapped candies:

• Homemade treats: baked cookies or granola balls
• Sustainable Packaging: creatively repurpose old jam jars, fabric scraps, or egg cartons
• Giving time: A shared breakfast, an outing, a picnic with leftovers from the fridge

📲 And what does the Pantry App have to do with it?

It's quite simple: it helps you keep track of your supplies – perfect for using up what's there before the holidays to begin with. You can check directly if there's still flour, sugar, eggs, or leftovers from the last cooking night – and create your own personal Easter miracle from them.

🐇 Conclusion: Easter doesn't have to be wasteful.

It can also be done with smarts, creativity, and a look in the pantry. And let's be honest – it's often the spontaneous, simple ideas that are the best.

With spring comes the desire for lightness: fresh greens, crisp flavors, and less heavy food. But what to do with all the leftovers in the pantry or fridge that don't quite fit into spring cuisine? It's simple: get creative!

The Smantry App not only helps you keep track of your supplies – it also inspires you to make the most of what you already have. And spring is the perfect time for clever use of leftovers!

1. Pasta Primavera – Spring noodles from the pantry

Ingredient ideas (variable depending on leftovers):

• 200–250 g Pasta (e.g., Penne, Fusilli)
• ½ Broccoli
• 1 Carrot
• 1 handful of frozen peas
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Fresh or dried herbs
• Lemon juice
• Salt & Pepper
• Optional: Cream cheese or grated Parmesan

Preparation:
Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and blanch briefly in salted water. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Heat olive oil in a large pan, sauté garlic briefly, then add the vegetables. Mix with the pasta, season with lemon juice and herbs. If desired, stir in a spoonful of cream cheese or Parmesan – and it's ready!

2. Spring-like Frittata – Deluxe Egg Rescue

Ingredients:

• 4–6 eggs
• 50 g grated cheese
• Vegetable leftovers: bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, etc.
• 1 small onion
• Fresh herbs (e.g., chives or wild garlic)
• Salt, Pepper, Oil

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Chop the vegetables finely, sauté in a pan with some oil. Whisk the eggs, mix with salt, pepper, and cheese, and pour over the vegetables. Let it set briefly, then place the pan (if ovenproof!) in the oven or transfer to a baking dish. Bake for about 10–15 minutes.

3. Warm Spring Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• Cooked potatoes from the day before (approx. 500 g)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp oil (e.g., canola or sunflower oil)
• Salt, Pepper
• Optional: fresh herbs such as parsley

Preparation:
Slice the potatoes. Cut the spring onions into fine rings. For the vinaigrette: mix mustard, honey, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Fry the potatoes in a pan with some oil until they are slightly crispy. Remove from the heat, mix with the vinaigrette, and sprinkle with herbs.

4. Sweet oven-baked pancake with apple or banana

Ingredients:

• 100 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 150 ml milk (or plant-based milk)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 apple or banana
• Some butter for the pan
• Topping: cinnamon, sugar, honey or maple syrup

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Mix flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, and salt into a smooth batter. Slice the fruit. Grease a small casserole dish or pan, place the fruit inside, and pour the batter over it. Bake for about 20–25 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar or serve with honey.

5. Spring Panzanella – Salad with day-old bread

Ingredients:

• 2–3 slices of stale bread
• 1–2 Tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1 handful of radishes
• Some cucumber
• Fresh herbs (e.g., basil)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• Salt, Pepper

Preparation:
Cut the bread into cubes and toast in a pan without fat. Slice or dice the vegetables, combine with the bread cubes and herbs in a bowl. Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to make a dressing and pour over the salad. Let it marinate briefly.

🌼 Spring in the Kitchen – with the Smantry App

The Smantry App offers various licenses so that you can find the exact solution that fits your household and your needs. Whether alone, with your family, or in a larger community – here you will learn about the options available and what you should pay attention to.

Free to use – The basic version

Want to try it out first? No problem! The basic version of the Smantry App is free and already offers you some important features for managing your inventory. However, there are limitations in this version, such as the number of manageable items and synchronization with other users.

The Premium License – More Features for Better Overview

With the Premium License you get all the advanced features of the app, including: ✅ Unlimited inventory management ✅ Automatic synchronization of your inventory across multiple devices ✅ Advanced statistics and reminders ✅ custom product images

The premium license is ideal if you want full control over your inventory and don't want any restrictions. It is available as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time payment for lifetime access.

The team license – Sharing with your loved ones

Do you want to organize your pantry with your family or housemates? Then the Team license is perfect for you! It allows you to share the premium features with multiple people in your household.

Here's how to get the team license:

Purchase a premium license: Someone from your household purchases the premium license.

Invite team members: Add the additional members directly in the app – open your team license in the settings, tap “Add member”, and let them scan the QR code or open the invitation link.

Start shared usage: All members now have access to the same inventory lists and can manage groceries together.

Community in the household vs. membership of a license – What's the difference?

• Household community: This refers to the feature that allows you to share supplies with people in your household. You can shop together, keep lists, and update inventories.
• Membership of a license: This specifically concerns the team license. If you join a premium license, you will receive the same premium benefits as the license holder.

Where can you complete the licenses?

1. Too Good To Go – Saving food made easy

With Too Good To Go, you can buy leftover food from restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets at a discounted price. Perfect for spontaneously stocking up your supplies while also preventing food waste. You can combine the app excellently with your pantry: check what you have and specifically complement it with rescued food.

2. Kitchen Stories – Inspiration for your pantry

Do you have food in your pantry but don't know what to cook with it? Kitchen Stories provides you with simple recipes featuring step-by-step instructions and even video tutorials. With the Pantry App, you can track what you have, and with Kitchen Stories, you'll find the perfect recipe idea to go with it!

1. Pantry App – Smart Inventory Management with a Focus on Sustainability

The Smantry App is one of the few pantry apps that not only makes organizing your fridge and pantry easier, but also works specifically against food waste.

🔹 Smart Inventory Overview – Automatic categorization & easy access to all products
🔹 Expiration Reminders – No more forgetting about food items
🔹 Automatic Shopping List – Based on your inventory
🔹 Sharing with Roommates & Family – No more duplicate shopping

💡 Conclusion: The Pantry App is perfect for anyone who wants to not only stay organized but also consume more sustainably.

2. KitchenPal – Inventory & Recipes Combined

KitchenPal combines a pantry management app with a recipe platform. The app suggests suitable recipes for you, based on the products you already have.

🔹 Barcode scanner for quick addition
🔹 Recipe suggestions based on inventory
🔹 Personalized shopping list

💡 Conclusion: Perfect for cooking enthusiasts who want to link their supplies directly with recipe ideas. However, it lacks smart synchronization for households with multiple people.

3. NoWaste – Minimalistic, yet functional

NoWaste follows a minimalist approach. The app focuses on the pure management of your inventory and shows you when something is about to expire.

🔹 Simple inventory management
🔹 Categorization in refrigerator, freezer & pantry
🔹 Expiration reminders

💡 Conclusion: Good for a simple inventory overview, but less comprehensive than the Pantry App.

4. Out of Milk – Focus on Shopping Lists

Out of Milk is essentially a shopping list app, but it also offers a pantry management feature.

🔹 Quick shopping lists with sorting feature
🔹 Synchronization across multiple devices
🔹 Basic inventory management

💡 Conclusion: Useful for shopping, but not as detailed for comprehensive inventory management.

Which app suits you?

FeaturePantry AppKitchenPalNoWasteOut of MilkInventory Management✅ Comprehensive✅ Good✅ Basic⚠️ MinimalShopping List✅ Automatic✅ Manual⚠️ Simple✅ TopExpiration Reminders✅ Yes✅ Yes✅ Yes❌ NoRecipes from Stock✅ Soon✅ Yes❌ No❌ NoSharing with Roommates✅ Yes❌ No❌ No✅ YesSustainability Focus✅ Yes⚠️ Partially❌ No❌ No

Conclusion: Why the Pantry App is convincing

While other apps focus on individual aspects (e.g., shopping lists or recipes), the Pantry App combines all the essential features for sustainable pantry management.

💡 In short: If you want to reduce food waste, manage your supplies efficiently, and shop smarter, the Smantry App is the best choice!

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Why a pantry app is so important

Food waste is a major issue: Every year, countless tons of still edible products end up in the trash – often because they were forgotten in the back of a cupboard. A good app can help keep track, monitor expiration dates, and plan meals sensibly.

HNGRY bot exactly that – but there are alternatives!

The best HNGRY alternative: The Pantry App

If you have used HNGRY and are now looking for a functional successor, then you should check out the Smantry App. It offers all the benefits of HNGRY – and even more.

✔ Simple inventory management – Keep track of what you have at home
✔ Expiration warnings – No more expired food
✔ Automatic shopping list – Based on your inventory
✔ Shared use – Perfect for families and flatshares

Why is the Smantry App the best successor to HNGRY?

While many other pantry apps are either complicated to use or offer only limited features, the Smantry App is particularly user-friendly and optimized for everyday use.

📱 Available for iOS & Android
🌍 Cloud synchronization across all devices
🛒 Create a shopping list directly from missing ingredients

And the best part: You can get started right away and reduce your food waste to a minimum!

In conclusion: The future of inventory management is smart

Even though HNGRY will no longer be available after March 31, 2025 – there is an even better solution. The Smantry App is the ideal HNGRY alternative and successor, to manage your supplies efficiently, save money, and live more sustainably.

Try it yourself and take your inventory planning to the next level!

1. Solar Power Banks – Energy on the go, without the need for an outlet ☀🔋

Whether traveling or just for everyday use: A Solar-Powerbank charges with sunlight and provides your smartphone or tablet with green energy. Models with fast charging capability and multiple ports are particularly convenient, allowing you to power several devices at once.

💡 Tip: Pay attention to a high battery capacity (at least 10,000 mAh) and weather-resistant materials!

2. Smart Water-Saving Showerheads – Shower with up to 50% less water 🚿💧

Did you know that a conventional showerhead can use up to 15 liters of water per minute? Smart water-saving heads drastically reduce this consumption without you having to sacrifice comfort. Some models even analyze your water usage and help you save money and resources in the long run.

💡 Tip: Combine the gadget with a shower timer – this turns water saving into a fun goal!

3. Reusable Cling Film – Goodbye Plastic Waste! 🍃

Plastic wrap is a thing of the past! With beeswax wraps or innovative silicone stretch lids, you can keep your food just as fresh without creating unnecessary waste. They are durable, washable, and can replace disposable products for months or even years.

💡 Tip: You can even easily make beeswax wraps yourself – with cotton fabric and natural beeswax!

4. Automatic Composters – Zero Waste for the Kitchen 🍎🌿

Food scraps often end up in the trash, even though they could still provide valuable nutrients! Smart kitchen composters turn your organic waste into nutrient-rich soil – and in just a few hours. This not only reduces waste but also saves money on plant fertilizer in the long run.

💡 Tip: Some models filter odors so effectively that they can be used without issue even in small apartments.

5. The Pantry App – Your digital assistant for sustainable household management 📱✨

Of course, our favorite tool is a must-have! With the Smantry App, you can manage your supplies, plan meals efficiently, and reduce food waste easily. Combined with sustainable gadgets, you can make your household even smarter and more eco-friendly.

💡 Tip: Use the reminder feature to consume food in time and reduce waste!

Conclusion: Small helpers, big impact

Whether in the kitchen, bathroom, or on the go – sustainable gadgets are no longer expensive or complicated. With the right tools, you can save water, electricity, plastic, and even money without sacrificing comfort.

What sustainable helpers are you already using? Let us know! 👇

1. TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug – The smart outlet for an energy-efficient home

With the TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug, you can conveniently control your devices via smartphone and reduce energy consumption. Turn on lights, coffee makers, or other devices only when they are really needed, and save electricity. For under 20 euros, this smart plug is an affordable way to start making your home more energy-efficient.

Source: https://www.tp-link.com/de/home-networking/smart-plug/kp105/

2. AUKEY USB-C Hub – More Ports for Less Electronic Waste

The AUKEY USB-C Hub expands your laptop's connectivity options with multiple USB-A, HDMI, and SD card slots. Instead of purchasing new devices, you can continue to use existing peripherals, thereby avoiding electronic waste. For about 30 euros, it's a sustainable investment in the longevity of your technology.

3. Tile Mate – Never lose your keys again

The Tile Mate is a small Bluetooth tracker that you can attach to keys, bags, or other important items. Misplaced items can thus be easily found, saving time and reducing the need for replacement purchases. For about 25 euros, it's a handy gadget for everyday use.

Source: https://www.tile.com/en-de/product/mate-essentials-4-pack

4. Nékojita FuFu – The hollow cat for hot drinks

The Nékojita FuFu is a small gadget in the shape of a cat that attaches to the rim of your cup and cools down hot beverages to a comfortable temperature. This way, you can save energy by not letting drinks cool down unnecessarily long or using additional cooling methods. In Japan, this gadget is expected to be available around the middle of the year for approximately 25 euros.

5. Electric Salt Spoon – Less Salt, More Flavor

The Electric Salt Spoon by Kirin enhances the salty taste of food through weak electrical signals, allowing you to use less salt. This not only promotes health but also reduces salt consumption. In Japan, the spoon was already sold in a limited quantity for the equivalent of 121 euros; a worldwide availability is planned.

Source: https://electricsalt.shop.kirin.co.jp/

Conclusion

These gadgets demonstrate that sustainability and technology can go hand in hand. With affordable investments, you can make your daily life more eco-friendly while simultaneously benefiting from innovative features. Give it a try and contribute to a greener future!

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Hey Foodies and Kitchen Heroes!

The year 2025 brings a breath of fresh air to our kitchens. New food trends are taking over the plates, and the Smantry App is your perfect companion to stay on top of the times. Let's take a look at the hottest trends and how our app helps you implement them.

1. Plant Perfection

Plant-based nutrition is no longer a niche topic. More and more people are opting for creative, vegan dishes. The Smantry App supports you by helping you organize your plant-based pantry.

2. Unusual Ingredients and Toppings

2025 will be adventurous! Whether it's algae caviar or lavender in food and drinks – new taste experiences are waiting to be discovered. With the Smantry App, you can keep track of your exotic ingredients.

3. Personalized Nutrition

Maßgeschneiderte Ernährungspläne sind der Renner. Die Smantry App ermöglicht es dir, deine Vorräte entsprechend deiner individuellen Bedürfnisse zu verwalten.

What is the Doomsday Clock?

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock that represents the proximity to global catastrophe. It was initiated in 1947 and indicates how close the world is to its greatest threat – be it through nuclear wars, climate change, or other existential dangers. The closer the clock moves to midnight, the greater the threat we face.

This year, experts have set the clock to 89 seconds before midnight – an alarming indication of how urgently we need to act to combat global crises such as climate change and environmental destruction.

Sustainability starts with all of us – in small and big ways

What does this mean for us as individuals? Quite simply: We can all do something to save the world. It's not just about big political decisions and actions at a global level, but also about the decisions we make every day within our own four walls.

Here's where the Smantry App comes into play. It helps us consume more consciously and live more sustainably. By using our supplies more efficiently, we can optimize our food consumption, prevent food waste, and thus make a small, but important contribution to combating climate change.

🥗 Smart tools for kitchen and e-commerce optimize processes, save resources, and increase conversions. Discover digital solutions! 🔧💻

Digital tools for kitchen and e-commerce: More efficiency, less waste

Efficiency and sustainability play a central role today – whether in the organization of the household or in the successful operation of an online store. Smart digital tools can save not only time and resources in both areas, but also minimize losses.

Innovative apps like Smantry App help to reduce food waste and ensure satisfied customers. This article demonstrates how digital solutions can simplify processes in kitchens and retail while enabling maximum efficiency.

Summary

• Digital tools like the Smantry App help manage food supplies efficiently and reduce waste.
• In e-commerce, smart solutions enable a better conversion rate through optimized checkout processes.
• Data analysis in both areas supports more precise decisions and increases efficiency.
• Personalized communication enhances both the user experience in online stores and planning in the kitchen.
• Mobile optimization is equally important for apps and online stores to provide users with easy access.
• Transparency in information and processes creates trust and reduces frustration among users.
• Automated reminders and features such as shopping lists save time and promote sustainable consumption.
• Shopping cart abandonment in e-commerce can be significantly reduced through targeted retargeting measures.
• Efficiency is a common denominator that connects kitchens and e-commerce, enabling long-term success.
• The integration of smart tools in households and commerce will continue to increase in the future and will simplify everyday life even more.
  

The challenges: food waste and shopping cart abandonment

Increasing efficiency is not an end in itself, but a response to central challenges that affect both everyday life and e-commerce. Food waste burdens not only households but also the environment significantly.

In online commerce, on the other hand, shopping cart abandonment leads to enormous revenue losses. A look at these challenges highlights why digital solutions are so valuable.

1. Set smart goals (SMART method)

An objective like "I want to live healthier" is often too vague. The SMART method can help:

• Specific: Clearly articulate what you want to achieve.
• Measurable: Define how you will check your progress.
• Attractive: Find an emotional reason why the goal is important to you.
• Realistic: Start with small, achievable steps.
• Terminated: Set yourself a clear deadline.

Tip: Use the Pantry App to plan healthier meals and reduce food waste.

2. Understanding and leveraging motivation

According to psychology, there are two main sources of motivation:

• Intrinsic: You do something because it brings you joy.
• Extrinsic: You act in order to achieve a specific outcome.

Associate your resolutions with positive emotions: Instead of saying 'I need to waste less,' you could say, 'I'm looking forward to discovering new recipes from my supplies.'

Sustainability starts in the pantry

The first step towards a more conscious lifestyle is to look into your own pantry. With the Smantry App you can not only manage your groceries efficiently, but also discover sustainable recipes that will get you through the cold days.

Tip: Plan your meals around seasonal ingredients like pumpkin, cabbage, or root vegetables. This not only reduces your ecological footprint but also saves you money.

