Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 05 April 2016

hiba coffeecup 500

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.

: Published: 09 March 2016

sweetpotatostirfry

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.

: Published: 08 February 2016

JulieSMP5

By Julie Tompkins-Wagner, www.Julie-music.com

As a performing arts educator, I am often putting my students on stage in all kinds of settings. I believe that this is a crucial part of their overall education and preparation for life. From the earliest years, encouraging your child to step up, prepare and deliver a performance is something that cannot be learned in any other way than by doing. As soon as children are old enough to speak clearly, sing a little song or move to some music, having them perform in front of an audience of any kind, be it large or small, family and friends, at school in a group or on stage in a recital, on their own or with a group, at school or summer camp, teaches your child how to face an audience and present themselves.

Just think about how many times in life those skills come in to play. Whether presenting a project at school, interviewing for university entrance, an internship or a job, or on the job—presenting your product, your marketing or organizational plan, or an idea of any sort, the presentation skills are all a part of life.

: Published: 06 January 2016

SOM Horizontal Go Month

By Virginie Dor, Space of Mine

According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, organizing is the second-most popular New-Year’s resolution, just after losing weight! Thinking back on it, it seemed to me that organizing your tangible resources, your time, your thoughts, and your energy is the key to reaching all of our other resolutions too.

It is no coincidence that the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has named January National Get Organized month.

Still not convinced? According to a NAPO public survey, 82% of people believe that if they were more organized, their quality of life would improve.

So here are a few tips to get 2016 off to a great start:

: Published: 10 December 2015

Pension Protection Funds Image500

By Dr Graham Brown, Forth Capital

The majority of FTSE 100 Company schemes are in deficit, which is where their pension liabilities exceed their assets and it is clear that the employer does not have the means to make up the deficit in the short term. The numbers are startling according to a Financial Times article on September 7th 2015: