better with nut butter | heyqnut

Everything tastes better with nut butter on top.

My favorite must be almond butter, but then there is also hazelnuts and oh, pistachio nut butter is definitely the most exclusive of them all. To me, it is the ultimate treat*- enjoying a banana or dates topped with a little bit of ground nuts into a delicious and gooey cream.

I can’t quite remember the moment of this discovery, but I am sure happy I did! It might have been on social media or researching bulk/zero waste stores all over the world, however, it was definitely during my stay in London. I stumbled upon the start-up company heyqnut. I was so amazed by the device, that I decided to go to hetu (in London) within the next couple of days. I brought my empty jar of another nut butter (I go through them quite quickly once they are in my possession) and got a refill in the zero waste/ bulk store on London’s South Bank. The nuts, I believe it were almonds, were just roasted and chopped and then put in the heyqnut. The nut butter was not completely smooth, with a little crunch to it which I personally quite enjoyed. After I indulged on this almond butter, I decided to do a little more research on the heyqnut. Funny enough, the start-up is from a part of Bavaria, Germany where I also have family- this made me ever more curious and amazed. I waited no longer and contacted the people behind heyqnut and have had the pleasure and honor to do a small interview with them.

What does “heyqnut“ stand for?

Our original idea was to call ourselves “Knut“, however, the Berlin Zoo trademarked this name for its polar bear. This is how Qnut came to be. It sounds similar phonetically (in German) and the letter’Q’ has positive connotations of quality and quintessence. We then added ’hey’ to ’qnut’. This was the birth of heyqnut.

Where and how did the idea originate to provide the consumer with nut butter in such a simple and fast manner?

A trip to California in 2014 marks the beginning of this project. We realized that nut butter is very established in grocery stores and has been for several years. It was our mission to do similar by European standards, implementing our ideas of design, sustainability, longevity, being consumer-friendly and taste. The twist is, however, to not do so for a single household, but rather following the leitmotif of ’sharing is caring“ in the natural habitat of our target audience- being organic grocery stores, cafés, hotels, culinary schools, schools, catering services and so on.

The idea and product is stripped down to simplicity. More often than not are these the ones requiring the most work. How long did it take you to perfect the grinding gear and concept?

It took around 1 year from the initial idea to the first prototype.

What kind of materials are used to built the heyqnut?

We solely use sustainable materials such as wood and metal. We have consciously abdicated from the use of plastic, as the machine is built for eternity. The manufacturing is exclusively done within the region (Bavaria). The woodwork is done in the Allgäu, our funnel-maker is located close to Munich, who also builds the jet engines of Ariane launch vehicles.

Does the heyqnut work manually, with electricity or a different kind of mechanism?

The machine works mechanically. The mechanism is, however, powered by a small engine through a common household outlet.

If you want to switch up the type of nut butter you are making (as a distributor) how does one go about cleaning the heyqnut?

It is a very simple process: You dissemble the grinding gear, which takes about 1-2 minutes, place it in the dishwasher or quickly give it a wash by hand and then assemble it again. We also have a selection of supermarkets, who do not clean the heyqnut between the change of nuts so that each customer can individually decide what nut they would like to have ground. The cleaning then takes place once a day- it is a matter of taste.

Where can you grind your own nut butter with the heyqnut? What is your favorite nut butter?

You can easily find a list of stores on our website. We have just started distributing new machines to new locations- we are expanding by the day! We already have locations in Germany, France, in the UK, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain. Our favorite nut butter is organic Sicilian pistachio butter or organic Bavarian hazelnut butter. They are great for cooking, cocktails, to produce nut mylks or to enjoy by themselves!

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*Despite my weakness for any kind of nut butter, it is important to me that I moderate my intake. I have to bare in mind that one teaspoon of nut butter probably equals to 7-10 almonds for example. Therefore, I really do consider it as a treat.

Photos taken at Ohne in Munich. Thank you to heyqnut for the interview!