Fair Fashion for Cold Days

Those who want to live sustainably should also pay attention to quality and origin when it comes to clothing. With the Hemp-Nettle Sweater from Organic Force, you're not only wrapped up warm, but also supporting eco-friendly materials. Hemp and nettle are particularly resource-efficient and score with long-lasting properties – perfect for the cold season.

Wintry moments of pleasure

What would winter be without little treats? Here are a few sustainable ideas for your enjoyment:

• Roasted cashew nuts: A sweet snack that is guaranteed to delight in your pantry.
• Hemp mulled wine: A delicious alternative to the classic mulled wine, providing warmth from within with its unique flavor.

You can find both products in the exclusive Winterbundle from Organic Force – the perfect combination for cozy winter evenings.

Our recommendation: Sustainability made easy

The path to a more sustainable lifestyle begins with small steps. Whether you organize your pantry efficiently, consume consciously, or choose fair trade products – every step counts.

1. Candied almonds

Crispy, sweet, and irresistible: Candied almonds are a classic at every Christmas market. All you need are almonds, sugar, water, and a bit of cinnamon. They caramelize in a pan within minutes, spreading that quintessential Christmas scent.

2. Homemade mulled wine

Transform a bottle of red wine from your stock into a delicious mulled wine. With sugar, orange peels, cloves, cinnamon, and a bit of star anise, the wine is warmed (not boiled!) and acquires its unique flavor. For a non-alcoholic version, you can use apple juice – just as tasty and festive!

3. Christmas Waffles

If you have flour, eggs, butter, and sugar in your pantry, nothing stands in the way of fluffy Christmas waffles. Refine the batter with cinnamon, vanilla, or speculoos spice to give it a special Christmas touch. Serve them with powdered sugar, hot applesauce, or whipped cream.

4. Gingerbread from the pantry

Do you have honey, flour, sugar, and spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger? Perfect! With a few additional ingredients like baking powder and milk, you can bake juicy gingerbread cookies. They are not only delicious but also a great gift idea.

When the temperatures drop and the days get shorter, there's nothing better than warming up with a hot meal. But don't worry, you don't even have to go shopping for it - with the right ingredients from your pantry, you can conjure up delicious and heart-warming dishes. Here are some simple recipe ideas that will warm you up on cold days and make clever use of your supplies at the same time.

Creamy pumpkin soup

If you still have pumpkin puree, coconut milk or vegetable stock in the cupboard, you can whip up a creamy soup in no time at all. Simply bring the pumpkin puree and stock to the boil, add coconut milk for an extra dose of creaminess and refine with spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon or ginger. Perfect for a cozy evening on the couch!

Lentil dal with rice

Lentils are one of the most versatile ingredients in the pantry. Combine them with coconut milk, curry powder and spices such as cumin or turmeric to create a warming lentil dal. Serve with rice or naan bread for a simple, filling and nutritious dish.

Chili sin carne

With a can of kidney beans, corn, chopped tomatoes and some chili powder, you can conjure up a delicious and warming chili sin carne. If you have onions or garlic to hand, you can add extra flavor to the dish. It's a great way to warm up from the inside while making good use of your supplies.

Pasta with tomato and garlic sauce

Pasta is a classic pantry staple and particularly popular on cold days. Simply make a sauce with chopped tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and spices such as oregano or basil. The warmth and aroma of this dish will make you feel good - like you're on vacation in Italy.

Oatmeal with cinnamon and apples

There are also warming options for breakfast! Cook oatmeal with milk or plant-based drink, sweeten with honey or maple syrup and top with cinnamon and apples. This simple and healthy dish will give you the energy you need to start the day and warm you up from the inside.

Tips for your pantry

To ensure you are always prepared for cold days, it is worth keeping these ingredients in your pantry:- Pulses such as lentils, beans and chickpeas- Canned tomato products- Coconut milk- Pasta and rice- Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and chili powder

Conclusion

With a few simple ingredients from your pantry, you can conjure up delicious dishes that will warm you up from the inside and make autumn or winter much cozier. Try out these recipes and discover how easy it can be to cook delicious and sustainable meals - without any extra effort.

Do you have any other pantry recipes that will keep you warm on cold days? Share them with us! And download the pantry app to better organize your supplies.

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Have you downloaded the Smantry app and want to get the most out of it? With a few simple hacks, you can organize your everyday life even better and avoid food waste in a smart way. Here we show you how to make the most of the app to save time and money!

Use the barcode scanner function

With the integrated barcode scanner, you can add your food to the pantry quickly and easily. Instead of entering the products manually, simply scan the barcode and the app will take care of the details. This not only saves time, but also provides a more accurate inventory overview.

Enter the best-before date directly when shopping

If you've been shopping, enter the best-before date (BBD) directly into the pantry app when you put things away. This way you can make sure that all dates are up to date and food is used up in good time.

Set reminders for expiry dates

Activate reminders for expiry dates to be reminded in good time before food goes bad. The app can notify you so that you can use up supplies in good time or use them creatively. This hack is especially handy for avoiding food waste and saving money!

Create a shopping list template

You can use the app to create shopping lists. If you buy certain basics like milk or bread over and over again, create a template that you can use again and again. This way you won't forget anything when shopping and avoid unnecessary impulse purchases.

Synchronize the app with your household

Share your pantry data with other household members so that everyone is always up to date. Whether you're a roommate or a family member, everyone stays informed and duplicate purchases are a thing of the past. We also offer the Premium Team license for up to 5 members. If you need help with the upgrade, please contact Support.

Use the shopping list as a checklist for events and occasions

Planning a cooking evening or a party? Create a checklist with the ingredients and products you need and make sure you have everything to hand. This way, you'll be stress-free and well prepared for every event and save on last-minute purchases.

Conclusion

With these simple hacks, you can use the pantry app even more efficiently and avoid food waste in your everyday life. Whether for everyday cooking, planning recipes or organizing shopping lists - the Smantry app offers many useful features that make your life easier and more sustainable.

We all know it: everyday life can quickly become overwhelming if we lose track of things. But we can achieve a lot by taking small steps to bring more structure and serenity to our daily routine. The good news? The right digital helpers are available to support us.

Order and overview for a relaxed home

With the Smantry app, you ensure clarity in your larder. You can keep an eye on what you have in stock and avoid unnecessary purchases and food waste. Not only does it save you money, it also gives you the peace of mind of knowing that everything you need is at hand - without surprises or stress.Imagine you only have to quickly open the app to find out what's still in stock and what needs to be bought soon. This allows you to plan your shopping in a targeted and efficient way, and the question “What am I cooking today?” is also answered more quickly. This saves you valuable time that you can use for the more enjoyable things in life.

Conclusion: More structure for a better quality of life

Digital tools such as the Smantry app are the perfect partners for keeping an overview and mastering everyday life with ease. Just give it a try and discover how you can find more time for yourself and your family with less stress and more structure.This will not only bring order to your everyday life, but also a sense of calm and control to your home.

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Good preparation is everything

Good planning is key, even when it comes to your weekly shopping. Before you even dive into the hustle and bustle of shopping, you should create a meal plan or - if that's too much effort - at least roughly consider what you want to cook for the current week. A useful tool for this can be the various flyers from discount stores and supermarkets that regularly land in your mailbox. For example, if I see something on special offer that we like, I will probably incorporate it into the weekly meal plan. Good planning of shopping also has another advantage. Usually, it means that less food ends up in the bin. I recently read that a family of four can save around 1,000 euros a year with well-planned shopping.

Stock up on food supplies

Halloween is just around the corner, and while we look forward to spooky costumes, pumpkins, and candy, there are plenty of ways to celebrate this holiday sustainably. Instead of diving into consumerism, you can make small changes to ensure that your Halloween is more eco-friendly. Here are some tips and ideas for a sustainable celebration without sacrificing fun.

1.Creative Costumes from Second-Hand Clothing

Rather than buying new costumes, check your wardrobe or local thrift stores for unique pieces. Old clothing or accessories can be transformed into creative and individual costumes. This not only saves money but also reduces textile waste. You can even host a costume swap with friends, making it a fun social event.

2.Sustainable Decorations

Skip plastic decorations and opt for natural materials instead. Pumpkins are a fantastic decoration option and can be eaten after Halloween. Carve your pumpkins and use the flesh for delicious recipes like pumpkin soup or muffins. Dried leaves, branches, and reusable decorations also add a festive touch to your home.

3.Eco-Friendly Treats

When purchasing candy, look for sustainable and fair products. Many brands offer organic sweets without artificial colors and flavors. You can also give out small gifts or homemade treats like cookies, which minimizes packaging waste and supports local producers.

4.Environmentally Conscious Celebrations

If you're planning a Halloween party, consider how to make it eco-friendly. Use reusable plates, cutlery, and cups to reduce plastic waste. Prepare snacks and drinks in bulk rather than individual portions. Encourage guests to bring sustainable costumes or decorations to foster creativity while minimizing waste.

5.Conscious Activities

Create sustainable traditions by incorporating eco-friendly activities into your Halloween celebrations. Visit a local farmers' market for fresh ingredients for your Halloween cooking. Organize a pumpkin carving event outdoors, where kids can learn to work with natural materials in a fun and engaging way.

Conclusion

A sustainable Halloween doesn't mean you have to forego fun. With just a few simple changes, you can celebrate in an environmentally friendly way while still enjoying the holiday. Focus on creative ideas, natural materials, and mindful consumption to create a Halloween that is not only spooky but also good for our planet.

Ready to make your Halloween more eco-friendly?Share your best tips and ideas with us!

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As the leaves change color and the days get shorter, many long for structure and efficiency in their daily lives. Whether it's about self-organization, stress management, or protection against seasonal illnesses – autumn offers an ideal time to reconsider routines and optimize everyday life. Here are some tips to help you make this fall more relaxed and productive.

1. Improve time management with the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a popular method for tackling tasks in productive units. Set a timer for 25 minutes, work with focus, and then take a short break. Especially during the hectic autumn months, when work and leisure often blend together, this technique can help work more efficiently and prevent burnout.

Tip: Use apps like "Focus Booster" or "Tomato Timer" to easily integrate the Pomodoro Technique into your daily work routine.

2. Seasonality in Self-Care

In the fall, the demand for topics such as stress management and mindfulness increases significantly. As the weather gets colder and stress levels often rise due to professional and family commitments, self-care is essential. Focus on taking regular breaks, meditation, or yoga to relieve your mind. Many are now increasingly looking for ways to reduce stress levels – a perfect opportunity to enhance one's mindfulness.

Tip: Try guided meditations with apps like "Headspace" or "Calm" to stay mindful and relaxed during the fall.

Each year, approximately1.3 billion tonsof food is wasted globally. This isn’t just a waste of valuable resources like water, energy, and labor—it also means that a significant amount of money is thrown away. You might think that the hospitality industry is the main contributor to this problem, but the reality is different. Around40% of global food wastecomes from households, making them the biggest offenders. The good news? Reducing food waste at home is actually easier than you might think and can have a huge impact on both your wallet and the planet.

This highlights just how important it is to tackle food waste on a personal level, and with simple actions, each of us can make a difference!

Well planned is half as much thrown away

A good purchase needs to be well planned, regardless of whether you are a consumer shopper (which is what we are in our household, for example) or a stock shopper. The shopping list is essential. You can write it down on an old-fashioned piece of paper or digitally on your smartphone. There is now an app for almost everything. Before you go shopping, you should think about what your menu might look like for the week (for us, that's every day or every two days). Then you should check what you have left in the house. Incidentally, the shopping list always helps me to only buy what we really need, which in turn has a positive effect on my wallet.

Don't shop hungry

How often has this happened to me? I've gone shopping with a growling stomach and suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, the shopping cart was full to the brim. Since then, I've gotten into the habit of eating at least a snack before I go shopping.

Best before - not immediately expired

The best-before date simply indicates the date until which the manufacturer guarantees that their product is still edible - provided it is unopened and stored correctly. Once the best-before date has been reached, this does not mean that you have to dispose of the product immediately. Rely on your sense of taste and smell. If the food still tastes good and smells appetizing, then it is very likely that it is still edible. I know people who have even eaten yogurt that had been expired for over a year - and they survived. However, I am careful with meat and fish that is past its best-before date.

Get inventive when cooking

Personally, I can't stand it when I have to throw food away. We recently had a case at home with eggs that were a few days past their best-before date. So we spontaneously decided to make spaghetti carbonara. One egg didn't pass the “egg test” and had to be thrown away, but we were able to use the rest without any problems. So if you have food in your fridge/storage cupboard at home that has reached its best-before date, why not see what you can conjure up from it? I find that one-pot dishes are perfect for using up food that is about to expire. If it gets too much, you can simply invite friends over and eat the portions together.

Weekly planning is the key

To prevent food from being bought pointlessly and then thrown away, you should plan at least roughly what you are going to eat throughout the week. For example, Monday spaghetti, Tuesday schnitzel with chips and vegetables and so on. Planning your week can help you to go shopping in a targeted way. For example, I'm currently testing out a cooking box, which I'll blog about later. If you have the opportunity, you can also go shopping in an unpackaged store and get the exact amount of food you need. This is also good for the environment as it saves on packaging waste.

Freezing, preserving, canning

Food can of course also be preserved by freezing, preserving, canning or dehydrating it.

Correct storage

The shelf life of food naturally also depends on how it is stored. What belongs in the fridge should of course be stored in the fridge (logical, right?) and dry food should be stored in such a way that it cannot absorb moisture or is protected from pests.

Bonus tip: Use the Smantry.app

If you want to fight food waste, our Smantry.app can be a very helpful tool. With the help of our app, you can get a targeted overview of what food you still have at home. After shopping, simply scan the barcode and assign the right storage location to the food in question. As the cherry on the cake, you can also record the best-before date for the respective food in our app. Our Smantry.app also allows you to keep track of what food you still have in the house and how much of each product - so it no longer disappears into the depths of the freezer or store cupboard.

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October is the perfect time not only to prepare for the darker and colder months, but also to lay the foundations for a sustainable and healthy diet. As nature goes into its resting phase, we can already take steps now to get through the coming winter healthy, full of energy and without wasting food unnecessarily. With the pantry app, you have the opportunity to consciously stock up, make the most of your kitchen and get through the winter in good health.

Plan supplies cleverly - now is the best time!

October marks the transition from the abundance of the harvest season to a time when fresh, seasonal produce becomes scarcer. So it's the perfect time to rethink and adjust your stockpile. With a few smart strategies, you can make sure you have healthy and nutritious meals available in winter without having to shop constantly.

Some storage tips:

Grains and pulses:long-life foods such as quinoa, rice, lentils or beans should have a permanent place in your stash. Not only are they rich in protein and fiber, they are also versatile and can be used in soups, stews and salads.Preserves and fermented foods:Whether sauerkraut, kimchi or pickled cucumbers - fermented foods not only have an extremely long shelf life, but are also good for your gut health. Now is the time to make these foods yourself or buy them fresh to enjoy in winter.TheSmantry.apphelps you to manage your supplies and not forget anything. With the integrated expiration date tracker, you can keep an eye on when you should use up which food before it goes off.

Meal prepping for the winter

Meal prepping is not only a wonderful way to save time, but also a clever strategy to get through the winter without stress. You can use October to prepare and freeze larger quantities of stews, soups or lasagnas. This way, you'll always have a quick, healthy meal ready when the days get shorter and busier.

Meal prep ideas for winter:

Vegetable stews:use seasonal ingredients such as pumpkin, sweet potatoes and root vegetables to make hearty stews that you can freeze in portions.Soups:Pumpkin soup, potato soup or a spicy lentil soup are ideal candidates for the freezer. Soups can be reheated wonderfully and spiced up with fresh herbs.Oven dishes:Lasagnas, casseroles and quiches are perfect for preparing in advance and freezing. You can reheat them directly in the oven and have a full meal on the table in no time.

Sustainable shopping and storage

Conscious shopping in October also means focusing on local and seasonal products that store well. Go for long-life varieties such as root vegetables, pumpkins and apples. Not only can they be stored for a long time, but they also provide many nutrients that strengthen your immune system in winter.

Storage tips:

Root vegetables:Carrots, beet and potatoes can be stored in a cool, dark place for weeks or even months. Make sure to store them in a dry and well-ventilated place.Pumpkin:Hokkaido and butternut squash have a long shelf life if stored in a cool, dry place. They are versatile and are suitable for both soups and oven dishes.Apples:Regional apple varieties harvested in October can be stored for months under the right conditions. Make sure to store them separately from other fruit, as they release ethylene, which causes other fruit to ripen faster.The Smantry app helps you to buy and store seasonal produce in a targeted way, so that you avoid food waste and always get the best out of your stock.

Boost your immune system for the winter

October is also the time to do something good for your body and prepare your immune system for winter. In addition to a healthy, balanced diet, you can now incorporate fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, which are rich in probiotics and promote gut health. Sufficient fresh fruit and vegetables, such as apples and pumpkin, also provide the necessary vitamins to strengthen the immune system.

Let winter come - you're well prepared! Start now with the Smantry.app, organize your supplies cleverly, discover seasonal recipes and prepare for the cold season stress-free. Download the app and get your kitchen cupboard ready for winter. 🌱❄️

👉 Use the pantry app now and enjoy the winter!

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Autumn is the time of coziness, when it gets colder outside and we crave warming dishes. In this season, seasonal cooking plays a major role in not only creating delicious, but also nutrient-rich and sustainable meals. With the Smantry App you can keep track of your supplies and conjure up creative autumn dishes that warm both body and soul.

1. Autumnal Comfort Food Recipes

Autumnal dishes such as pumpkin lasagna or chestnut gnocchi offer not only delicious flavors but also provide your body with valuable nutrients. Pumpkin supplies beta-carotene and chestnuts are full of vitamins and minerals – perfect for the colder days.

Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe:

• Ingredients: Hokkaido pumpkin, lasagna sheets, ricotta, Parmesan, onions, garlic, mozzarella
• Preparation: Sauté pumpkin with onions and garlic, puree, and layer alternately with lasagna sheets and ricotta. Bake in the oven with Parmesan and mozzarella until golden brown.

Chestnut Gnocchi Recipe:

• Ingredients: Chestnut flour, potatoes, egg, butter, sage
• Preparation: Mash boiled potatoes, mix with chestnut flour and egg. Shape into gnocchi and cook in simmering water. Then sauté in butter and sage.

Effective stockpiling is a great way to save money in everyday life. With a few simple strategies, you can reduce your household costs and at the same time ensure that you always have enough food or “everyday products”, as they say, at home. In this article, we share ten practical tips to help you become more efficient and cost-effective in your stockpiling. Whether it's through clever shopping lists, taking advantage of offers or storing food correctly, there are many different strategies you can use to save money. Here too, you don't have to slavishly follow our tips. Pick out what you can implement best or modify it so that it is feasible for you. Incidentally, I can say from my own experience that there are definitely advantages to having at least a few basic groceries at home. We've been a bit stressed over the last few weeks and thanks to our stockpile, we haven't had to go shopping every third day. Now, however, we urgently need to stock up again.

The good old shopping list

What's the saying? Good planning is half the battle. This also applies to shopping. Even if it's really annoying (at least that's how I feel), a shopping list only helps me to buy the things that we really need. Well, okay, every now and then I might take one or two products with me that I don't necessarily need, but this is about progress and not perfection. Before you start writing your shopping list, you should at least think roughly about what you want to cook this week. Of course, this will then go on the shopping list. By the way: TheSmantry.appalso has a shopping list function 😉

Plan bulk purchases

This point is actually relatively easy to implement for singles too, because bulk shopping doesn't mean that you have to buy 5 shopping carts full or more, as you often see in documentaries. You should take advantage of offers, even if you are single. Dry foods such as rice, pasta and oatmeal feel like they will keep forever. However, keep the size of your storage facility in mind. After all, it's no use if you suddenly have 20 packs of pasta from the special offer at home but no way to store them. Make sure you use older supplies first to avoid waste from expired food. In the Smantry.app, you can enter the best-before date of the products and assign a storage location.

Private label instead of branded product

Another tip for saving money are the supermarkets' and discounters' own brands, which are often cheaper than branded products and still have good quality. Incidentally, many of these own brands are backed by well-known manufacturers. Private labels are therefore not of inferior quality, as many brand fetishists argue. If you don't necessarily want to process your fruit and vegetables fresh, then the frozen variety can be the solution, at least in some cases. Frozen food is often cheaper and, above all, has a longer shelf life.

Grow your own

Of course, not all of us have a garden and/or a huge terrace or balcony. But even in a few pots on the windowsill, you can grow herbs, for example. The classic home-grown crop is probably tomatoes. If your thumbs aren't quite as green (like mine), you can buy pre-grown young plants. A south-facing balcony would be ideal, as tomato plants are very sensitive to the cold, which is why they should only be put outside in May after the Ice Saints. You can grow almost all tomato plants in containers, but you should make sure there is enough space between the individual plants.

Buy local and seasonal

This tip is “old but gold” and actually quite logical. Food that has to travel long distances before it ends up on our plates is generally more expensive than food that has been produced locally. One of the reasons for this is the shorter transportation routes. This not only reduces direct logistics costs, but also indirect costs such as packaging, storage and handling. Conversely, shorter transportation routes also mean lower CO₂ emissions. So if you buy locally, you are also doing something for the climate. In addition, locally produced food often produces less packaging waste. Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to shop locally at a weekly market or the farm store around the corner. Organic markets usually also offer regionally produced food where possible. You can now even find regional products in many discount stores and supermarkets. There are now also many vending machines offering regional products.

Bonus tip: Don't feel guilty

Organic products are of course still more expensive than products from industrial production, whether they are regional or have a better carbon footprint. Not everyone can afford to buy only organic products. So don't feel guilty if you don't just buy food from the farm around the corner. Personally, I firmly believe that it's the mix that makes the difference. Maybe you can swap a conventionally produced product for an organic product every now and then.

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Autumn is just around the corner, and with the cooler temperatures often come colds and flu outbreaks. A strong immune system is now more important than ever. How can you specifically strengthen your immune system to stay healthy through the colder season? The answer lies in the right nutrition and a conscious approach to food – and this is where the Smantry App comes into play.

1. The role of nutrition in maintaining a strong immune system

A balanced diet, rich in vitamins and nutrients, is the key to a strong immune system. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds provide exactly the nutrients your body needs to arm itself against infections. Particularly important are:

• Vitamin C (e.g., in bell peppers, citrus fruits, broccoli)
• Vitamin D (e.g., in mushrooms and fortified foods)
• Zinc (e.g., in nuts, chickpeas)

With the Smantry App you can specifically add foods to your pantry that are rich in these immune boosters, and find recipes that combine them optimally.

2. Seasonal autumn products for your immune system

In autumn, seasonal foods like pumpkin, apples, and mushrooms offer valuable nutrients to support your immune system. Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A – another essential nutrient for strong defenses. With the app, you can cleverly incorporate these ingredients into your dishes while avoiding food waste.

An example: A simple oven-roasted vegetables with pumpkin and mushrooms, combined with a vitamin C-rich herb curd, boosts your immune system and is prepared in just a few minutes.

Life in a van not only offers adventure for you, but also for your furry companions. Whether it's a dog, cat or a more exotic companion, vanlife with pets requires special considerations and preparations. In this blog post, we share practical tips on how to enjoy life on the road with your pet and how the Smantry app can help you manage their needs.

Preparation and safety

Safety first, especially when it comes to your pets:

• Vet visits: make sure your pets are healthy and have all necessary vaccinations before traveling.
• Emergency contact: Have a list of vets along your route ready and make a note of their emergency contact too.

Travel comfort for your pet

Make your pet as comfortable as possible during the journey:

• Transportation options: Invest in a secure carrier or car seat for your pet.
• Take breaks: Plan regular breaks for walks and toilet breaks to minimize stress.

Healthy nutrition on the road

Make sure your pet has a balanced diet during the van trip:

• Food supplies: store enough food and water for your pet in the van.
• Use the Smantry.app: The app will help you keep track of your pet's food supplies and remind you in time to get new ones.

Activities and exercise

Your pet needs exercise and activity, even in the van:

• Walks and hikes: Plan routes and places where your pet can let off steam.
• Toys and activities: Pack toys and other activities to keep boredom at bay.
• The Smantry App: Your helper for pets on the go

The Smantry App offers functions that are also tailored to the needs of pets in the van:

• Manage food supplies: Keep track of your pet's food and water reserves.
• Timely reminder: Be reminded before something runs out or reaches its best-before date.

Download the Smantry App today and make vanlife a comfortable adventure for your pet too!

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In September 2024, the food and recipe world is all aboutseasonal and sustainable eating. These aren't just big buzzwords but perfect ways to make your meals more eco-friendly and mindful. If you're into fresh, flavorful, and regional ingredients, this month is ideal for getting creative in your pantry.

1.Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables in September

September offers a bounty of regional produce. At local markets and farm shops, you'll find fresh apples, pears, pumpkins, zucchini, and more. Using these ingredients in your meals not only enhances flavor but also reduces your environmental footprint by minimizing transport emissions​.

How about a deliciousPumpkin Risotto? Pumpkins are in season in September and can be used in many ways. This creamy risotto combines pumpkin with Parmesan and sage for the perfect autumn flavor.

Ingredients: Hokkaido pumpkin, risotto rice, vegetable broth, onion, Parmesan, white wine, butter, sage

Instructions: Dice the pumpkin and sauté with onions. Add the risotto rice and deglaze with white wine. Gradually stir in the hot broth until the rice is cooked. Finish with Parmesan, butter, and sage.

This hearty seasonal dish is perfect for September!

2.Freezing, Preserving, and Fermenting

To enjoy September's harvest beyond the month, you can preserve fruits and veggies. Freezing bell peppers or zucchini, or fermenting cucumbers are great ways to save the flavors of fall. Making jams from plums or pears is another delicious way to preserve the season​.

3.Zero Waste and Avoiding Food Waste

Make use of "imperfect" fruits and vegetables for sauces or smoothies to reduce food waste. Overripe bananas are excellent for banana bread, and slightly mushy tomatoes are perfect for sauces​.

4.App Tip: Use the Smantry efficiently

With theSmantry App, you can always track your pantry and plan meals accordingly. The app helps minimize food waste by showing exactly what you have and what you need for new recipes. Combine seasonal products from your kitchen and create creative dishes with existing ingredients.

By incorporating these trends into your daily life, you’ll enjoy fresh, healthy food while benefiting the environment and your wallet.

Want more tips for a sustainable kitchen?Check out the Smantry App and discover more exciting articles on seasonal cooking and mindful eating.

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Stockpiling or prepping is very much in vogue. Even the Federal Office of Civil Protection now recommends that people stock up for around 10 days. However, this can be a real challenge, especially for singles, as most pack sizes are designed for couples or families, which is not a bad thing for stockpiling - but it is for consumption. There is also the problem of space, as most singles will not have the storage facilities that a family with a house has, for example.

Nevertheless, keeping stocks is not impossible, even for single people. But how do you start? And what belongs in a single person's pantry that should be both practical and inspiring?

The storage cupboard: a small universe full of possibilities

The heart of any pantry, whether for singles, couples or families, is the larder. The following list is just a good starting point and not something you have to stick to slavishly. Your pantry should always reflect your individual preferences. There's no point in storing five packs of rice, for example, if you don't eat it at all. It will probably take some time to put together the perfect stock for you, but we're not aiming for perfection here. Always keep in mind: a little stockpile is always better than no stockpile at all. Feel free to experiment and adapt.

Staple foods:

Grains and pseudocereals: quinoa, rice, couscous, bulgur and of course pasta - choose whole grain varieties for an extra nutritional kick.

Pulses: Lentils, chickpeas and beans (dried or canned) are nutritious, versatile and have a long shelf life.

Nuts and seeds: Perfect as a quick snack between meals, as a topping or ingredient in many dishes.

-Spices and herbs: They are the magicians in your kitchen. A well-stocked spice rack can really make a difference. Also stocks, sauce cubes and the like.

Preserves and jars:

Tomato products: Strained tomatoes, tomato paste and whole peeled tomatoes can serve as a base for numerous dishes.

Pickled vegetables: Cucumbers, olives, artichokes and more offer quick flavor kicks and enrich salads and hot dishes. However, pickled vegetables are not for everyone. If you don't like them, it's no problem if they don't make it into your pantry.

Pickled fruit: For desserts, as a topping for breakfast porridge or simply as a snack between meals. Of course, the same applies here as for pickled vegetables, if you simply can't stand pickled fruit.

Miscellaneous:

Vinegar and oil - vinegar in particular has an eternal shelf life if left unopened

Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup or agave syrup. This also includes sugar and sweeteners such as erythritol. These should be stored in an airtight container if possible, as both can absorb water and then clump together.

Sometimes less is simply more: meaningful pantry management

It is, of course, extremely tempting to jump at every offer in order to replenish your stock as quickly as possible. This makes perfect sense when you're just starting to stock up. But it doesn't make sense if you have to throw the food away after a while because it starts to spoil. Of course, there is a solution to this too. The magic word (or rather the magic words) is “active stockpiling”. When you stock up, use up the food that is about to expire first. You can use the pantry app to monitor when this is the case. Then simply buy more of the product.

Practical tips for everyday life

1. Plan your meals: This may sound like a lot of work and completely overwhelming at first, at least that's how it was for me. I then started to take a step-by-step approach and first planned my meals for two days in advance and then went shopping accordingly. I also got into the habit of always taking an extra packet of pasta or oatmeal, for example.

2. First in, first out: actually quite logical. Use up what you bought first. It is best to record the food in the pantry app immediately after shopping.

3. Preserving jars: I personally love preserving jars. I use them for multiple purposes. As drinking glasses, as pen storage and for storing dry food. I have also converted some of them into lanterns.

4. Creativity is required: I have to admit that I hate having to throw food away, which is why we make sure we only buy what we really like when we go shopping. If, contrary to expectations, there is food that urgently needs to be used up, we try to get creative with the recipes so that we can use up as much as possible before it has to go in the garbage can.

Finally, one more recipe

Quick lentil and tomato soup

1 cup of red lentils

1 tin of peeled tomatoes

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

vegetable stock

spices: Cumin, paprika powder, salt, pepper

Optional: a dash of coconut milk for extra creaminess

Sauté the onion and garlic in a pan with a little oil. Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock. Season with spices and simmer for about 20 minutes. You can puree the soup for a smoother consistency. Done!

Download our Smantry App now to optimise your storage even in a single household. This is your helper if you don't want to throw food away and if you want to keep an overview about everything you have in your pantry!

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Meal prepping is a great way to save time and money while enjoying healthy meals. Especially in a van, it can make everyday life much easier. In this blog post, you will learn how to plan and prepare your meals in advance. We also show you how the Smantry.app helps you to always be well organized and prepared.

1. Advantages of meal prepping in the van

• Meal prepping offers many advantages, especially when living in a van:
• Time saving: preparing several meals at once saves you time in your daily routine.
• Cost savings: Targeted shopping and avoiding leftovers help you save money.
• Health: Prepared meals enable a balanced diet and prevent unhealthy impulse purchases.

2. How to get started with meal prepping in the van

Planning:

Create a meal plan:Plan your meals for the week in advance. Take into account your travel plans and possible storage options.

Shopping list:Use the Smantry app to create a shopping list. This will ensure you have all the ingredients to hand.

Preparation:

Prepare meals:Cook larger quantities and divide meals into portions. Use reusable containers for storage.

Store food correctly:Use refrigeration options and be mindful of food shelf life.

3. Simple and delicious meal prep recipes

Here are three simple and delicious recipes that are perfect for meal prepping in the van:

Recipe 1: Lentil Stew

Ingredients: Red lentils, carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, vegetable stock, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin.

Instructions: Chop the carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic. Sauté in olive oil, add the lentils and vegetable stock. Add tomato puree and spices and simmer for about 20 minutes. Divide into containers and store.

Recipe 2: Chickpea curry

Ingredients: Chickpeas (canned), coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, curry powder, turmeric, salt, pepper, olive oil.

Instructions: Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger and fry in olive oil. Add the chickpeas and coconut milk, season with curry powder and turmeric. Stir in the spinach and simmer until everything is well cooked. Divide into portions and store in a cool place.

Recipe 3: Greek couscous salad

Ingredients: Couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, olives, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions: Prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions. Cut the vegetables and feta into small pieces, pit the olives. Mix everything together with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour into containers and store in a cool place.

The Smantry app: your meal prep helper

The Smantry app is your perfect companion for successful meal prepping in the van:

Inventory management:keep track of your supplies and avoid food waste.

Shopping lists:Create shopping lists and make sure you have all the ingredients you need to hand.

Download the Smantry app today and discover how easy and efficient meal prepping in the van can be!

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Cooking in the van can be a challenge, but it doesn't have to be complicated. With the right ingredients and a few clever tricks, you can conjure up healthy and tasty meals that will keep you energized and happy on the road. In this blog post, we share useful tips and recipes on how to cook healthy and delicious meals in the van. We'll also show you how the pantry app helps you to always be well prepared.

Planning is the key

Good planning makes cooking much easier:

Meal planning:create a weekly meal plan and write down the ingredients you need.

Shopping lists:Use the pantry app to create shopping lists and make sure you have all the necessary groceries on board.

Simple and healthy recipes

Here are three simple and healthy recipes that are perfect for cooking in the van:

Recipe 1: Vegetable stir fry with quinoa

Ingredients: Quinoa, zucchini, bell bell pepper, carrots, onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, herbes de Provence.

Instructions: Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions. Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and sauté in olive oil. Add the quinoa and season with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence.

Recipe 2: Tuna salad

Ingredients: Tuna (canned), chickpeas (canned), tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions: Drain the tuna and chickpeas. Cut the vegetables into small pieces and mix everything together in a bowl. Season to taste with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Recipe 3: Overnight oats

Ingredients: Oat flakes, plant-based milk, chia seeds, honey, berries (fresh or frozen), nuts.

Instructions: Mix the oats, milk and chia seeds in a jar and leave to soak overnight in the fridge. In the morning, garnish with honey, berries and nuts.

Store food correctly

Correct storage extends the shelf life and freshness of food:

Fresh food boxes and storage containers:use airtight containers to keep food fresh.

Cooling facilities:Invest in a good cool box or small refrigerator to store perishables.

Dry storage:Store dry foods such as rice, pasta and nuts in sealed containers.

Cooking with little water and energy

It is important to save water and energy in the van:

One-pot dishes:these are not only easy to prepare, but also save water and energy.

Prepared ingredients:Cut vegetables and meat before cooking to reduce cooking time.

The Smantry.app: your kitchen helper in the van

The Smantry.app is the perfect companion for healthy and efficient cooking in the van:

Inventory management:keep track of your food and get reminders for expiry dates.

Shopping lists:Create shopping lists to make sure you always have the ingredients you need.

Download the Smantry.app today and discover how easy and delicious cooking in the van can be!

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In our hectic world, it is often difficult to incorporate healthy and balanced meals into everyday life. This is where the concept of Meal Preps comes into play. Meal Prep, or the advance preparation of meals, is a great way to not only save time and money, but also to ensure that you are eating healthily. In this article, you will learn how to get started with Meal Prep as a beginner and what benefits it holds for you.

What is Meal Prep?

Meal Prep means planning and preparing meals for several days or the entire week in advance. This involves buying ingredients in bulk, cooking the meals, and then dividing them into portions. These can then be stored in the refrigerator or freezer and simply reheated when needed.

The Benefits of Meal Prep

Time-saving: Instead of cooking every day, you only take one or two days per week to prepare all your meals. This gives you more free time on the remaining days.

Save money: By shopping purposefully and using your supplies, you avoid impulse buys and waste less food.

Healthy Eating: By planning your meals in advance, you have control over what you eat. This way, you can ensure that you consume nutrient-rich and balanced meals.

Stress reduction: With Meal Prep, you avoid the daily question "What should I cook today?" and the associated rush.

Step-by-step guide to getting started with Meal Prep

Planning: Start by planning your meals for the week. Think about which dishes you would like to prepare and write a shopping list. Make sure to choose a variety of nutritious recipes.

Shopping: Purchase all the necessary ingredients. It is often cheaper to buy in bulk, especially for non-perishable food items like rice, pasta, or frozen vegetables.

Preparation: Choose a day when you have time to prepare all meals. Cook the dishes and divide them into portions. Use airtight containers to keep the meals fresh.

Storage: Keep the meals refrigerated if you plan to consume them within 3-4 days. For extended shelf life, you can freeze the portions.

Warm up and Enjoy: When you're ready to eat, all you need to do is reheat the meals. It's quick and easy, so you can have a ready-to-eat meal on the table in just a few minutes.

Tips for Successful Meal Prep

• Diversity: Avoid cooking the same dishes every week. Try new recipes to bring variety to your meals.
• Portioning: Make sure to choose the right portion sizes to avoid eating too much or too little.
• Flexibility: Also plan for spontaneous meals so you don't feel like you have to strictly stick to your plan.
• Use tools: Utilize apps like "Pantry.App" to organize your supplies and plan recipes. This way, you can keep track and shop and cook more efficiently.

A well-stocked pantry is the key to a stress-free and versatile kitchen. Whether you're hosting guests on the spur of the moment, coming off a long day at work, or simply don't have time for the grocery store – with the right supplies, you can always whip up a delicious and nutritious meal. In this article, we introduce you to 10 essential food items that should not be missing from any pantry.

1. Rice and noodles

Rice and pasta are the foundation of many dishes and can be stored for a long time. Whether as a side dish, in a casserole, or as a standalone meal – with rice and pasta, you're always well-prepared.

2. Legumes

Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are rich in protein and fiber. They are not only healthy but also versatile – whether in stews, salads, or as a side dish.

3. Canned goods

Canned tomatoes, corn, peas, or tuna – canned goods have a long shelf life and are ideal for quick meals. They instantly add flavor and substance to dishes.

4. Grains and Pseudocereals

In addition to rice and pasta, grains such as quinoa, bulgur, and couscous offer variety and are also long-lasting. They are excellent as a base for salads, skillet dishes, or as a side.

5. Oatmeal

Oat flakes are not just a classic breakfast item, but can also be used in smoothies, as breading, or in baking recipes. They are rich in fiber and provide a long-lasting energy boost.

6. Oils and Fats

Olive oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil should always be within reach. They are essential for cooking, frying, and baking, and contribute significantly to the flavor of your dishes.

7. Spices and Herbs

Salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, and curry – a good selection of spices and herbs makes the difference between a bland and a flavorful dish. Dried herbs such as basil or thyme are also long-lasting and add aroma to your dishes.

8. Mehl und Zucker

Whether you want to bake bread, thicken a sauce, or conjure up a cake – flour and sugar are basic ingredients that you should always have in stock.

9. Vinegar and soy sauce

Vinegar, especially balsamic and apple cider, as well as soy sauce, are essentials for any pantry. They are indispensable for dressings, marinades, and for seasoning a variety of dishes.

10. Long shelf-life dairy products

UHT milk, condensed milk, or plant-based alternatives such as oat milk are ideal to always have a milk option on hand. Parmesan cheese in block form also has a long shelf life and can be used in various ways.

How to organize your pantry

A well-organized pantry not only saves time, but also helps you keep track and waste less food. Here are some tips:

• Restock regularly: Check your supplies regularly and add any missing products to the shopping list immediately.
• First In, First Out: Ensure that older products are placed at the front and used first to prevent waste.
• Create categories: Organize your supplies into categories (e.g., grains, canned goods, spices) to find them quickly.
• Use the Pantry App: With our "Pantry.App" you can organize your supplies digitally and always keep track of what you have at home.

Mealtime shouldn't be complicated - it can be simple, delicious and stress-free. If you're looking for simple recipes to enrich your everyday life, you've come to the right place. In this article, we present some delicious dishes that can be prepared with little effort. Whether you're looking for quick dinner ideas or want to prepare a meal for guests, you'll find the inspiration you need here.

Key ingredients for simple and delicious meals

To make simple yet delicious meals, there are some key ingredients you should have in your kitchen. Here are some of them:

Spices:Spices are key to adding flavor to simple dishes. You can experiment with spices such as salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and herbs such as basil, oregano and parsley.

Olive oil:Olive oil is a versatile and healthy oil that can be used in many simple recipes. It can be used for frying, sautéing or salad dressings.

Citrus fruits:Lemons and limes are great ingredients to add freshness and acidity to dishes. You can use them to season salads, meat or fish.

Vegetables:Fresh vegetables are a must for healthy and simple meals. Choose seasonal vegetables and prepare them in a simple way, e.g. by steaming or roasting.

Legumes:Legumes such as beans, lentils and chickpeas are rich in protein and fiber. They can be used as the main ingredient in salads, soups or as a side dish to other dishes.These key ingredients can serve as the basis for many simple recipes and are affordable and readily available. Try out different combinations and discover your own taste.

Breakfast recipes for stressful mornings

Mornings can be hectic and there's often not much time for a proper breakfast. But that doesn't mean you have to miss out on a nutritious and delicious start to the day. Here are some simple breakfast recipes that you can prepare in just a few minutes:

1. Quick oatmeal with berries

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats1 cup almond milk (or another plant-based milk)A handful of fresh berries (e.g. strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)Honey or agave syrup to sweeten (optional)A pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:

Heat the rolled oats and almond milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil.Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are soft.Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl.Garnish with fresh berries and sweeten with honey or agave syrup to taste.Optionally sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.Enjoy your quick and healthy breakfast!

2. Avocado toast with egg

Ingredients:

1 slice of wholemeal bread1 ripe avocado1 eggSalt and pepper to tasteFresh herbs to garnish (e.g. coriander or parsley)

Instructions:

Toast the wholemeal bread.In the meantime, cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and mash the flesh with a fork.Spread the mashed avocado evenly over the toasted bread.Heat some oil in a pan and fry an egg.Carefully place the fried egg on top of the avocado.Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh herbs to taste.A simple and delicious breakfast is ready!

3. Yoghurt with muesli and fruit

Ingredients:

1 pot of natural yogurtA handful of muesli (e.g. oat flakes, nuts, dried fruit)A handful of fresh fruit (e.g. bananas, berries, apples)Honey or maple syrup to sweeten (optional)

Instructions:

Pour the natural yogurt into a bowl.Sprinkle with muesli and fresh fruit.Sweeten with honey or maple syrup to taste.Enjoy your simple and healthy breakfast!

Recipes for an evening meal

After a long day at work, you may not want to spend much time in the kitchen, but you still want to enjoy a delicious dinner. Here are some simple recipes for a quick yet delicious meal:

1. Stir-fried vegetables with rice

Ingredients:

Vegetables of choice (e.g. bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli)1 cup cooked ricesoy sauceGinger and garlic (optional)Salt and pepper to tasteOil for frying

Instructions:

Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the vegetables.Add ginger and garlic to taste and fry.Add the cooked rice and stir well.Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper.Continue frying until the vegetables are cooked and the rice is hot.A quick and healthy dinner is ready!

2. Pasta with tomato sauce

Ingredients:

200 g pasta of your choice1 tin of chopped tomatoes1 onion, choppedGarlic cloves, choppedolive oilDried herbs (e.g. basil, oregano)Salt and pepper to tasteParmesan cheese to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.Heat a little olive oil in a separate pan and sauté the chopped onion.Add the chopped garlic and fry briefly.Add the chopped tomatoes and dried herbs.Season with salt and pepper and allow the sauce to simmer until it has thickened a little.Drain the cooked pasta and add to the tomato sauce.Stir well and garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.A simple and delicious dinner is ready!

3. Grilled chicken with vegetables

Ingredients:

Chicken breast filletsVegetables of your choice (e.g. peppers, zucchinis, mushrooms)olive oillemon juiceSalt and pepper to tasteFresh herbs to garnish (e.g. rosemary, thyme)

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken breast fillets with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and the desired herbs.Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.Grill the marinated chicken and vegetables on a grill or in a grill pan.Turn regularly until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are lightly browned.Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.A simple and delicious dinner is ready to serve!

Snacks and desserts that require little effort

Sometimes we just want to treat ourselves to a snack or enjoy a quick snack or dessert. Here are some simple recipes that require little effort:

1. Hummus with vegetable sticks

Ingredients:

1 tin of chickpeas2 cloves of garlic, choppedJuice of one lemonolive oilSalt and pepper to tasteVegetable sticks of your choice (e.g. carrots, cucumber, peppers)

Instructions:

Rinse and drain the chickpeas.Place in a blender with the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.Puree until smooth.Serve the hummus with vegetable sticks.A healthy and delicious snack is ready!

2. Simple fruit salad

Ingredients:

A selection of fresh fruit (e.g. apples, bananas, grapes, kiwi)Juice of one lemonHoney or maple syrup to sweeten (optional)Fresh mint to garnish

Instructions:

Cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.Drizzle the lemon juice over the fruit to prevent oxidation.Sweeten with honey or maple syrup to taste.Stir well and garnish with fresh mint.A refreshing and simple dessert is ready!

3. Banana ice cream

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas2 tablespoons peanut butter (optional)Chocolate chips or chopped nuts for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Peel and slice the bananas.Place the banana slices in a sealable plastic bag and freeze until firm (about 2 hours).Place the frozen banana slices in a blender and blend until a creamy consistency is achieved.Add peanut butter if desired and blend again.Pour the banana ice cream into a bowl and garnish with chocolate chips or chopped nuts as desired.A simple and delicious dessert is ready!

Meal planning and cooking in small batches for greater convenience

Meal planning and cooking in small batches can save you a lot of time and effort. Here are some tips on how you can simplify your cooking routine:

Create a weekly meal plan:Plan in advance which dishes you want to prepare in the coming week. This will save you time when shopping and you will always know what you are going to cook next.Use leftovers:If you cook larger quantities, you can use the leftovers for later meals. For example, you can use leftover chicken for salads or sandwiches the next day.Cook in batches:Prepare larger quantities of certain dishes and freeze them in individual portions. This way, you always have a quick and tasty meal to hand when you're short on time.Simplify your ingredients list:Choose recipes that require few ingredients to simplify shopping and preparation. Also use ready-made products or pre-cut vegetables to save time.Use kitchen appliances and cooking utensils that make your life easier:A pressure cooker or Instant Pot can cut down on preparation time, while a good knife block and chopping board make cutting ingredients easier.

By planning your meals in advance, using leftovers and cooking in batches, you can simplify your cooking routine and bring more convenience to your everyday life.

Conclusion: Simplicity in the kitchen

Our simple recipes are perfect for people who don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen but still don't want to miss out on delicious food. From hearty pasta dishes to healthy salads and sweet desserts - we have something for everyone.

Whether you're an experienced cook or a beginner, our recipes are easy to follow and quick to make. It's time to simplify cooking and focus on the joy of eating. Leave the stress behind and enjoy delicious dishes without much effort. Try it today!

Get ready to pleasure your taste buds and try out our simple recipes. You'll be surprised how much flavor you can achieve with little effort. Enjoy your meal!

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Living in a van offers the unique opportunity to free oneself from unnecessary baggage and to appreciate the essentials. In this blog post, we share ideas and tips for a minimalist van life that helps you focus on what's truly important, and how the Pantry App can support you in maintaining this lifestyle.

1. Fundamentals of Minimalist Vanlife

Minimalism in a van means taking only what is necessary:

- Reduction to the essentials: Choose carefully which items and pieces of clothing you want to take with you.

- Multifunctional equipment: Invest in multifunctional items such as folding furniture or portable cooking devices.

2. Efficient use of space

Make optimal use of the limited space in the van:

- Smart storage solutions: Use stackable boxes, hanging devices, and drawers to save space.

- Vertical Utilization: Make use of vertical surfaces for storing items.

3. Sustainability and Minimalism

Minimalism and sustainability often go hand in hand:

- Less consumption, less waste: Reduce your consumption and avoid single-use products to minimize waste.

- Environmentally friendly decisions: Choose eco-friendly products and pay attention to durability and repairability.

4. Digital support through the Pantry App

The Pantry App can also support minimalist van life:

- Digital Inventory Management: Keep track of your supplies and avoid unnecessary purchases.

The Pantry App: Your Partner for a Minimalist Vanlife

The Pantry App provides you with tools to optimize your minimalist van life:

- Simple inventory management: Keep an eye on your stock and minimize food waste.

Download the Pantry App today and discover how simple and liberating a minimalist Vanlife can be!

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Preparing food while on the move can sometimes be a challenge, especially in the confined space of a van. However, with good pantry management and a bit of creativity, delicious meals can be conjured up even in the smallest of spaces. In this blog post, we'll show you how to prepare simple and tasty dishes with the supplies from your pantry and how the Pantry App can help you with that.

1. The perfect pantry

Before we turn to the recipes, it's important to know which staple foods you should always have on hand:

- Dry foods: rice, pasta, quinoa, lentils, and beans.

- Canned goods: tomatoes, vegetables, fruit, and fish.

- Spices and herbs: salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and curry.

- Snacks: nuts, dried fruits, and crackers.

2. Recipes from the Pantry

With the right supplies, you can quickly and easily prepare delicious meals. Here are three simple recipes that are perfect for van life:

Recipe 1: Vegetable Omelette:

• Whisk the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
• Sauté onions and bell peppers in a pan.
• Add the egg mixture and let it set, then fold together.

Recipe 2: Lentil Soup:

• Let the cooked lentils, vegetable broth, diced carrots, and celery simmer in a pot.

Recipe 3: Wraps

• Fill tortillas with hummus, diced vegetables, and ingredients of your choice, then roll them up. If desired, you can also briefly pan-fry the wraps.

The Pantry App as an aid for inspiration

The Pantry App is the ideal companion for creating delicious dishes from your supplies:

- Shopping lists: Create shopping lists for the missing ingredients directly in the app and keep track of your inventory.

- Flexibility: No matter where you are, the app assists you in planning and preparing your meals, so you can fully concentrate on the van life adventure.

Download the Pantry App today and discover how easy and delicious cooking in a van can be!

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The focus is on avoiding food waste and the uncomplicated preparation of creative dishes from simple ingredients. The author, Luise Rüggeberg, presents a diverse selection of recipes that are not only delicious but also contribute to reducing food waste. Her personal stories and experiences give the recipes a special touch and make cooking an inspiring experience.

Why "Completely Cooked"? The book invites you to use ingredients holistically and enables you to create delicious and simple meals from simple and affordable foodstuffs. The recipes are uncomplicated and quick to prepare, without sacrificing pleasure. Moreover, the book emphasizes flexibility in the kitchen by offering weekly plans and mix-and-match dish modules, allowing readers to be creative while simultaneously participating in a sustainable lifestyle.

A unique feature of the book is its commitment to environmental protection. Half of the profits go into sustainable projects to promote food rescue, making the cookbook a tool for real change.

Let yourself be inspired by the versatile recipes and discover the possibilities of leftover cuisine – for a better future and a full flavor!

Everything you need to know about barcode scanners: A comprehensive guide

Barcode scanners are indispensable today in retail, logistics, or inventory management. They are powerful tools that help businesses increase their efficiency and optimize their workflows. However, despite their widespread use, many questions remain. How exactly do barcode scanners work? What different types of scanners are there? And how does one choose the right scanner for individual requirements?

In our comprehensive guide, you will find answers to all these questions and much more. We will provide you with a detailed insight into the world of barcode scanners and help you make the right choice. From the basics of barcode technology to the latest developments in the market, we will cover all the important aspects.

Whether you're a business owner looking to improve the efficiency of your company, or a consumer wanting to learn more about the technology behind the stripes on products - this guide will help you understand every single detail about barcode scanners.

Source: pexels.com

Introduction to Barcode Scanners

Barcode scanners are devices used to read information from barcodes. A barcode is an optical representation of data, printed in the form of bars and spaces. These bars and spaces correspond to a specific sequence of characters that represents a unique identification. The barcode scanner reads the barcode, translates the optical information into digital data, and transfers it to a connected device, such as a computer or a cash register.

Barcode scanners can operate with both wired and wireless connections. Wired scanners are connected via USB or RS-232 interfaces, while wireless scanners can communicate with other devices via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Most barcode scanners use laser technology to read the barcodes, but there are also other technologies such as CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) and imagers that can be used.

The use of barcode scanners offers numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, reduced error rates, and faster data capture. Barcode scanners are used in a variety of industries, including retail, logistics, warehousing, healthcare, and manufacturing. Choosing the right barcode scanner depends on various factors, such as the requirements of the application, the budget, and the specific features that are needed.

Types of Barcode Scanners

There are various types of barcode scanners suitable for different requirements. The most common types are handheld scanners, presentation scanners, and mobile scanners.

Handheld scanner ; Source: freepik.com

Handheld scanners are the most widespread type of barcode scanners. They are held by hand and can be taken anywhere. Handheld scanners are usually wired but can also be wireless. They offer flexibility and mobility for data capture.

Presentation scanner; Source: freepik.com

Presentation scanners are specifically designed for use at checkouts or counters. They are usually fixed in place and automatically scan barcodes when presented. Presentation scanners are ideal for use in stores and other environments where fast and accurate transactions are required.

Mobile Scanner; Source: freepik.com

Mobile scanners are portable devices that can be used in conjunction with smartphones or tablets. They are ideal for use on the go or in environments where high mobility is required. Mobile scanners connect wirelessly to the mobile device and allow for quick and easy data capture.

Source: freepik.com

How do barcode scanners work

Barcode scanners use various technologies to read barcodes. The most commonly used type is the laser scanner. This scanner operates with a laser beam that is directed at the barcode. The laser beam reflects off the bars and spaces of the barcode and creates a pattern. A sensor in the scanner reads this pattern and translates it into digital data.

There are also CCD scanners that use a row of light-sensitive cells instead of a laser to read the barcode. These scanners capture the reflected light from the bars and spaces and convert it into digital data. CCD scanners are generally more cost-effective than laser-driven scanners, but they have a limited range and accuracy.

Another technology used in barcode scanners is imaging. Imager scanners use a camera to capture an image of the barcode. These images are then analyzed by software and converted into digital data. Imager scanners can read 2D barcodes, which contain more information than traditional 1D barcodes.

Common applications of barcode scanners across various industries

Barcode scanners are widely used in many industries. In retail, for example, they are used to scan products and speed up the sales process. In logistics and warehousing, they enable efficient tracking of goods and minimize errors. Here are some of the most common applications of barcode scanners in various industries:

Retail: In retail, barcode scanners are used at checkout points to quickly and accurately capture products. This speeds up the checkout process and minimizes human errors.

Logistics: In the logistics industry, barcode scanners are used to track the location and status of goods. This allows for efficient warehouse management and accurate inventory control.

Healthcare: In healthcare, barcode scanners are commonly used to scan patient wristbands and medication packaging. This helps prevent medication errors and allows for accurate patient identification.

Production: Barcode scanners are used in production to identify products and monitor the manufacturing process. This allows for efficient quality control and accurate tracking of production performance.

The applications of barcode scanners are diverse and can vary depending on the industry and individual requirements. It is important to understand the specific applications and functions to select the best scanner for your needs.

Source: freepik.com

Factors to consider when choosing a barcode scanner

Choosing the right barcode scanner is crucial for achieving the desired performance and functionality. There are various factors to consider when selecting a barcode scanner. Here are some important considerations:

Barcode Type: There are various types of barcodes, including EAN-13, UPC, QR Code, and Data Matrix. Make sure that the scanner supports the barcode types you are using.

Scan distance: Depending on the application area, the scan distance can vary. For instance, if you need to scan barcodes in a warehouse, you might require a scanner with a greater range.

Connection method: Barcode scanners can be connected to other devices through various connection methods such as USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. You should ensure that the scanner has the connection method suitable for your requirements.

Robustness: Depending on the work environment, you may need a durable barcode scanner that can withstand drops and impacts. Check the scanner's protection class to ensure it meets the requirements of your work environment.

It is important to know your individual requirements and to consider these factors when selecting a barcode scanner. A careful evaluation can help you find the scanner that best suits your needs.

Source: freepik.com

Troubleshooting common issues with barcode scanners

Although barcode scanners are generally reliable, issues can occasionally arise. Here are some common problems that can occur with barcode scanners, and possible solutions:

Poor scanning performance: If the scanner is having trouble recognizing or scanning barcodes, this may be due to a dirty lens or incorrect configuration. Clean the lens and check the configuration settings to ensure they are properly adjusted.

Connection issues: If the scanner cannot connect to your device, check the connection method and ensure that the device is properly connected to the scanner. You may also need to update the driver or reconfigure the connection.

Lack of durability: If the barcode scanner is sensitive to shocks or falls, it may indicate a lack of robustness of the device. Check the protection class of the scanner and make sure it meets the requirements of your work environment.

Lack of Compatibility: Sometimes a barcode scanner may not be compatible with certain devices or software solutions. Check the scanner's compatibility with your existing devices and ensure it meets your requirements.

If you are having issues with your barcode scanner, you can usually consult the manufacturer's manual or contact technical support for assistance with troubleshooting. In most cases, however, problems with barcode scanners can be avoided through careful maintenance and regular updates.

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What exactly is a self-catering or individual vacation?

The term 'self-catering' pretty much explains it - it's a vacation where you're responsible for yourself. So there's no room service, no restaurant (unless you go out to eat), and no drinks delivered to you at the pool. You have to take care of all that yourself.

A self-catering holiday has the great advantage that you are more independent and flexible. With an all-inclusive holiday, for example, you have to stick to specific meal times, but if you're traveling independently, you can have breakfast whenever you want. As a night owl and someone who likes to sleep in, this naturally suits me very well.

Moreover, you have the freedom to choose your meals, and if you don't feel like cooking, there's certainly a restaurant nearby where you can at least indulge in some culinary delights. Some holiday homes or apartments also offer a bread roll service. In some countries, it might even be cheaper to cook for yourself. Self-catering holidays are not limited to Germany.

Another advantage, at least if you have booked a holiday home or apartment, or if you are vacationing with a van, caravan, or motorhome, is that you don't have to share the breakfast buffet or lunch with what feels like 1,000 other people, as is often the case in many hotels during peak season. Self-catering holidays are therefore perfect for people who prefer a less crowded environment (which, by the way, I definitely count myself among) and you have much more space in a holiday home or apartment than you would, for example, in a hotel room.

What one should have with them on an individual vacation

Of course, there is no such thing as the ideal packing list. If you're going on vacation with a van, for instance, your list will probably look different than someone who has booked a holiday home or apartment. Nevertheless, there are a few basics that you should always have with you.

Groceries:

· Pasta (because pasta just always works)

· Muesli / Oatmeal / other breakfast cereals

· Coffee

· Long-life milk / Plant-based milk

· Crispbread or rusk

· Cured sausage or vegetarian / vegan alternative

· Canned soup or canned meal (for instance, we never run out of ravioli)

· Tomato paste

· Packet soup / Instant noodles / Broth in a jar

· Spices - at least the basics like pepper and salt

· Vinegar and oil

With our Pantry.App, you can check, for example, which foods you still have at home, saving you the hassle of shopping. The hygiene products you take with you, of course, also depend on your individual needs. In addition to toothpaste and a toothbrush, basics such as shower gel, deodorant, shampoo, a brush, a hairdryer depending on the season, and of course a first aid kit are recommended. I know people who drag half their household with them to the vacation rental, even though these are usually fully equipped. It's a bit different when camping or traveling with a van or RV, as space is more limited there.
Again on the topic of food: Favorite snacks and drinks should not be missing, of course. Something that I also see as a huge advantage of self-catering vacations is that I can snack whenever I feel like it - and wherever I want. In a hotel, the options are rather limited, and if I feel like having chips, then I probably have to buy them somewhere outside.

Additional benefits of a self-catering holiday

I'll mention it again here: Of course, a self-catering holiday is not the ultimate experience for everyone, and all-inclusive, worry-free packages have many advantages. But so does a self-catering holiday. For me, the most important aspect is independence. On one hand, I can explore the country and its people on my own. This is often frowned upon in hotel resorts abroad (and then there's the issue with meal times). On the other hand, we can have a barbecue or just sit down on a picnic blanket - and look however we want. If I feel like dining in a bikini with wet hair, I can do that quite easily on a self-catering holiday. In a hotel, that's probably not so well-received.

The budget for a self-catering holiday

Whether a self-catering holiday is expensive or affordable is largely within my control (apart from fuel prices). If my budget is more limited, I can, for example, cook more myself and also shop more cheaply locally. If I have a larger budget available, then I can also dine out more often.

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What does climate change have to do with rising food prices?

Climate change is affecting the food market. Extreme weather events such as flash floods, heavy snowfalls, or extreme heat have a significant impact on crops, for instance, prices for coffee, olive oil, and even potatoes have soared. Additionally, as sad as it is, there's the "greedflation". Because there are indeed manufacturers who not only pass on the increased costs to consumers but also add a large profit margin on top of that.

The increased frequency of natural disasters also affects the transportation and logistics infrastructure, leading to bottlenecks and rising transport costs. These factors in turn create a breeding ground for sometimes extreme price fluctuations. The rising food prices are therefore not just a direct result of climate change, we should also see them as a wake-up call for the urgent need for sustainable measures.

Stockpiling - once old-fashioned, now totally trendy

My grandparents used to store their food supplies in the basement. The shelves were filled with lots of homemade jams, jellies, and a lot of 'canned goods'. There was also a potato cellar where you could find beets as well. Moreover, my grandma and grandpa had their own garden where they grew their own fruits and vegetables. What was a common practice for my grandparents back then is now very much in vogue again. Unfortunately, not all of us have the luxury of owning a garden plus a large cellar to become self-sufficient. Therefore, modern stockpiling is mostly limited to the 'must-haves', but even those don't have to cost a fortune. Social media is now full of so-called 'Pantry Porn', where influencers and those aspiring to be one showcase their stylized pantry cabinets. However, I can reassure you that for most people, real life doesn't look like that.

Saving through stockpiling

1. Get an overview

What can smart inventory management look like?

Smart stockpiling requires careful planning and should be thoroughly considered. It is advisable to proceed strategically. This also prevents the senseless waste of food. For example, if you buy lentils in bulk and no one in your family likes them, you will eventually throw them away. First, you should make a list of the food items you absolutely need, such as water, pasta, and other staples. Then add other daily necessities (this is where toilet paper comes into play) and, of course, medications. If you have pets, you should not forget about them either. Also consider setting aside some emergency cash. Clever stockpiling provides you with security in uncertain times and the assurance that you, your family, and your pets are well taken care of when it really matters.

The storage of the stock

BeTidy

Simplifying household organization through barcode scanning

Creating a list of everything that's deep down in the freezer or in the basement is quite a chore. Nevertheless, such a list helps to keep a better track of supplies, to shop more purposefully, and to restock and consume before food goes bad.

The barcode, which is found on almost all food items, greatly speeds up the process! After all, scanning provides information on almost all products - including name, photo, package size, and makes creating a stock list child's play.

The Pantry.App uses a barcode scanner for organizing and facilitating household management with a database of nearly 3 million products.

Why something new at all?

When I started to rebuild the Speisekammer.App in 2019 as a successor to the "Prepper App" in the iOS App Store, I initially decided on a web app. The advantages are obvious: As a website, the app works on almost any device and the development effort was low. However, it quickly became apparent that barcode scanning, while possible, had its weaknesses. For instance, the barcode scanner used in the web app at that time had several problems:

Before organizing, it's time to clean up first

Before tidying up and organizing, a thorough cleaning is called for. First, everything must be taken out - that means the food and any drawers and shelves that can be removed. Then, the refrigerator should be disconnected from the power supply. The deep cleaning can also be combined with defrosting - something many people like to procrastinate (myself included). Afterwards, all parts should be thoroughly washed. Instead of harsh chemicals, you can use vinegar water. Simply mix it in a 1:2 ratio. It works just as well but is less harmful to the environment. Don't forget the handles and the egg compartment! You should also thoroughly clean the outside of the refrigerator. Not only does it prevent the fridge from cooling against a layer of dirt, but a completely clean refrigerator also looks much better.

What else belongs to the basic cleaning of the refrigerator

Not only should the refrigerator be thoroughly cleaned. One can also take the opportunity to clean tubes and lids. A good example is the ketchup bottle, where the rim and the lid often get crusty - or the maple syrup bottle. The 'big clean' can be extended to such items - and it immediately looks much better in the refrigerator.

The crisper - the Bermuda Triangle for fruits and vegetables

Preserving strawberries

The strawberry season has recently started again. The popular fruit can be preserved for up to a year by canning - to bridge the time until the next season. For this, you need sufficiently large jam jars. Put the strawberries and 1 tablespoon of sugar into the jar and then fill it up with water. After that, place the jars upside down in a pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the stove, and let the jars stand in the hot water for two hours. After that, the strawberries can be stored unopened for about 1 year.

Freeze herbs

Fresh herbs are a staple in the kitchen. The problem is that they often don't stay fresh for long, especially when you've bought them in larger quantities. The solution: Simply freeze the herbs with some oil. This way, they remain fresh and crisp for longer. Finely chopped herbs can actually be frozen perfectly in an ice cube tray (mixing ratio 2/3 herbs, 1/3 oil, or water). In the Smantry App, it is also possible to assign the freezer and/or the deep freeze as a storage location.

The thing with the cucumber

Cucumbers are a true vegetable all-rounder. They can be enjoyed as a snack in between meals and they enhance just about any salad. However, cucumbers should be processed as fresh as possible, otherwise, there's a risk that they become limp and mushy quickly. How can this be prevented? First of all, cucumbers actually do not belong in the refrigerator. The ideal storage temperature for the vegetable is between 10 and 13 degrees Celsius. If a cucumber is stored in the fridge, it will last a maximum of four days. The ideal place for storage is the vegetable compartment. However, not in the vicinity of apples, tomatoes, or similar. These emit the gas ethylene, which causes the cucumber to ripen faster.

Drying food

Another way to preserve food for a longer time is by dehydrating, which means drying the food. Probably the most well-known dried fruit is the raisin - which is a dried grape. Dehydration removes moisture from the food, thus depriving microorganisms and enzymes, which are responsible for food spoilage, of their breeding ground. You can dehydrate food using a dehydrator, in the oven, or on the balcony. Here follows a detailed blog post.

Insert

Another method to preserve food for a longer time is to pickle it in alcohol, brine, or oil. Here too, microorganisms are deprived of oxygen. Pickled foods can last about a year. High-proof alcohol like rum, vodka, cognac, arrack, or brandy is particularly suitable for pickling. Fruits are commonly pickled in alcohol, with rum pot, Calvados apples, or Williams pear being some of the most well-known. To achieve a special flavor note, one can also add vanilla, basil, or parsley, for example.

Make bananas last longer

It's commonly known that bananas actually don't belong in the refrigerator. However, there is a way to keep the popular fruit from getting brown spots for a longer time. All you have to do is hang the bananas up. When lying down, bananas tend to get pressure marks, which later turn brown or black. The tropical fruits are most comfortable in a dark, cool place that should also be dry. To slow down the ripening process, you can also wrap cling film around the stem.

Onions and nylon stockings - a match made in heaven

Onions are naturally quite long-lasting in terms of storage, but there's a trick to extend their shelf life: using nylon stockings. To do this, place the onions into a long nylon stocking (for example, repurposed tights or socks) and tie a knot after each onion. When you need an onion, simply cut above the knot. Spring onions last longer if you slice them into rings and then place them into a cleaned plastic bottle, which is then stored in the refrigerator.

Broccoli in a glass of water

Those who enjoy eating broccoli and want to keep it fresh longer should trim the stalk and place it in a glass of water like a bouquet of flowers. The water should be changed daily. Broccoli prefers a cool environment, so the best place to store it is in the refrigerator. The vegetable does not continue to ripen, but it does dry out with prolonged storage (whether in water or not). Moreover, the taste or aroma changes as the broccoli ages. Frozen broccoli, on the other hand, can last for several months.

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The minimalist kitchen

First things first: Minimalism to me does not mean sterile like an operating room. It's fine to decorate with pictures, dried flowers, or the like. It just shouldn't get out of hand. The art of minimalism lies in omitting the right unnecessary things.

Especially in the kitchen, chaos often reigns - whether in a single household or a large family. Moreover, there are certain kitchen utensils and dishes that tend to accumulate, which are hardly ever used. By the way, I am no exception. For example, I have soup cups that I feel I have never used - but they have moved with me dozens of times. The same goes for the immersion blender - because I use the stand mixer 99.9% of the time.

As a rough guideline, one should throw away anything that hasn't been used in the last six months. Of course, there are the famous exceptions to the rule, for example, cookie cutters.

The thing about the storage containers and the dishes

I must confess that I am an absolute hoarder of storage containers and lids. I have a lot of containers without lids and vice versa. I will keep a few of the lidless containers as they are quite useful for the fridge. The rest will go into recycling - as well as the orphaned lids. Likewise, with a heavy heart, I must sort out the surplus dishes, such as the aforementioned soup cups. Those will also be taken to the recycling center.

Everything has its proper place

In the new kitchen, every appliance that we keep will have a permanent spot (at least that's the plan). In the future, we will also prefer to spend a bit more money on a kitchen appliance, but then use it until it falls apart. I dream of a certain kitchen machine that starts with a K (no, not the one that starts with T.)

Order in the kitchen cabinets

Foodsharing.de

Why is food information important?

Nutritional information such as fat, carbohydrate, and protein content are important details that help us ensure a balanced and healthy diet. They enable us to better control our food intake to prevent health issues like obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, they can assist us in choosing suitable foods for special diets or food intolerances.

What information should you consider?

Nutritional information: Pay attention to the content of fat, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugar, protein, and salt in food. This information helps you monitor your daily energy intake and find the right balance between the various nutrients.

Ingredients list: The ingredients list provides information about the components used in a product. This way, you can identify and avoid allergens or unwanted additives.

Allergen information: For people with allergies or intolerances, allergen labeling is particularly important.

Country of origin: The origin of food can affect its quality, taste, and environmental impact.

Organic and sustainability certifications: Look for environmental and animal welfare labels to shop responsibly and reduce your ecological footprint.

The importance of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals)

A balanced diet consists of a combination of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats provide energy and are important for the body to function properly. Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals are required in smaller amounts to keep the body healthy. It is important to eat a variety of foods to ensure that you get all the necessary nutrients.

The differences between simple and complex carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for the body. However, there are differences between simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, also known as sugars, are quickly absorbed by the body and can lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are digested more slowly and provide energy to the body over a longer period of time. Examples of complex carbohydrates include whole grain products, vegetables, and legumes, while simple carbohydrates are found in sweets, sodas, and processed foods. It is important to consume a balanced amount of carbohydrates and focus on complex carbohydrates to ensure a stable energy supply.

The importance of dietary fiber and how to incorporate it into your diet.

Dietary fibers are an important component of a healthy diet. They help to keep the gut healthy by promoting digestion and preventing constipation. Additionally, they can contribute to reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Fibers are found in foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. To incorporate more fiber into your diet, you could, for example, choose whole grain bread instead of white bread, include more vegetables and legumes in your meals, and opt for nuts as a snack.

The importance of proteins and how to obtain them from various sources.

Proteins are an important part of a balanced diet as they aid in the building and maintenance of muscles, bones, and tissues. They can be found in foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts. To ensure you consume enough protein, you should include a source of protein with every meal. If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you can get protein from legumes, nuts, tofu, and soy products. It's also important to make sure that you consume a variety of protein sources to get all the essential amino acids.

The importance of healthy fats and how to incorporate them into your diet.

Healthy fats are important for a balanced diet as they help to provide the body with energy and absorb essential nutrients. They are found in foods like avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, and olive oil. It's important to ensure that you consume saturated and unsaturated fats in a balanced ratio. Saturated fats, found in animal products like butter and meat, should be limited, while unsaturated fats, found in plant products like nuts and seeds, should be preferred. One way to incorporate healthy fats into your diet is, for example, to spread avocado on bread or eat nuts as a snack.

How can our food management app help you?

With our app, you can easily scan the barcode of a food item to instantly get comprehensive information. The app not only displays the expiration date and storage location at home, but also the fat, carbohydrate, and protein content of the product - even while you're on the go in the supermarket. This way, you can immediately determine whether a food item fits your individual diet and offers health benefits.

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What might a food emergency supply look like?

Destruction of nature

With every food item that ends up in the trash, valuable resources such as farmland or water are also wasted. After all, the food was produced anyway, even if it wasn't eaten. Similarly, the product was packaged and transported to supermarkets or discount stores - which in turn means CO₂ emissions. Because the transport routes are often very long. Fruit is imported from South America by plane and vegetables from Asia. By the way, very often by plane - which is particularly harmful to the climate.

Moreover, a large portion of our food is no longer produced in Germany, let alone locally. A prime example is the palm oil plantations, for which people are displaced from their land and rainforests are cleared and/or slash-and-burned. This releases the carbon stored in the jungle soils and large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere. Biofuel made from palm oil is also not climate-friendly, by the way. To be more precise, it is three times as harmful to the climate as gasoline made from crude oil (Source: Regenwald.org).

The destruction of the rainforest also leads to the disappearance of many rare animal species such as the orangutan or the Sumatran tiger.

What can I do to prevent food waste?

Of course, not everyone has to become a vegetarian or vegan to do something about climate change. It already helps to pay attention to the small things, such as opting for local and seasonal products when shopping and focusing on organic. Unpackaged food also helps to protect the climate. Fortunately, there are more and more zero-waste stores in many cities and villages. But the most important thing is that food no longer ends up in the trash because it has gone bad.

For instance, I try to be creative with recipes to use up leftovers, like vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers. Sometimes that results in a casserole or a stew. Moreover, I always try to buy only as much perishable food as we can actually consume in a week.

PantryApp against food waste

What is dumpster diving anyway

People who dumpster dive retrieve expired but still edible food from garbage bins. Other terms for this are 'Dumpster Diving' or 'Trash Diving'. Many dumpster divers do this to make a statement against food waste and the throwaway culture. However, needy individuals also resort to dumpster diving, simply because they cannot afford food otherwise. For such people, dumpster diving is often associated with a great deal of shame.

Regarding the figures on how many tons of food are thrown away annually, there are only estimates. The federal government assumes 11 million tons, while WWF estimates 18 million tons. Private households discard an additional 6.5 million tons and account for about 78% of the total food waste. So if you want to do something about it, the Smantry App is an ideal tool.

The government has now recognized the problem and launched the initiative "Too Good for the Bin". The aim is to help people reconnect with their food.

Dumpster diving is illegal

The problem with the matter is that the containers, trash cans, and waste bins are usually located on private property. Until the time of disposal, the contents belong to the property owner. Dumpster divers are therefore committing theft and also trespassing when they fish for expired food in other people's trash cans. In 2019, two women were sentenced to community service by a Bavarian local court because they were caught dumpster diving. The two even took their case to the Federal Constitutional Court, which, however, rejected the complaint. Jesuit priest Jörg Alt reported himself after dumpster diving. The food he saved was, by the way, distributed among the needy.

Will containerization soon be decriminalized?

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir (The Greens) are considering abolishing penalties for dumpster diving, provided that no trespassing occurs. Therefore, anyone who damages a fence or pries open a gate would still be committing a criminal offense. However, a change in federal law is not planned. The new guidelines are to be decided by the states themselves.

This initiative was also proposed in 2019. At that time, the Hamburg Minister of Justice Till Steffen (the Greens) submitted a motion at the Conference of Ministers of Justice to legalize dumpster diving. However, this was rejected by the states led by the CDU, on the grounds that dumpster diving is both undignified and hygienically questionable, and also because the issue of liability was unresolved. The trade sector is also against legalizing dumpster diving. Likewise, food banks view it critically, although the association is indeed in favor of decriminalizing dumpster diving. They also demand that food donations be simplified. In France, by the way, wasting food is a punishable offense. Supermarkets over 400 sqm in size are legally obliged to pass on discarded food to the needy. Those who do not comply can expect a fine. In Canada, dumpster diving in public spaces is legal. An improvement in the value chain could also help to reduce food waste.

By the way: Many food retailers in Germany already donate to food banks and other similar projects.

Alternatives to Dumpster Diving

However, there are also other ways to combat food waste - completely legally.

Often in supermarkets and discount stores, you can find deals on food items that are close to their expiration date. This is also a way to save money. Another option is to create a meal plan. To do this, you sit down one day and plan out the meals for the entire week - and then go shopping. The groceries you buy can be logged in the Smantry App, as some products don't need to be used up all at once when cooking.

This also makes a good transition to our next tip. Be creative in the kitchen. Leftovers and scraps can often be turned into something great.

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More of the Right Thing

Minimalism doesn't mean that you have to live in a sparsely furnished apartment from now on, with just a chair, a bed, and maybe a table. It's mainly about consciously choosing to do without things. Clothing is a very good example of this. Fast fashion companies release up to 24 collections every year, produced under sometimes inhumane conditions and causing enormous damage to the environment.

The German consumer buys about 60 pieces of clothing per year, which, however, are only worn for half as long as they used to be. This is also due to the poor quality of fast fashion items. Hand on heart, you surely have one or two items in your closet that you have never worn, right?

Clothing is always a double-edged sword. Most of us naturally want to be dressed chic and trendy. For example, I prefer to buy my clothes secondhand or to wear what I have until it falls apart. When I do buy something new, I try to pay attention to good quality and especially that it was made sustainably (although I don't always succeed). That's why it's really hard for me to give the ultimate tip here. I think that at this point, everyone has to find the right path for themselves. Ultimately, minimalism, in whatever form, is about being more satisfied with what one has.

Save money through minimalism

Minimalism is about consciously choosing to do without certain things. This naturally creates a completely new relationship to the topic of consumption. We buy many things even though we don't really need them. For example, I am a real victim of packaging. Wrap it up nicely and I'm guaranteed to buy it. The problem is that many of these items end up in the trash after a short time. Whether it's due to poor quality or simply because you realize you don't need it after all. A good example of this was the pandemic. During the lockdowns, many people did a thorough decluttering. It got to the point where second-hand and social thrift stores could sometimes not accept anything more. Where I live, overflowing clothing donation bins were the norm during this time. At the same time, online retailers enjoyed an ever-increasing influx, and delivery vans were sometimes as full as they usually are only at Christmas.

Minimalism doesn't mean that you have to give up everything that brings you joy in the future. It's more about consciously questioning your own consumption. "Do I really need this, or do I just want it because it's terribly fashionable right now?"

For example, I have resolved to reduce my clothing consumption in 2023. Firstly, I want to wear what I already have in my wardrobe (and it is really, really full). Secondly, if I do need something new, I'll look at secondhand options first. And yes, I know these are absolute first world problems. Perhaps a household budget book, where you track all your expenses, could also help you. That way, you can see how much money you save by consuming less and more consciously.

How can the PantryApp help me with minimalism?

Our last survey took place in November 2021 - 173 of you participated and provided many valuable suggestions on how we can improve.

For instance, we learned that most users in 2021 lived in a couple's household without children and preferred to do major shopping 1-2 times a week. The most bothersome thing for you during shopping in 2021 was forgetting the shopping list at home - and while cooking, when needed ingredients had expired and had to be thrown away. Three quarters of the users cooked at home at least 3 times a week themselves.

We have consistently taken your feedback to heart in the development and design process - however, a scientific evaluation of it all has unfortunately not taken place.

We are changing that now - with the support of the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Consumer Research, we have developed a questionnaire that will allow us to get to know our users - that is, you - even better, in order to develop our Pantry App more effectively and specifically for you.
As a thank you, we will donate 1€ to "Restlos Glücklich e.V." or "die Arche" for every completed survey.

Not everyone has the "luxury" of an extra room for storage or a large cellar. However, even the smallest cabin can accommodate provisions. With a few tricks and tips, it's relatively easy to set up an emergency supply even with limited space.

Order is half the battle

When space in the kitchen is limited, organization is key. This naturally requires a lot of self-discipline - and that can certainly be learned. Even small routines can lead to big changes. For example, those who empty the dishwasher right away won't accumulate piles of dirty dishes anymore. Those who don't have a dishwasher should get into the habit of washing up right away - even if it's sometimes annoying. Likewise, groceries should be put away immediately.

Make optimal use of storage space

Those with limited space should make optimal use of it. For the kitchen, for instance, there are utensil holders that can easily store cooking spoons, cups, pots, or other items. This also frees up space in the cabinets, which can then be used for storage.

In the Smantry App, you have the option to assign specific storage locations to food items, such as the kitchen cabinet. This helps you keep track of where you have stored or sorted items and how much of each food product you still have at home. You should always move older supplies to the front and use them up when the expiration date is approaching. Our app can help you keep an eye on the date.

By the way, food does not necessarily always have to be stored in the kitchen. Maybe you have some space under the bed, in the wardrobe, or in other cabinets. Even in the smallest storage unit in the basement, there's often a little spot, and possibly the attic or loft can be used for storage as well. Even behind doors or on top of cabinets, supplies can be stored.

The thing about the optics

Of course, cans and the like don't necessarily look decorative. These can, for example, be hidden in stacking crates and then stored on top of a cupboard. There are also special stacking cabinets that can simply be placed on top of an existing cupboard. This allows you to utilize the full height of the room. You might also be able to hide your supplies behind a curtain or a door. There are also suggestions to stack cans behind the sofa or to build a can tower behind cabinets. But that's definitely a matter of taste - it's not for me. After all, I want my apartment to look like a home, not like a food storage.

By the way: Hundreds of rolls of toilet paper and just as many liters of sunflower oil are not an adequate supply. When shopping, also think of your fellow human beings and don't buy entire shelves empty if you don't actually need the items.

Starting is not hard - building up the stock

Above all, non-perishable food items are exceptionally suitable for stockpiling. With our PantryApp, you can reliably monitor which products are slowly but surely approaching their expiration date and use them up - before they end up in the trash. Because sensible stockpiling also has to do with sustainability - but more on that in another blog. You don't have to rush to the nearest supermarket and discount store now and spend several hundred euros. You can build up a supply bit by bit. Simply take an extra package of pasta with you on your next shopping trip. If you want to save additional money, you can of course take advantage of special offers.

You should only stock up on food that will actually be eaten. What's the use of having a great supply if the products end up rotting because no one eats them? That's neither sustainable nor sensible stockpiling.

These food items should always be kept in the house

In this section, we adhere very closely to the recommendations issued by the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance. However, we would also like to point out that these recommendations are not set in stone. For instance, someone who does not eat green beans in any form does not need to include them in their supplies.

Practical shopping tips

Of course, one doesn't have as much space in a van or motorhome as at home. Rather, the space available is sometimes very limited and especially at high temperatures, the proper storage of food and beverages can really become a challenge.

So you should adjust your shopping to your travel plans and think ahead about what you actually want to cook. If you need fresh food, you can usually buy it in the country you're visiting. I personally always find it exciting to stroll through markets to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and to explore the specialties of a country in supermarkets. You can buy staple foods at home. However, pay attention to the shelf life, especially if you're going to be traveling for a longer period. Our Smantry App can help you with this ;)

What should always be included - the staple foods

· Pasta

· Rice (optional)

· Coffee (I can't do without it)

· Canned goods (tomatoes, corn, etc., and for those who like them, ravioli as well)

· Vinegar and oil

· UHT milk or plant-based milk

· Butter, oil, vinegar

· Oatmeal

· Bouillon cube

· Spices (for example, pepper, salt, paprika, oregano)

· Tomato paste

· Honey and/or sugar, or sweetener

I certainly don't want to prohibit taking instant soups or sauces - and let's be honest, they do have their merits from time to time.

Courage to be Minimalist

In both the van and the motorhome, one must come to terms with rather limited space - and it's important to make the best of it. In principle, two gas burners (sometimes even just one) and a camping grill are perfectly sufficient to prepare delicious meals.

The same applies to cooking utensils, here too: less is more. Ideally, for example, a pan where you can remove the handle. This allows for space-saving storage. Two pots are completely sufficient. Extra tip for pasta fans (I could have it every other day): Nowadays, there are pasta strainers that can be folded to save space, or you can get a special strainer insert for the pot. It has the great advantage that you no longer have to drain the noodles.

When it comes to dishes, it's completely sufficient to limit yourself to the essentials. More dishes also mean more weight.

Plates are available in melamine, aluminum, or bamboo. Cereal bowls are also excellent for eating soup, and there are even coffee pots that can be stored space-efficiently because they are collapsible. However, the espresso maker remains an evergreen for the authentic camper coffee experience.

Essential items include cutlery in the appropriate numbers, several sharp knives for cutting, chopping boards, wooden spoons, soup ladles, can openers (I speak from painful personal experience), spatulas, whisks, a pair of barbecue tongs, as well as lighters and matches. The Omnia oven is also very popular among campers. However, I have not yet tried it. But I'm sure that will come.

Storage in the camper and in the motorhome

Motorhome owners naturally have a huge advantage. Most things are already built in. There are cabinets, a refrigerator, a stove, and some motorhomes even have an oven.

Due to the boom, especially in the last two years, many manufacturers have developed special storage systems for vans and box trucks within the vehicle - and then there's still the DIY option.

In the Pantry App, you have the option to create individual storage locations. This allows you to keep track of what's still there, what needs to be used up quickly, and what should be repurchased, even in the van or RV.

For food items that do not require refrigeration, a storage box will suffice in a van. In a motorhome, such products can be easily stowed away in the cabinets. It is also advisable to acquire storage jars or cans (as they are lighter in weight). When hermetically sealed, spices and the like are protected not only from moisture but also from unwanted creepy crawlies.

If you want to build out your van yourself, you should definitely install a cool box or a portable refrigerator. Of course, it's not a must, but without the ability to cool food, storing supplies quickly becomes difficult, and all shopping, especially for perishable goods, needs to be carefully planned. Naturally, you can also assign the refrigerator as a storage location in the Smantry App.

Read next

September and October are our golden harvest months for long-lasting fruits and vegetables. Do you also find that you were able to harvest many apples, pears, plums, or quinces from the garden? Or were supplied by friends and family?

Often the double-edged sword becomes apparent here. Because everyone is delighted by the magnificent treasures that can be used to prepare all sorts of wonderful things. But perhaps you too are wondering how dishes can be modified so as not to have to eat the same thing every day. Because quickly, the food becomes tiresome or may even spoil if it's not consumed. That would be annoying, wouldn't it?

The pandemic has shown that supply shortages can lead to a scarcity economy. As a result, many items are not available on the official market. Especially during the 1920/1930s or after World War II, there was such an extreme time. Black markets quickly emerged to provide access to essential items that were not officially available. Money played a secondary role in being able to pay for the needed goods. Instead, bartering was widely practiced in such times.

In this post, we would like to list for you which products are highly sought after and thus appear to be useful.

Alcohol:
It is consumed for pleasure but also often enjoyed on joyful occasions. Spirits with a long shelf life without loss of quality include: grain alcohol, vodka, or whiskey. Variations mixed from these also keep well.

Cigarettes:
Required by smokers on a daily basis. Due to their calming effect, many do not want to do without them, which is why they are in high demand during shortages. If you stock up on cigarettes bought at a low price for trading, it makes sense to vacuum-pack them. This way, they do not lose quality through drying out and retain their value.

Coffee:
Many people enjoy drinking it and it's hard to imagine many households without it. Since it cannot be grown here, it is a product that can only be brought into our country through transportation. Rising energy costs are also driving up its price. If you want to stock up on coffee, opt for whole beans. They retain their flavor well and allow everyone to choose their own grind size. Instant coffee is also a good alternative for storage.

These are the Top 3 items that the fewest people would want to give up and are certainly the most interesting as a stock for trading.

We list more tips for you here:

Medications and Dressing Materials:
If you rely on certain medications, you should not consider them for trading. Because in the worst case, it could be detrimental to you if they were no longer available. It's good to stock up on items that are often needed, such as ibuprofen or anti-diarrheal drugs. They are very suitable for trading. Band-aids and dressing materials can also be very well stored. Who isn't familiar with the situation? A small wound here, an injury there, and suddenly you're out of band-aids. There's potential here to easily forget to restock.

Hygiene products:
Due to our high standards of hygiene, many diseases are no longer prevalent in our region. In countries where standards are not as high, illnesses such as cholera or typhoid are common. It is wise to keep an eye out for discount promotions or offers that make purchasing in bulk affordable. Bleach can be used to make disinfectant, which is always useful to have around the house.

Energy:
Everyone needs energy in some form or another. Gasoline/diesel, gas, batteries, or power stations can serve as useful items for barter. This way, you can offer your power station to someone in exchange for charging their devices for a certain period of time. With gasoline/diesel or gas, safety should be a priority. Consider whether it really makes sense to stockpile, for example, 50 cans of gas.

Vegetable seeds and fertilizer:
The current inflation shows that self-sufficiency is not such a bad idea. Everyone knows about allotment gardens. This culture emerged after World War II out of the necessity to be self-sufficient. Don't have the opportunity to use an allotment garden? Start on a small scale and plant in flower pots and boxes. This also saves you money. In times when many people turn to plant seeds and fertilizer, increased demand drives up prices and can lead to shortages in the market.

