Hiba Samawi (formerly Giacoletto) is a Psychologist and Coach working in Geneva, Lausanne and online.
A Swiss-Jordanian mix, she has a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Lausanne and is a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). She previously ran Healthwise.ch, a health coaching business where she also created healthy recipes.
Hiba uses mindfulness-based behavioural approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). These are more active forms of therapy where, more than just talk, you learn skills for living.
She specializes mostly in difficulties around relationships, emotions, making healthy change and eating, and also offers group sessions, both in-person in Geneva/Lausanne and online.
www.wiserhumans.com
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By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise
Growing up in an Arabic family meant that hummus was a staple in our home. Whenever we had to bring something for school events, my mother would make hummus.
Something wasn’t going well? Eat hummus. Something to celebrate? Lets make hummus.
So yes, I do like my hummus. And for a long time, I stuck to my mother’s traditional hummus recipe. Then one of my Food Coaching clients casually mentioned she had thrown in a few sun-dried tomatoes to my hummus recipe. Sun-dried tomatoes and hummus? I was intrigued but did I dare mess with such an institution?
Next time I made hummus, I tentatively added a few sun-dried tomatoes. It blew me away. Excited by the idea of re-creating hummus, I started experimenting. I added in zucchini in summer. Pumpkin in autumn. Some raw beetroot in winter.
And I discovered that there is no one way of preparing hummus - that there were endless varieties of this delicious dish.
I put together these recipes and guidelines to help you get started. Once you understand the building blocks, you will know what you want to add more or less of - keep tasting as you prepare food and trust your intuition!
Click here to download my Everything Hummus Guide and Video.
By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise
There are few foods or drinks more imbued with memories and sensuality than coffee.
Which often brings up this question: Is coffee healthy?
As a Food Coach, my usual response to that question with any food or drink is: It depends - and it is no different with coffee.
Coffee is a great illustration of how nutritional research reveals both sides of a food or drink.
On the plus side…
Coffee has been shown to increase alertness, improve mood and energy, concentration and even athletic performance. It is also a great source of antioxidants and has even been shown to help prevent disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
On the not so sunny side…
Coffee has been shown to increase blood pressure, increases stress response in the body, spike blood sugar levels, can exacerbate gastro-intestinal problems, inhibits the absorption of nutrients, increases the risk of urinary and prostate problems in men and hormone-related problems with women such as PMS.
By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise
This is a simple, tasty recipe that you can serve either warm or cold.
The combination of tastes and textures in this recipe is incredibly interesting to the tastebuds, particularly due to the umami (http://www.healthwise.ch/umami-or-how-to-make-more-satisfying-meals/) combo of garlic / onion / Feta / olives. If you lightly toast the pumpkin seeds, this also makes them more umami and lends a more enticing texture.
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes – medium sized (about 500g)
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 onions or scallions, chopped
- 200g Feta cheese, diced AND/OR olives
- About 2 tablespoons parsley or coriander, chopped
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Green vegetable of your choice – here I added some steamed broccoli as a side to make a more complete meal but you can also add a handful of spinach leaves or chopped kale at the end and simply stir through to wilt the leaves slightly.
By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise
This is a healthier recipe for gingerbread that is grain-free and vegan. The hardest part is buying the chestnut flour. After that, it comes together in just a few minutes and will make your home smell amazing!
Gingerbread
- 125g chestnut flour – you can buy chestnut flour in any organic store
- 2 tsp gingerbread spice blend (see below for recipe or you can buy a ready-made mix)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp almond butter (made only of ground almonds)
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 300 ml water
- zest of 1 organic orange (optional)
By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise
If you are looking for a latte that is free of dairy, soy and refined sugar, you can make it yourself in just a few minutes.
Almond Spice Latte uses a lazy version of almond milk made by blending almond butter made only from ground almonds with water. To that I add some sweet spices and a little maple syrup to sweeten. You can also make a plainer version with just the almond butter, water and coffee or even replace the water for almond milk. The blending action helps create the froth that feels quite latte-like.
Simply combine all the ingredients below and blend, then serve immediately!
