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: 27 April 2015

nutellacookies448

By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

These cookies are a healthier Nutella in cookie form made using just three ingredients: Hazelnuts, cacao powder and maple syrup. It is a darker chocolate adult version that loses the milkiness but keeps the hazelnut/chocolate combination and adds some crunch from the roasted hazelnuts.

These cookies are very simple to make but you will need a good food processor and as there are so few ingredients, try to buy the best quality you can find.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups or 300g hazelnuts
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp cacao powder (full-fat and unsweetened)
a pinch of salt

: Published: 15 April 2015

roasted chickpeas

By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

Here are some easy, healthy options which all have a good mix of healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates to fill you up and keep you satisfied until your next meal! Combining sugary carbohydrates like fruit with a source of fat and/or protein like nuts or seeds ensures more stable energy as blood sugar levels rise more slowly and consistently.

If you are wondering what the role of snacks should be in your diet, I wrote about how often to eat based on my own experience here http://www.healthwise.ch/how-often-should-you-eat-%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8/

Savoury Snacks

Hummus with raw vegetable sticks (carrot, celery, cucumber). You can make a big batch of hummus to keep in the fridge for several days. Recipe here: http://www.healthwise.ch/humus-no-bread/
Cottage cheese - you can add chopped herbs like chives or chopped fruit like apple or pineapple or even berries for a little more taste.
Chickpea croutons are a super easy snack to make when you want something crispy - and you can add any spices you want to them https://www.pinterest.com/pin/261490322090355039/
Hard-boiled egg - you can actually make these in advance and keep them in the fridge to use over several days. Learn how to boil eggs perfectly here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eggs-perfectly-every-time-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202415 or here: http://mykingcook.com/how-to-make-hard-boiled-eggs/
Plain, air-popped popcorn.
Tinned tuna or salmon. You can place it in a wrap made from nori or a lettuce leaf.
Piece of cheese, perhaps with a few grapes or slices of pears.
Dried meat - the Swiss meat viande des Grisons is a good option.
A few forkfuls of fermented vegetables like sauerkraut or kimchi. Fermented food is great for balancing the bacteria in our gut and it can even help curb sugar cravings. You can make you own or buy fermented sauerkraut at Migros (make sure it is raw + unpasteurized).
Whole grain crackers (like brown rice) with avocado, cottage cheese, hummus or nut butter spread on top.
Grilled Haloumi cheese.
Leftover piece of chicken, meat or fish
Read more ...

: Published: 25 March 2015

socialmedianotworking2

By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity

Are you that person who’s first question to me is ‘What’s the ROI of Social Media?’ If so, I’m going to start you off with a little slide share by the very wise Gary Vaynerchuk. Click on the link below to access the slides:

How to Determine the ROI of Anything from Gary Vaynerchuk

Still with me? Great. So you now know that ROI is not about the tool, but about the mechanic using the tool.

So let’s talk about the mechanic…Let’s see why Social Media is not working for you.

: Published: 24 March 2015

plate Vert Attitude 448

By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

Finding healthy food for lunch in Geneva is not always an easy task, especially if you are avoiding gluten, dairy or are vegetarian/vegan.

Here are my seven favourite places for lunch that all have gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options. Those that serve animal products offer quality, mostly local meat/fish/chicken/eggs.

1. Qibi: Urban Smart Food
Quick, quality food and good value - and in a trendy setting to boot - Qibi serves local and organic food, sourced directly from farmers and other trusted partners. Oh, and did I mention they also have a delivery service and take away?

WHERE:
Rue Kléberg 12, 1201 Genève (near Manor) + 2, Rue de la Mairie (Eaux-Vives)
http://www.qibi.ch

: Published: 04 March 2015

deanblogtrain1

By Dean Marriott

Being an expat in Switzerland has given me a wonderful opportunity to discover and experience this country. Fortunately, it is blessed with a relatively efficient and reliable transport network which makes this even easier.

Whether you are looking to escape for a week, a weekend or simply for the day, why not start your excursion by sitting back, relaxing and travelling by train to your final destination. If you holiday with pets, as I do, train travel in Switzerland is extremely straightforward and our smaller four-legged friends travel free of charge. The general criteria for free travel is that your pet must not be more than 30 cm high (up to their shoulder blades) and is transported in a carrier, basket or other suitable container, although I have never been asked to put my dogs in containers when they are travelling with us.

One of the first and best purchases that I made when arriving in Vaud was the Half-fare travelcard (Abonnement demi-tarif). This can be purchased for 1, 2 or 3 years with prices starting at CHF 175. If you travel regularly by public transport, you will recoup the cost in no time. In addition, this also enables you to purchase the 1-day travelpass (carte journalière), as well as the 9 o’clock travelpass. Both of these allow unlimited travel throughout the whole of Switzerland for one day, with the latter being after 9am and only from Monday to Friday. Price details can be found here: http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/1-day-travelpass/1-day-travelpass-for-the-half-fare-travelcard.html