Baking bread should not be rocket science. However, things look a bit different if you have to avoid gluten due to a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. Gluten, the so-called sticky protein, has the property of giving baked goods that fluffy, moist consistency, as it is responsible for binding the ingredients together.

Many are affected, but often those affected are in the dark and are at a loss or do not even realize that they have a food intolerance. In our team, Matthias and I are affected by it. In this post, we want to show you what the body can react to and how you can interpret your symptoms.

Several times a day we consume food. Ideally at intervals of 4 to 6 hours and 2 to 3 meals per day. In this rhythm, our body has sufficient time for food intake, nutrient utilization, and digestion. However, in reality, it often looks different. Tempted by the industry, we indulge in snacks such as comfort food and mood fillers. These have little to do with 'satisfying hunger,' which is what food is actually meant for.

How do I notice which foods cause me discomfort?

This legitimate question is the most difficult to answer. When you reflect on your food intake with a food diary, you quickly realize that it's not that simple. Because often we do not eat foods individually, but combine them with each other, making it almost impossible to determine which one is responsible for possible discomfort. In addition, there is the difference between an immediate reaction and a delayed reaction, which can occur up to three days after eating. You see, this makes the whole thing even more difficult.

With the warm temperatures, many are drawn out into nature. However, those plagued by hay fever and pollen allergies tend to view this with a sense of dread. Because with every deep breath comes a free dose of sneezing attacks, runny nose, or watery eyes, making time spent in the fresh air more of a hassle than a pleasure. Perhaps you're not only affected during the early blooming phase but suffer from symptoms all year round that don't go away despite antihistamines? Normally, the complaints should subside or disappear completely after the peak phase. However, this is often far from the case. What's the reason for this?

Hazel, birch, and alder are the most common triggers for pollen allergies

When allergens from trees and grasses reach the mucous membranes and respiratory tract, allergic reactions are triggered. The body releases the endogenous messenger substance histamine. This is the trigger for allergic symptoms that are typical for pollen allergies or hay fever.

Cross-reactive allergies are also responsible for symptoms, did you know that?

Hay fever and diet - what does histamine have to do with it?

What many do not know is that food contains histamine. When the body takes in an additional high dose of histamine through food, the symptoms worsen and the immune system has even more work to deal with the allergic reaction. Thus, it is likely that the exacerbation is homemade, so to speak, due to the diet.

Which foods have a high histamine content?

Are you wondering which foods contain increased levels of histamine? We will list them for you here:

• Cheese varieties such as Brie and hard cheese
• Smoked fish and seafood
• Canned food
• Smoked meat (ham and salami)
• Beans and legumes (soybeans and chickpeas)
• Wheat products
• Chocolate and cocoa
• Vinegar
• Sauerkraut
• Fruit (such as pear, banana, orange, and strawberry)
• Nuts
• Types of vegetables (e.g., spinach and tomatoes)

Additionally, it should be noted that processed foods, too much sugar, alcohol, and caffeine can exacerbate symptoms. It is therefore advisable to pay closer attention to these and reduce or ideally eliminate them.

Fruits and vegetables that contain little histamine relieve the body.

Less histamine, these are the foods

Especially as someone suffering from hay fever, it is important to pay attention to a nutrient-rich diet with vitamins and minerals. Zinc, selenium, magnesium, and vitamin C should be consumed in sufficient amounts. The intake of vitamin C, in particular, should not be neglected. This lowers the histamine level and has anti-inflammatory effects. Magnesium ensures that the release of the neurotransmitter histamine into the bloodstream is prevented. This also provides relief.

Support your body effectively, here's how!

Would you like to specifically support your body and immune system and switch to a low-histamine diet? Then the following foods will help you with that:

• Fruit (melon, blueberries, rhubarb, cherries, blueberries, apricot, and apples)
• Vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, beetroot, pumpkin, bell peppers, carrots, potatoes)
• Grains (corn, rice, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, oats, and millet)

Water, the most natural way to quench thirst, especially for those with allergies.

Fluid balance, the be-all and end-all

Drinking habits should not be neglected. By consuming enough fluids, you support your body in moistening the mucous membranes and alleviating the symptoms.

Cheers!

Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and sparkling wine contain high levels of histamine. Additionally, the production of this messenger substance in the body is stimulated by alcoholic drinks. This promotes allergic symptoms and worsens overall well-being. Not only alcoholic beverages but also coffee and various types of tea affect the condition. Therefore, the recommendation is to increasingly rely on water.

What else helps besides changing one's diet?

The greatest contribution can be made through diet. What doesn't enter the body in the first place doesn't have to be fought by the immune system. The pollen that settles everywhere and can be seen as a yellow layer should be regularly removed by damp wiping. A tip is to wipe your furniture and floors damp more often to provide relief. Furthermore, rooms should be aired several times a day, bedding should be shaken out, and hair should be washed in the evening. This approach provides relief and supports your well-being.

You take your favorite yogurt out of the fridge and notice that today's date is printed as the best before date (BBD). Oh no, can I still eat it or does it have to go straight to the trash? With this article, we want to help you develop a sense for how long food can be safely enjoyed.

The best-before date does not mean it's spoiled after!

Most food products have a best before date printed on them because manufacturers are legally required to do so. This applies to all perishable food items. However, exceptions include:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Sugar
• Chewing gum and confectionery (if the larger part consists of sugar)
• Alcohol (with more than 10% alcohol content)
• Bread and baked goods from the bakery

Moreover, there is even an additional labeling for perishable food items that needs to be considered. This will be discussed further down in the article, so stay curious and keep reading!

Best before date, what does that tell me exactly?

As the name 'best before date' suggests, food products are at least durable until this date when stored properly and kept in their original sealed packaging. This date is calculated and chosen by the manufacturer. It is intended to ensure that the food can be consumed without concern if stored correctly up to this date. After the date has passed, there may be slight losses in quality and consistency. If you notice any changes in the product, use your senses to test it. They will help you determine if everything is still okay.

Seeing, smelling, and tasting - your senses assist you in testing whether food is still good after the best before date.

Many ideas start small and then develop into a grand vision. Later, they grow into an empire. Surely you know the story of Steve Jobs? He invented and built the first Apple computer in the garage of his parents' house. That's how it is with most start-ups, which initially work hard on their idea from home and do not have their own office.

This was also the case with Matthias and the Speisekammer.App. Everything originated within the four walls of home and had been based there until now.

First, the pandemic temporarily caused food shortages and delivery difficulties, as well as increased prices. We are deeply shaken and affected by the current devastating situation. We want to use this blog to support you in compensating for the resulting impacts as best as possible. We do not want to downplay the seriousness of the situation nor turn a blind eye to it.

Energy, food, and fuel costs - all sectors affect each of us

It seems to us that one cannot react as quickly as changing prices affect us. This certainly raises the question for everyone: What can I do to manage my money? We have listed here the thoughts we have had on this and what we apply for ourselves.

Money literally evaporates in the tank when refueling

Birdsong, mild temperatures, and lengthening days indicate that spring is approaching. However, the official start of spring is not until March 20th. Nevertheless, now is a good time to take advantage of the season for spring cleaning.

Where does the concept of spring cleaning actually come from?

This dates back to a time when farmers and laborers had little work in the fields and farms in the spring. The rest of the year was scheduled for fieldwork and other related tasks. Therefore, the thorough cleaning was done in the spring.

For many people, this custom remains a fixed ritual. Moreover, due to the generally worse weather, we spend more time at home and can use this time to tidy up the apartment or house.

Countless cleaners that are not necessary!

Countless bottles and tubes - what are they actually for?

Whether for the balcony, bathroom, kettle, or in retail, there seems to be a specific product for everything. But do we really need these? Or can we manage with just a few items that are usually already at home? Baking soda and citric acid are natural household substances that serve as eco-friendly, sustainable cleaning agents without harming the environment. With this article, we want to show what they are capable of and how versatile they can be.

Decluttering creates space again!

The big clean-up...

Spring is not only great for cleaning. It's also a good time to declutter and tidy up. Even though household cleaning is a recurring process, it's rare that every surface is meticulously wiped down. Moreover, over a longer period of time, quite a bit accumulates. I experience this too. Inspired by many DIY ideas, I collect toilet paper rolls, Tetra Paks, and the like, to create something great out of them later. However, often there's a lack of time or desire and whoosh, the drawer is full. Implemented results = none. Therefore, the annual generous decluttering has become a fixed ritual in spring.

Unnecessary cleaners can be easily replaced with home remedies.

Which household cleaner should I use for which surface?

Limescale stains and rings: can be effectively removed with citric acid. For this purpose, cut a lemon in half and rub the affected areas with the cut side, then let it take effect. Lemon is also an odor-neutral choice for combating limescale. If the limescale rings are a bit more stubborn and the lemon couldn't remove everything? Then household vinegar is the better choice. Do not use vinegar essence! It is too aggressive and may damage the surface.

Would you like to make a lemon household cleaner in bulk?
This recipe is very suitable:

• Several bowls of lemons
• White household vinegar (not vinegar concentrate)

Pour into a screw-top jar or a glass spray bottle and let it infuse. It's important not to use a plastic bottle! The acid will leach components from the plastic over time. You certainly don't want that on your freshly wiped surfaces, do you?

For a one-time use of a lemon cleaner, you can also squeeze a lemon. Strain the juice through a sieve into an old cleaned spray bottle and add some liquid soap or dishwashing detergent. By spraying, you can treat larger areas in a time-saving manner. The added dishwashing detergent ensures that the surface tension is broken, allowing it to work better against limescale.

Shiny Surfaces: Require a gentle cleaning agent for delicate cleaning. Baking soda is very suitable for this purpose. Make a mixture of baking soda and water and fill it into an empty spray bottle. With this, you can spray windows, refrigerators, and doors, and everything will be cleaned without streaks.

Scouring milk or scouring powder, a versatile household cleaner

Scouring milk - hype from the 70s

Scouring milk became a common household item in the 1970s and remains an indispensable cleaning product. It is available in powder or liquid form. You don't have to rely on pre-made products; it can be mixed at home with just a few ingredients.

Use this for:

• 50 gr. baking soda
• 1 tbsp citric acid
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch (as anti-caking agent)

Mix all the ingredients and store it in a jar with a screw-top lid.

Make your own toilet cleaner. Affordable and free of environmentally harmful substances.

Make your own toilet cleaner - super easy!

Toilet cleaner can also be made super quickly from 3 ingredients.

• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp crystallized citric acid
• 10 ml liquid soap or dishwashing detergent
• 500 ml cold water
• about 100 ml of boiled water
• essential oil (optional)

Here's how to proceed:
Boil 100 ml of water and set aside to cool. In another pot, stir the cornstarch into 500 ml of cold water. Briefly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Make sure a thick, milky substance is created. Stir citric acid into the previously boiled, cooled water. Stir until all the crystals have dissolved. Add 10 ml of dish soap. Combine the resulting liquid with the water-cornstarch mixture. Insoluble citrate forms when citric acid is heated. Therefore, make sure all liquids cool down to below 40 degrees Celsius before mixing them together. If you prefer scented toilet cleaner, you can add 5-10 drops of essential oil. Tea tree, lavender, or orange are very suitable. The cleaning effect is enhanced and the cleaner also acts against germs in the toilet. Now fill the gel into an empty bottle from the old toilet cleaner.

Clean floors with ease!

Clean floors: For this purpose, you can also make something yourself. Add baking soda and citric acid in a 1:1 ratio to the mop water and use it to clean acid-resistant floors and work surfaces. Don't forget to do a patch test in a small corner before you mop the entire floor with it for the first time. Additionally, floors should only be mopped lightly damp.

Gloves protect your hands while cleaning!

Attention please!

Do you have sensitive hands or are you particularly careful not to let your skin come into contact with any cleaning agents? Then you should also be cautious with natural home remedies and wear gloves. Because vinegar, citric acid, and the like can irritate the skin and respiratory tract.

Now you have a wealth of knowledge to tackle your spring cleaning without any purchased cleaners. Which day are you planning for it? This coming weekend? Then let's go!

Are you among the lucky ones who already have their Christmas menu set? If so, you're a step ahead of many. This also allows you to take some of the pressure off during the stressful holiday season. After all, who isn't daunted by the thought of crowded stores with endless lines? And then, the necessary product is no longer available, forcing you to visit even more grocery markets. To spare you this ordeal this year, we've put together some practical tips for you. This way, you can enjoy a relaxed Christmas without having to waste precious time in lines. This spares you the rush on Christmas Eve!

At the right place at the right time

Are you familiar with this saying? And there's a lot of truth in it when it comes to shopping as well. As a rule, supermarkets are very empty in the morning. You can take advantage of this and go shopping as early as possible, if you can. Not only will you be done before the rush, but you can also enjoy the freshness of the products and have the best selection. Are you unfortunately bound by work to specific times and can't shop early? Perhaps ask a family member or the kind neighbor, who as an active retiree still does her own shopping, if she can pick up a few things for you.

Keep the rule of thumb in mind

Whether it's Christmas, Easter, or German Unity Day, it remains an unsolved phenomenon that people tend to buy more groceries during these times. A well-proven rule of thumb is to shop at least two days before the holiday. You could apply this rule to all holidays. Here's a little example for you. If, like this year, Christmas Eve is on a Friday, make sure to do your shopping by Wednesday, or even better, by Tuesday. This way, you avoid having to stand in long queues.

Shopping list for assistance

Right now, we all have even more on our minds and need to remember so many things without forgetting anything. Moreover, it's unnecessary to waste precious time wandering around stores. Therefore, the best advice is to never shop without a list. First, note down everything that is needed and then organize it in the order that the store is laid out. This way, you can move through the store with purpose. Experience shows that when shopping with a list, you tend to only buy the items that are on the list. This reduces impulse purchases and even saves money.

Procure rare items early

Many are already surprised in September to see gingerbread, speculoos, and the like in supermarkets. But what many do not know is that this is already the Christmas stock and nothing more can be reordered. If you know that you will need something very specific for your recipe for the holiday feast, buy it right at the start. Then you will definitely have it at home in your stock and won't have to go searching at the last minute and plunge into the chaos.

Split the purchase

Of course, it's nice to do the shopping together. However, I can also imagine nicer things than visiting all the supermarkets like Aldi Süd, Rewe, Edeka, and the like with the whole family. That's why we split up not just before Christmas. This way, we get everything done in half the time and can then do something nice together as a family. If you're on your own for shopping, the following idea might help. Find a supermarket where you can get everything. Maybe they don't have all the products at the unbeatable lowest price. Consider what gives you the greatest advantage. Spend less time in stores and also save on fuel if you only need to go to one shop.

Who doesn't know this, you resolve that this year the Christmas season and especially Christmas Eve will be relaxed. Usually, things turn out differently than expected and the to-dos pile up, starting a Christmas marathon that has nothing to do with contemplation. But how can one manage to clear some time and bring in relaxation without canceling appointments?

Most often, it's the Christmas menu that gets an extra touch, and at the last minute, one remembers ingredients that absolutely must be procured. If this can't be done during store opening hours, which are regulated until 2 pm on Christmas Eve, stress is inevitable.

Oh how blissful ... looks different!

Shelf-stable food items - these are foods that can be used safely and for a very long time even beyond the printed best-before date (BBD). This clearly includes flour, cereal products, and baking ingredients.

Do you know the feeling when the day has been way too long and you're just lacking inspiration for what to put on your plate? Or you're just relieved when you can close the door behind you and don't have to join the queue at the supermarket anymore. We know those days too. Often, they even string together so that a whole week passes by in a flash. Then you sit frustrated in the kitchen, not knowing what to make for a meal. When you crave some happy food, the ideas are missing or you assume you need endless ingredients that you don't have in stock anyway. But it doesn't have to be this way, we want to support you on such days and have put together a collection of recipes that are quick to prepare with just a few ingredients. Enjoy cooking!

Cook potato soup without shopping

It is the fastest and easiest way to preserve food. But who has ever considered how to properly store food in the freezer and what the benefits are.

Good advice is not expensive

We have addressed this question and gathered our tips here for you. To use the freezer more effectively, it's important to defrost it regularly. We'll show you how it's done.

Of course, the aspect of sustainability also plays a major role in this topic. Sustainability through energy efficiency. Because a well-stocked freezer, where there is little space between items, requires less energy. This helps maintain a constant temperature. Frozen foods keep the temperature very easily due to their consistency. More electricity must be used to cool empty spaces. Therefore, you should opt for square boxes that stack well. Clearly labeled and sorted by categories, the desired food item can be found with just a few moves. With a self-created barcode, the app can support you even better, and you can immediately see how long the supplies in the freezer will last.

Inventory chart for frozen food

Do you often wonder how long frozen food remains edible? This is a valid question. We have created a chart to assist you. Of course, even here, just because the indicated time period has passed, it doesn't mean that the food is spoiled. Why not just try it out? You'll be surprised how much longer food can be safely consumed.

Defrosting done right!

Has a thick layer of ice formed in the freezer? Then it's high time to defrost it. This will save you electricity and create more space for additional supplies. We'll show you how it's done easily.

Unpack groceries.

Thank you for the numerous messages we have received on the topic of 'stockpiling in small spaces'. We are happy to address this issue and show you our tips.

Is it possible to store supplies in a small space?

In many apartments, space is limited, making it seem unimaginable to stock up on supplies. However, with a good inventory and some planning, it is possible to create a stockpile even in small kitchens and without a basement.

First, it should be considered which items take up a lot of space and are not often used. For me, these are pans, pots, and kitchen appliances. The space on top of the wall cabinets is rarely used, which can wonderfully serve as additional storage space. Here, kitchen appliances that are not often used can be stored. This space is also ideal for storing food reserves that are meant to be kept in stock. To make optimal use of the space on top of the cabinets, everything can be neatly packed into boxes. Additionally, the boxes serve as protection from dust. Another possibility for additional storage space is the area above the door. Here, by installing shelves above the door, more storage space can also be created for stocking up. I store pots there that I rarely use.