STYLE OF LIFE

V GUIDE | COPENHAGEN

VEGAN FOOD GUIDE | COPENHAGEN

To me, traveling and discovering new places would not be the same without simultaneously checking out new restaurants, coffee shops or bars. I feel as though you get to know the atmosphere of the location more with each Cappuccino you savor, Açai bowl you spoon or drink you sip. Therefore, whenever I travel to a new city or area, I love to inquire beforehand where I can drink and dine. I might spend hours searching the internet for “best vegan food“, “açai bowls“, “best coffee shop“ at that specific location. This brings me the greatest joy and gives me something extra to look forward to, amazing food and drinks! As I love to invest time in this food-hunt I thought I would share my inquired spots with you and save you the time to do so.

When deciding on what search result to click, I always opt for local pages, even though that might restrict me with the language. However, pictures can speak more than a thousand words, so I do eventually find my way around things. Reading up on what locals like and where they go is always advisable, since they know their city best. In case you have friends at that specific destination or have a friendly Airbnb host or a helpful concierge why not ask them too. As a vegan you are somewhat limited when it comes to going out, but even though the restaurant might not advertise itself as vegan, they might still offer a vegan dish or you can always tweak and change things around to MAKE them vegan. This might occupy a little more time when ordering, however, also allows you to have a nice chat with your waiter or waitress. Without much further ado, let’s get into it:

Souls

At Souls you “eat like you give a fork“ about what you fuel your body with. As if the mantra of the restaurant (printed onto the backs of the employee’s T-Shirts) wouldn’t be convincing enough, the interior is everything you would expect of a consciously-minded, danish restaurant. Small, squared wooden tables placed near the windows which flood the inside with light. Pillows are scattered around the window ledges, inviting you to succumb to the hyggelig atmosphere ( I hope I am using this danish word correctly, danglish is a thing now, trust me) and sit for a few hours over the delicious food served at Souls. I went to Souls two times, once for breakfast and once for dinner. It seems to be a very popular place amongst locals, as we did not get a seat inside at first and spent some minutes at a table outside, cuddled in blankets. Thus, I recommend to make a reservation just in case.

For breakfast I got the açai bowl, which was topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, granola and coconut shavings. Additionally we ordered the Avocado smash, which was the typical avocado on toast, only that the toast was rugbrød, which is danish rye bread- very delicious. To make sure we are not missing out on anything, we also ordered the brunch plate, which encompassed all the other brunch/breakfast dishes on the menu, such as the pancakes, hummus and guacamole, avocado smash and cashew yogurt. I absolutely loved the breakfast and savored every bite. The only thing that did not strike my fancy as much was the cashew yogurt, but that of course is a matter of taste. When we went for dinner I went for the Viking Salad, with “meat balls“, cashews, broccoli, olives, lentils, a mix of leafy greens and truffle dressing. As soon as I read truffle the decision-making wasn’t too hard after all. The coffee was also absolutely amazing with an amazing selection of milk alternatives such as almond, oat, coconut (my three personal favorites) or soy. The hot chocolate was the perfect treat for after dinner: it tasted a little like liquid bounty because they make it with coconut milk, so good! To conclude my ravings, I can only recommend Souls. They have a variety of offers, which I am sure any non-vegan will fancy as well!

Location: Melchiors Pl. 3

42 Raw

“…is a celebration of food and drink served in their natural state. Naked, nutrient rich and delicious just as nature intended“ is what covers the walls of the hip and vegan-heaven of 42 raw. I received this as a recommendation of being similar to Daluma in Berlin, which I absolutely love. However, what places 42 raw over Daluma in the ranking is that absolutely everything is vegan and they couldn’t out-do themselves any more. The menu is absolutely amazing and has a huge variation from sweet to savory to small bites and bars. There are four bowls you can choose from for breakfast (Açai, Chia, Matcha and Granola) and pancakes. I tried the pancakes, which I believe are made from some kind of nut flour (like almond) topped with bananas, coconut shavings and chocolate sauce…heaven. I also had the açai bowl, again…I know. What stuck out to me was the granola! I loved it so much that I purchased a bag of it and took it home with me, at least that was the plan…it didn’t even survive the day. There’s also an array of sandwiches, smoothies and hot drinks you can choose from such as a matcha latte, golden latte (turmeric) or beet latte. I absolutely regret not trying one of these, as I opted for coffee again, but here I have one more reason to return to Copenhagen and eat my way through my second stay as well. 42 Raw has three locations in different parts of Copenhagen, but judging from my single visit I could tell that this is where the cool kids of the city meets and dines and I didn’t mind gathering some new style inspirations while enjoying my delicious breakfast.

Location(s): Pilestraede 32 / Waterfront- Tuborg Havnevej 4-8 / Falkoner Allé 21

Yellow Rose

It was raining buckets outside that day and Yellow Rose was the perfect shelter to keep us from getting wet. You had to go up a small staircase, which led you to the restaurant that is located on the first floor above the shops on the ground floor. This is definitely something I was not used to, but absolutely fascinated me, making it even more of a place to retreat to. The interior was very hyggelig, in fact, this is where I first laid my hands on The Little Book of Hygge and was instantly fascinated by hygge and how the Yellow Rose implemented its ideas into they interior. The colors were kept very warm, white and yellow, and the materials used natural, such as wood. The offer differed a lot from what we had in the other two restaurants, but not less tasty. I am unsure if they serve lunch and dinner as well, however, for breakfast they offer “breakfast“ buns with a variety of spreads, such as avocado/hummus or peanut butter/banana, which are the two options we chose. The buns were very delicious and fluffy themselves, which filled up my belly quite quickly. I also, once again, had a coffee with oat milk. At the yellow rose they use the Oatly barista edition for their oat milk, which is one of my favorites I like to have my coffee (made) with. Across from the counter, there is a selection of vegan danish sweets and snacks, such as chocolate and cookies. This was definitely more of a “soul food“ type of place than the other two, but that was exactly what we needed on that rainy day.

Location(s): Peder Hvitfeldts Straede 17

Original Coffee

It wouldn’t be a food guide made by me if I didn’t mention coffee. I believe I have done so in all three of the restaurants, but you know, you can never have enough coffee (with a glass of water on the side of course), unless you cannot fall asleep at night anymore. Original Coffee is a very cool coffee chain I discovered by just walking around the city. They have multiple shops all over the city, among them a rooftop location in the ILLUM mall, which treats you with an amazing view of the city. Original Coffee has their own roasted coffee as well, which I always- to try new, small and different roasteries. The coffee was amazing, they had a delicious vegan date bar and some danish magazines to flip through. In conclusion, I was happy.

Location(s): Bredgade 36 / ILLUM Østergade 52 / Nordre Frihavnsgade 2

I hope that this vegan food guide will be an inspiration to you on your next visit to the Danish capital!

STYLE OF LIFE

GREEN MAKE UP

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Beauty. It is individual, it is subjective – to place, culture, influences, the individual. We all perceive different things as being beautiful; our opinions – shaped by our surroundings, what we read, look at. All these influence our perception. Women often feel a certain pressure to concur with societal standards, promoted through the world of social media, fashion and especially advertisement. To me beauty and individuality are synonymous- beauty can lie in our biggest insecurities, flaws but also best features. They make me, me. And you, you.

Approximately one year ago I made the decision to completely live off a plant based diet and not jump between being vegan or not anymore. With this decision I developed an increasing awareness of what I put INTO my body. What kind of foods I consume, how my body reacts to them, what changes I need to make to my diet and lifestyle. It is fascinating how impactful our diet is; not only to ensure we are at our healthiest possible in terms of diseases, but also how energetic we feel. Ensuring the inside of your body is healthy and clean ultimately effects your “looks“ on the outside. Because, as commonly known, true beauty lies within. Double entendre right there.

With that increasing consciousness of what goes INTO my body, I eventually started to look at what I put ONTO my body, ranging from shampoo, body wash, facial soaps, creams to make up. The skin is our biggest organ, so I believe that what I put onto it will eventually also end up inside. Thus, I began a quest, searching for some of the best green make up brands and their products, always keeping my concerns in mind to “enhance“ my exterior beauty. It was astonishing how many make up brands there were I have never heard of, usually always staying on top of the game when it came to new make up releases. The issue is: magazines and advertisements concentrate on the “normal“ products more, as there is a higher demand for them. However, now, slowly but surely the green beauty products find their way into the mainstream as well.

I was looking for natural and predominantly vegan products, such as: mascara, concealer and a foundation/ BB cream. On my journey I discovered a heap of amazing brands offering much more than what one might imagine green make up brands offer. Yes, they have heard of contour and highlight, translucent setting powder and and and…As a first I only purchased a mascara, concealer, foundation and BB cream, as I still have a contour palette and highlighter from non-green brands and also do not want to waste it and throw it away. However, I was never SO amazed by any make up products, since all of these were the first to satisfy my needs and expectations. Let me give you the walk through:

giphy1 As a foundation I picked the ilia vivid foundation. Reading the description made me exclaim some oh’s and ah’s! I have very dry and sensitive skin, which is why I always look for moisturizing products that leave a rather dewy than matte finish. This foundation is said to have „medium to full coverage and leaves a natural radiance to the skin“, due to many amazing natural ingredients like coconut, rosehip and cranberry seed oils. I was utterly amazed by this foundation the first time I put it on my skin was moisturized, it had a natural glow to it and covered everything I wanted if I was going for a more full-faced look. The ONLY thing I do not like as much is that after it has dried it feels a bit tacky on the skin, but other than that I am in love.

For those days when I feel lazy or do not want to wear a heavier make up, I turn to my juice beauty stem cellular cc cream. This saves me the step of putting on an SPF and moisturizer. Like the vivid foundation it leaves the skin very moisturized and also glowing, however only has minimal coverage, which I personally prefer for a daily use.

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To conceal the dark circles under my eyes, which never seem to fade (my sister, however says they will eventually fade by improving my kindey’s ability to filter toxins out of my body through the power of a raw vegan diet & fruits), I use the rms beauty “un” cover-up. This is the first concealer I have ever owned that satisfies all my needs. Finding the perfect concealer has been somewhat of an ordeal. Either they were moisturizing and did not cover enough or they covered it all and were not moisturizing or even oxidized and changed color over the course of the day. The rms concealer, however, does all of the above all at once. The list of ingredients is very minimal and promising, with a ton of amazing oils and extracts to nourish the skin in such a sensitive area and make the eyes look fresh and awake.

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If I had to choose one make up product it would definitely be mascara. I love how it makes your eyes look bigger and awake. The nudestix mascara lengthens and nourishes the lashes, leaving no clumps and the lashes remain soft after applying. I have re-purchased this mascara already, since I am very pleased with the results and therefore do not feel the need to look any further. My sister has previously purchased the ilia mascara, which did not coat the lashes as much as the nudestix and therefore created a very soft and natural look, which can also be really nice for hot summer days.

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All these products are rather on the high end side of the spectrum and price-wise are probably in the same range as MAC and some of the fashion brand make up products. However, I feel as though these products last much longer. I have been using the concealer for three or four months now and there is still plenty of product in it. Thus far I only had to re purchase the mascara, because as I mentioned I love mascara.

Even though make up is fun and great, there truly is nothing better than having a bare face, where you can rub your eyes at any time, cry at the movies and splash some water on your skin when it is hot. I am a make up enthusiast, but also like to step out without it on some days. It really depends on the mood and what I am up to. If you want to enjoy some make up some day, I can only recommend to turn the other way and browse through the wide selection of green make up products there are! They are fun and do not do any harm to anyone.

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This is not a sponsored post. All the products are available on Niche Beauty,a great beauty online shop for everything natural and green!

Shot by Sarah Johanna

SOPHIE MARIE X

Tag Archives: vegan

better with nut butter | heyqnut