Simply prepare healthy spreads yourself

Vegetarian spreads from the supermarket usually contain many additives and preservatives. This is also understandable if you have to produce them in large quantities and make them durable. An alternative for the breakfast table are sweet and savory pastes from the own kitchen. Fresh is particularly tasty, and the preparation does not cost much time.

Especially raw food spreads are ready in a few minutes. For an avocado cream, for example, a ripe avocado is peeled, crushed and mixed with lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, a pinch of sugar and some yoghurt. It's even quicker to spice cream cheese with chopped fresh herbs like basil, thyme or chives and some feta or parmesan. When potatoes are left over from the last lunch, they are crushed and refined to taste with carrots and celery or wild garlic and chopped walnut kernels.

Image: Mara Zemgaliete - fotolia

Whether for brunch, dinner or party buffet - the basis for a spread is always a paste. For this, fruits and vegetables with a high starch and fat content are well suited. These include beetroot, parsnip, carrots and horseradish, but also cooked and creamy pureed cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and sweet chestnuts. Even nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds), seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds) and legumes (chickpeas, white beans, lentils) are a good base. Other ingredients such as fresh herbs, spices such as chili, curry and paprika, onions and horseradish are added to the taste.

Also sweet variants can be prepared well yourself. Children will love their homemade chocolate cream - especially if they join in. For this purpose, hazelnut kernels are finely ground and mixed with soft butter. Then heat whole milk or dark chocolate cubes over a water bath and add to the mixture, mix well and fill in a glass. Banana bread also quickly becomes a sandwich with cocoa powder and chopped nuts. A poem is a spread of dried apricots, almonds, dates, cinnamon and some orange juice.

Spreads with fresh ingredients should be stored refrigerated and consumed within a few days. With a base of legumes, nuts and seeds, the paste can be preserved by boiling it with constant stirring and filling it into clean canning jars. Then the spread is well received as a gift. Heike Kreutz, aid