Space-saving storage of pans

Pans are probably the kitchen utensil that requires the most space. Hung on a rail, they visually enhance the kitchen. What do you think?

Make ideal use of storage space!

Pantry, storage room, or larder, everyone calls it something different, yet the same thing is meant "food storage". Whether in a small studio apartment, a shared flat, a loft, or a large single-family home. Everyone faces the same challenge.

How do I best organize my supplies so that I'm always up to date and not just reaching for what's immediately visible.

The be-all and end-all is a system tailored to the needs of the household and a list of staple foods that should always be on hand and are actually consumed. Because what's the point of having 10 cans of ravioli in tomato sauce if nobody eats them?! Once the staple foods are determined, it's time to plan for the perfect system. If you're one of the lucky ones who have a basement, a shelf system is best, whether stackable or modular, reaching up to the ceiling. This way, no space is wasted and everything is optimally utilized. If your space is limited and you store your food in your apartment, a pantry cabinet in the kitchen or hallway is a great alternative. Here, you can also use add-on elements to utilize the space up to the ceiling. Often, the gaps in the cabinets are too large for ideal stacking. You can solve this by adding additional shelves. If your landlord doesn't allow this, you can also create additional storage space with cabinet baskets.

So you don't have to search on your own, we've listed our recommendations here to help you find your perfect storage system.

Shelving unit with ample spaceAdjustable height shelving unitMultipurpose cabinet "The Tall One"Cabinet basketsShelving unit for cans a "must have" for the emergency reserve stock

Store open food items or items in small packets like baking powder, food coloring, etc., in sealable containers. This protects the food from pests, keeps everything organized, and saves you from cleaning up spills that scatter throughout the cupboard.

Storage containers with clip-lock

Do you prefer to store your food in glass? Then we have clip-top jars for you. The ones we have listed here for you are space-saving thanks to their square shape, and they come with labeling stickers. If you have an open shelf at home for storage, they are a real eye-catcher. What do you think?

Clamp-lid jars with labelsSpace-saving bottle storage

• Storage location determined -> check
• System selected -> check
• Container acquired -> check, now we can get started.

If you haven't already been diligently scanning each product with our Smantry App after shopping, NOW is the chance to start. Since you're handling all the groceries anyway, from now on you'll have your pantry with you on the go. Isn't that great?

To now fill your cupboard or shelf, we recommend proceeding like a pyramid. Heavy food items such as drinks, cans, or kilogram packages should go at the bottom. Ideally, they should be arranged in rows by category. That way, only flour is behind flour or milk behind milk. For instance, if you have different types of flour, it would be annoying to have to sort through the flour row every time to know which flour is still there. But with one click on the Smantry App and the storage location assigned for flour, you can immediately see which flour and how many are still there.

This is how you work your way up from the bottom. Foods that are open and frequently used should be placed within reach and at eye level, so they are always at hand when cooking. The higher areas can hold paper towels, snacks, etc., meaning storage for lightweight items that are not used as often.

Of course, stockpiling doesn't stop now. With fruits and refrigerated products, space-saving, systematic organization is also possible. Here we have a few ideas for the refrigerator and fruit storage for you.

Verschließbare Boxen für den KühlschrankOffene Stapelboxen für Schrank und KühlschrankObst- /Gemüselager für die Wand

For those who need to economize on space, we have found a great addition. Here, the space behind the door can be used for spices, oils, etc. This frees up more space in the cupboard for an organized arrangement.

door shelf

DIY is your passion and you enjoy crafting things tailored to your needs? We know the feeling, that's why we've picked out a can rack and materials for a potato storage as inspiration for you.

You've probably noticed that the difference from September isn't that big. Now in October, as the days get cooler again, the body increasingly craves warm food. I love soups and have them at least once a week. Whether it's a broth with chunky vegetables or pureed with croutons, it all depends on what I'm in the mood for.

When making soups, you can really see how much is left over from cleaning the vegetables. It's a pity, isn't it? That's why we've been thinking about how to cook more sustainably.

Perhaps one or the other thinks that we focus "only" on food appreciation. Our awareness of sustainability goes much further!

Food and its secondary packaging
Since most foods are packaged, we also dedicate ourselves to this topic and consider how we can all handle packaging more consciously.

How much packaging waste do we actually produce?
Retailers do not make it easy for us to avoid packaging, especially single-use plastic. A common excuse is: "The consumer wants it this way". But is that really the case? Food items that are temptingly cheap often come in larger quantities wrapped in single-use plastic. Thus, the cost-conscious shopper feels compelled to choose the unnecessarily packaged goods. As a result, it quickly happens that in Germany, approximately 22 kg of single-use plastic is generated per capita.

Often it's not possible without
The most common packaging for beverages is Tetra Pak. It's rare to be able to do without it, or no alternative is offered in the store. Depending on consumption, this can amount to quite a bit and the trash turns into a huge mountain.

In today's post, we want to show you which tricks can be helpful for a more conscious approach.

Fold Tetra Pak correctly

First detach the four glued corners and flatten the cardboard completely. Now fold the bottom edge upwards. It's best to align with the fold that is already there.

Turn the cardboard over and fold the two side edges inward. When you turn the cardboard over again, a slot will have formed at the bottom end. Fold the other side up until it fits into the slot. This requires some practice and a delicate touch. Now press everything flat and you're done.

The Tetra Pak should be disposed of in the yellow bin!

Second chance through upcycling!
Upcycling is ideal for giving Tetra Pak a second life.

Here are a few ideas on how you can sustainably reduce your waste through upcycling.

Label homemade items with a barcode to easily keep track of inventory, expiration dates, and storage locations.

Most purchased items already have a barcode

-The Sights of Paella-

Paella originated around 1892 from the Valencia region. It was gathered by field workers as a nutritious meal from various leftovers and cooked in a pan over an open fire.

In the following years, the meal was cooked on Sundays for the entire family. Additionally, leftovers from the week were used, and depending on the region, various ingredients were added.

This tasty meal, which could be quickly cooked for many people, gained increasing popularity and is often referred to as the Spanish national dish. However, paella is a traditional dish from the Valencia region.

Everything in one pot and out comes a great leftover meal without wasting food.

Over time, various variations have emerged:

Seafood Paella

Mixed paella (with meat and seafood)

Vegetable paella (vegetarian)

Fideuà (with small noodles instead of rice)

Baked rice (Reis im Ofen)

Crusted Rice (Arroz con costra)

Rice in the pot

Arroz Negro (Black Rice)

Far too often we see ripe fruit or vegetables that are not harvested. Some owners are unable to process the bountiful harvest as usual or no longer wish to harvest.

Wouldn't it be a good idea to make the tree or bush available for picking and harvesting? There are some counties that participate in the "yellow ribbon" campaign. Here, a yellow ribbon on the tree signifies that everyone is allowed to harvest without feeling guilty. We think this campaign is great and would like to support you in marking your trees and shrubs for self-harvesting.

The "Yellow Ribbon" campaign supports the prevention of food waste.

Perhaps you are also among the fruit tree owners who simply don't know what to do with the yield. Surely there is also a neighbor or two who doesn't dare to ask about the wonderful apples.

Without a doubt, some might miss out on a local harvest experience if they are not aware of the 'yellow ribbon' initiative.

Therefore, we have created templates for you. Choose one that appeals to you and hang it printed on your gates or on the tree. This supports diligent harvesting and makes a significant contribution to minimizing food waste.

For the Pantry App, we have decided on a three-tier concept:
Communities - Storage Locations - Shelves/Compartments. The following sections explain each level in detail with examples to simplify the structuring of your own pantry.

Storage locations

First, we will discuss the concept of a storage location. A storage location is a place where food and possibly other household items are kept.
If products are located in two different rooms, as a general rule, two storage locations should be created.
Similarly, a storage location should be established if the storage conditions differ significantly - this is the case with a fridge/freezer combination.
In the refrigerator, the temperature is usually around 4°C, while in the freezer it is -18°C. This temperature difference leads to significantly different conditions, therefore a storage location should be created for both the refrigerator and the freezer compartment.

Examples of storage locations include: pantry, refrigerator, kitchen cabinet, freezer compartment/freezer chest, basement room/storage cellar, living room cabinet, garage.

Shelves/Compartments

Another grouping characteristic for products within a storage location is a freely definable text field, which can be used to differentiate between shelves or compartments.
For small storage locations like a freezer compartment, this is usually not necessary - but for a large cellar room with several shelves, a subdivision significantly increases clarity.
Typical for all shelves/compartments/boxes are the identical storage conditions within a storage location.

Examples of how to use this field include:

• Shelf on the left, shelf on the right
• Compartment 1, Compartment 2, ... Compartment 5
• Top drawer, middle drawer, bottom drawer
• Storage box 1, Storage box 2, Storage box 3

Communities

Zuletzt gehen wir auf das Konzept der Gemeinschaften ein.
Mit den oben genannten Strukturierungsmerkmalen lässt sich ein normaler Haushalt abbilden. Alle Lagerorte in einem Haushalt werden in einer Gemeinschaft zusammengefasst - charakteristisch für die Gemeinschaft ist, dass eine vorher definierte Gruppe von Personen in diese Gemeinschaft bilden und alle auf die zugehörigen Lagerorte mit Lebensmittel Zugriff haben. Für die Planung von Lebensmittelvorräten gehen wir davon aus, dass sich die Mitglieder einer Gemeinschaft aus den Lebensmittel einer Gemeinschaft bedienen.

Example shared apartments

If in a shared apartment with several roommates the groceries are bought and planned together, they can all be managed in one community. However, if each roommate has a separate shelf space and a compartment in the refrigerator, then each is responsible for their own food and multiple communities need to be established - even though the premises and possibly even the storage locations are identical.

More examples

Examples of engaging with other communities in addition to one's own household include:

• Vacation homes and weekend cottages
• Shared housing where shopping is done together
• Office kitchens where coffee, milk, etc. are purchased collectively

Of course, deviations from this model can be made according to one's own needs. If you have discovered a use for the Pantry App that is not listed above in the examples, we would be delighted to receive feedback!

Read next

How does one manage a household sustainably?

The vast majority of people can be found at least once a week doing a big shop at the supermarket. Product after product goes into the shopping cart, until finally a batch of fresh goods, as well as numerous cans, Tetra Paks, and jars end up on the conveyor belt at the checkout. A significant portion of this shopping will sooner or later end up in the trash: An individual in Europe throws away an average of 7.5 kilograms of food per month. But how does this happen? And how can shopping and consumption be made more sustainable, both ecologically and economically?

Shop, cook, and consume sustainably

For a variety of reasons, an increasing number of people are striving to lead a life that is more sustainable in many aspects. Personal consumption behavior is often the main focus here: With our purchasing and consumption decisions, we actively contribute to regulating the use of plastic and natural resources, determining the use of land, and supporting certain industries.

If we throw away a considerable part of the food we purchase without using it, the balance is not very positive: We have not only unnecessarily consumed a lot of packaging material and indirectly utilized storage space and transportation services, but also wasted food that could have been put to better use elsewhere.

How does the fact of massive food waste fit with the pursuit of a sustainable lifestyle? In fact, very few people consciously decide to buy excess or to leave food unused. This behavior is rather due to a lack of planning: We do not have an overview of our supplies, we buy certain products multiple times, and let others that we have long forgotten rot away in the depths of our pantry.

Are there still pantries?

That there are still pantries today, and that in times when supermarkets offer a comprehensive range almost around the clock, they are not just a fringe phenomenon, became apparent at the latest with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic: Bulk purchases were publicly discussed and more and more people began to stock their pantry for the coming weeks. However, most households do not have a well-managed space when it comes to storage rooms or cabinets. Ask yourself if you really know what food items you have at home right now. Do you check your supplies before every shopping trip? Or do you shop on impulse, ultimately undermining your attempts to live more economically and ecologically sustainable?

You probably have little to no idea what's in your pantry – and you're in good company. It's not uncommon to find canned goods that expired years ago or food covered with a thick layer of mold in the farthest corners of our kitchen or cellar cabinets. Almost weekly, we buy canned goods that we already have in abundance at home. But how can we tackle this problem efficiently?

How you can create order

Some people store food at home to prepare before a possible emergency situation.

An emergency supply? That's not necessary! I have a supermarket around the corner!

In our modern world, a reliable supply of food, drinking water and medicines is always guaranteed! What should I prepare for?

Despite sophisticated modern systems, people still find themselves in emergency situations caused by natural disasters. In the news, you can occasionally see pictures of floods and flooded cellars. Soon it is impossible to go to the supermarket and you have to help yourself or your neighbors at home.

Other dangers are earthquakes with collapsing houses, storms with fallen trees and blocked access roads. Snow-covered villages in the mountains or simply blocked roads by snowdrifts.

People living in affected regions are well advised to make provisions for emergencies - by storing the most important items for everyday life, food, water and medicines at home.

What to do in case of a power failure?

At the same time, over the past centuries we as human beings have become accustomed to a constant availability of food from the supermarket, hot water from the tap and light at the touch of a button. A power failure lasting several hours can upset this balance very quickly!

The first thing to fail are the supermarket cooling systems, as they consume a lot of electricity. The cash register systems also stop working. Maybe the supermarket still sells food for cash - if you have any. Unfortunately, the card payment only works with electricity, so that's it. In the worst case the supermarket is empty after a few hours due to panic and hamster purchases. The trucks that fill up the shelves every day also stop running…

You can imagine that such a situation can quickly become unpleasant!

Better prepare for unforeseen events, instead of worrying when it is to late!

With the Prepper App you get a proven method for crisis prevention: Through private provision at home with food, drinks and medication.

The federal government recommends that food be kept in stock for 10 days. With these food stocks you and your family are already quite well prepared for an emergency - even larger stocks are of course even better!

"Prepping" comes from "to prepare", and is not to be mistaken for panic buying. Finally, it is not about buying until the supermarket shelves are empty, but about carefully choosing and stocking supplies. Like your grandparents did in good old times.  Therefore we do not see Prepper as a negative loaded word - but we called our app even Prepper App before 2019. In the mean time, because of added features, we changed the name to Pantry Chief.

How does the Prepper App help with your preparation?

With our app you get a tool that allows you to easily record what food you have at home. And this by means of a barcode scanner. You can also organize the food in storage locations. You always have an overview of expiring or expired food and can exchange it in time. This is a very useful feature especially for large stocks!

Furthermore Pantry Chief supports you with a balanced diet. Sufficient carbohydrates in the form of pasta are certainly a first step, but without a certain amount of protein and fat this would be a rather unhealthy diet.

As the last and most important factor, the Pantry Chief determines how long your supplies will last! For this purpose, you can enter the body measurements for each household member, which are used to determine the individual calorie requirement. Alternatively, you can also enter your own value for the calorie requirement. Now the energy content of all food in your stock will be compared with the energy requirements of your household. This determines the number of days the stock lasts. The same is calculated for the liquid and water requirements.

Suppose you want to provide for your family for ten days, as recommended by the federal government. If, for example, your provisions only last nine days, as shown in the picture, you can see exactly what other products you should buy to reach your goal in the nutritional statistics below: A well-balanced stock that will keep for a long time and provide security for a certain time! By the way, the example picture does not contain any fat and protein-containing food - the stock is otherwise too rich in carbohydrates.

Sign up for the app for free today!

Read next

What exactly is a prepper? They stockpile food, don't they?

A prepper is someone who enjoys the conveniences of the 21st century but does not take them for granted. In German-speaking areas, we are spoiled and accustomed to having constant access to water, food, light, heating, and electricity. A prepper assumes that this luxury could quickly come to an end in an emergency situation and therefore prepares for various scenarios. The word itself originates from the English term "prepping" or from "to prepare", which means to prepare.

Although this emergency preparedness often includes a supply of water and food, it does not necessarily have to result in hoarding food and panic buying. Calculating one's own needs, carefully planning for emergencies, and consciously selecting food and equipment can, on the contrary, lead to a very mindful approach to food, the environment, and nature.

When a crisis occurs, a prepper is happy about their well-sorted supplies and does not rush to the supermarket with the crowds to clear the shelves - they are the exact opposite of a panic buyer. Prepping is about gradually selecting and stocking up on supplies in good times - just as our grandparents used to do.

Therefore, we do not see preppers as a term of abuse or as a topic that should be marginalized to the far-right - but rather as a lifestyle, to be mindful with the conveniences of modern times and to have a suitable 'Plan B' for every convenience. We even marketed our app as a prepper app before 2019. Since then, due to the expanded range of functions, we have switched to the name Pantry App.

An emergency supply? But I have a supermarket just around the corner!

A selection of groceries from the supermarket

In our modern world, a reliable supply of food, drinking water, and medicine is always ensured! Should I prepare like a prepper for an imaginary crisis? If I need something, I just drive to the supermarket.

Such statements are heard over and over again - what realistic scenarios could actually occur that one should prepare for?

Scenarios in which emergency preparedness makes sense

Natural disasters

Despite sophisticated modern warning or early warning systems, people repeatedly find themselves in emergency situations due to natural disasters. In the news, one occasionally sees images of floods and flooded basements, of people getting snowed in in the mountains, or being shaken by an earthquake. Depending on where you live, such scenarios can indeed be realistic.

Quickly going to the supermarket or pharmacy and getting food supplies is then not possible, and one must make do with what they or their neighbors have at home. People living in affected areas would be wise to prepare for emergencies by storing essential everyday items, food, water, and medications at home.

Earthquake

In Germany, the risk of an earthquake is relatively low, yet it should not be neglected, especially in Southern Germany. The map displays in red the areas with increased danger.

Red areas on the map have a relatively high earthquake risk, while the danger is lower in the blue zones. Source: G. Grünthal et al., Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ

Hazards arising from earthquakes include collapsed or at-risk buildings, destroyed roads and transport routes, damaged gas and electricity lines, as well as the mass panic that an earthquake can trigger.

Flood

Elbe flood, photo by LucyKaef on Pixabay

This evening we have made two changes: