Welcome to day 7 of the Stress Less Holiday Advent Calendar. Today we are going to tackle one of the biggest stressors of the holiday season: gifts! In today's video I help you to re-think the idea of gift giving, I give you three tips on how to tackle your gift list, and a bonus tip for something you can do this coming year to make gift giving in the future less stressful. So tune in and get inspired. Plus I have created a little gift guide for everyone in your life with som

I know giving gifts can be super stressful, especially when we are just giving gifts for the sake of giving gifts and spending money, rather than giving gifts to spark joy and to care for someone we love. Make sure to watch today's Stress Less Holiday Advent Calendar for some tips on how to re-think gift giving. In order to help you feel a little stressed out this holiday season I've put together a gift guide with some of my favorite things I love to give. Kids of all ages Ok

Recently in my daily health tips over on Insta stories (yes, there is a new tip every day!) I shared a super easy kitchen swap to make recipes healthier. You all said that was super useful to you, so here we go! My top 10 kitchen swaps to make any recipe more nutritious: 1. White sugar to coconut sugar This was the original tip, and I will kick off this list with it, because I love it so much. Literally any recipe that calls for white (or brown) sugar can be made with coconut

Welcome back to the Fitness Advent Calendar. Sunday is here, and I am sure you are running last minute Christmas errands. Come and join me for just 10 minutes today to rest, relax, and de-stress. Today's session feels like a mini holiday for your nervous system. It's pure bliss! Enjoy. Finishing up your last gifts this weekend? Here is a list of all the homemade gift ideas from the blog again, just in case you need some last minute inspiration :-) Relaxing herbal tea Holiday

The next gift idea is here: homemade spice mixes. They are unique, delicious, super useful to anyone who wants to throw something together in the kitchen. You can give them all at once or just make one that you enjoy the most. Also feel free to stock your own pantry with them :-) I like to use Ikea spice jars for gifts like this, but you can fill them into little bags or other small jars, too. Be creative, add a cute label, and maybe even a little wooden spoon. Mulling spice

Ooooh, this is a nice question! I know that when you follow me on social media or even here on the blog, it seems like I make everything from scratch, and just live in the kitchen. And to be honest, I do. I probably cook around two hours a day - BUT that is my life. I spend so much time in the kitchen so you don't have to. I test recipes, and come up with little tips and tricks to make cooking more fun, give you short cuts, and to get the most nutrients out of your meal. I ha

The time is here! By the end of this week I will be embarking on a trip - all by myself! No baby attached. I am excited and super worried of course. I keep repeating the mantra "Baby Zand will be fine!". And then I think of all the wonderful things that I can do when I travel alone: read a book on the plane, actually get some sleep, pee whenever I need to, and not lug around an entire roomful of toys for her entertainment. After Arman presented me with a list of foods I need

I never thought I would be THAT parent: the one who makes everything from scratch, including play dough! When it comes to food, you know how I do make a lot of things from scratch in order to avoid harmful additives, like making my own coconut milk, vegetable broth, or hummus. I am picky about how much plastic we have in the house around Baby Zand, and have opted for a wooden children's table, she eats from real plates and bowls, and has a stainless steel water bottle. But I

Mmmh Sauerkraut... you either love it or you hate it. As a German, it is in my blood to love it :-). Every fall I make a big batch of sauerkraut to add to my daily lunch and dinner bowls. Sauerkraut is an amazing source of healthy bacteria - also called probiotics. They are responsible for superb digestion and a healthy immune system. Building your immune system is a year long commitment, but making extra efforts now in the fall can be really helpful to survive the cold and f

While I make a lot of things from scratch, I used to buy coconut milk. The task of breaking open a coconut, scooping out the flesh, and blending it with the coconut water always seemed a bit too much work at 6am, when I am stirring oatmeal with one hand while Baby Zand is hanging half asleep on my other arm. Eventually, this trade off of quick coconut milk versus all the extra additives became too much to bear for me; especially once I started feeding this to my daughter. Soo

Ok, this might seem weird to you to be something you home make. But once you have tried this recipe and see how super easy and quick it is, you may never go back to conventional toothpaste! A few years ago, after spending lots of time cleaning up my diet, I raided my bathroom cabinets. I cleared out most of my conventional make up and beauty products. Once I started to read the ingredients list, I was shocked with how many things there were in there that I could not pronounce

Every summer for the last few years I have revised this little popsicle book, and here is the new edition with three brand new, super refreshing recipes. Popsicles are easy desserts in the summer, refreshing snacks after a workout, and a mini holiday escape during a stressful day. This new edition contains a longer intro with tips on the ingredients used in the recipes, and how to go about stacking your freezer with delicious popsicle flavors. I highly encourage you to use th

One of my favorite ways to make my morning porridge fancier is to top it with fruit compote. This can be made with any kind of seasonal fruit, and it can cook on the side while you do other food prep. The great thing is that you can prepare a huge batch and upgrade your breakfast for several weeks this way. This specific compote gets Christmas flavors by adding vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves. Cook a big pot now, and serve on Christmas morning for a healthy and super delicious

Don’t make this holiday season an excuse to pile on the pounds and feel lethargic, exhausted, and terrible in your own body. One of the easiest ways to avoid this, is to homemake most of the things on your table… and this is never more true than at Thanksgiving. How easy is it to order the turkey, crack open a can of sweet potatoes, and use jarred cranberry sauce? Once you have basted your own bird, slaved over your stuffing, and cooked the other sides from scratch, you will

Are you new to Shanghai and struggling to find anything healthy you are used to? Then look no further! I have compiled a little guide to my favorite places to shop and eat. It’s part of the tips I give to any new person I meet in Shanghai, so I thought I may as well write it up as a blog post :-) Use your Shanghai time to go back to the basics First of all, think of moving to Shanghai as a time to learning the basics again. At home, we often rely on convenience products - mos

Bear with me for a second. You may think I am crazy, already talking about Christmas in August, but there is a good reason behind this madness! End of the year holidays mean lots of baking, and with that an unusual amount of vanilla extract buying. This can get pricey, especially when you live in Asia, where good quality vanilla extract is hard to come by! I have come up with my own way of making vanilla extract at home. It takes about 2-3 months, but you have absolutely noth