101 Healthiest Foods for Kids

'Never stop trying. Yout kids (and their health) are worth it'.

Sally Kuzemchak writes from the double position as a parent and nutritionist, introducing more or less known - like jicama, for example, foods (101, to be exact) that are recommended for children - but for adults too. The book consists of short presentations, accompanied by pictures and some pearls of wisdom based on scientific facts versus various common - and not necessarily reliable - information. 

Although personally I would have expected a little bit more recipes, preferably a bit complex too, the book is relatively easy to read, packed with important details about each food - veggies, fruits, grains and other foods such as eggs, honey or milk - and some simple photography. It covers a big range of issues, including various diseases, intolerances and allergies, as well as latest certified trends in the field of nutrition. Although it is basically aimed at parents by offering a variety of suggestions and information about a big list of foods, the information is equally useful for the adult preoccupied by a healthier lifestyle and menu. I liked that there are no exagerations and extreme opinions, pseudo-science and myths, but purely explanations, facts and once in a while a recipe too (at least one caught my eyes and would love to test it hopefully soon).

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

How to Build a Sustainable Home

One of my aims for this year was to improve the degree of sustainable living, but I mostly failed to my plans. My biggest concern, how to limit the consumption of plastic, hardly reached its aim, with a slight reduction of the average use of plastic in my household. However, I noticed that in fact I was doing some of the things right, like doing a regular decluttering, separating the garbage and investing smartly the money into reliable, ecologically-conscious pieces of furniture or clothing. 

Sustainable Home by Christine Liu takes every part of the house and recommends, for each and every room, solutions and recipes - not always food-related - aimed at creating a household with a higher awareness for the environment. Such an awareness means many things and the complexity of the book allows choices. Don't expect to achieve all the processes described overnight, but at least you can start somehow. For instance, by separating the garbage, adding more indoor plants to your home or even creating your own herb garden, repairing and/or repurposing clothes instead of just buying piles of unuseful outfits. The most complicated for me was the part about evaluating and eventually creating your own furniture, but with a bit of patience, this part of the plan can also work smoothly. 

At a certain extent and provided the limits of decency and moderation are maintained, Sustainable Home ofers tips and simple ideas for a different, less consumerist kind of life. It offers to the reader the option of picking up her or his own choices and adapting to his or her own household needs. I will not end up preparing my own toothpaste - except purely by curiosity for the challenge of doing it - or start creating my own furniture, but would prefer to make more balanced and realistic purchase decisions, based on my needs and not on the latest product trends (except books, obviously). 

Recommended if you are looking for a New Year's resolution or if you need more structure and aim in organising your medium or long-term decluttering plans.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in echange for an honest review  

Everything about bonsai

I used to live for one year in Japan, but somehow, the bonsai never grab my attention. Not in a positive way, anyway, as I considered them as a deformity of nature and therefore refused completely to think about having any of them in my house. But I kept being interested in the Asian cultures and when I was offered the opportunity to find out more about bonsai, did took the chance of a couple of hours of reading. The merit of the author was to make me interested in this topic, with the simple writing, in-depth research and tons of tips about how to take care properly about the bonsai.

Contrary to what I knew - and not only me - the bonsai is a Chinese invention brought to Japan and adopted as a fascinating item. It is made of elements that are intendede to create a replica of the nature, into the form of mini-landscapes. Kept in bronze or ceramic warthware, it inspired early yoga postures and is meant to symbolize, among other things, the cycle of life. The bonsai become popular not only in Asia, but also in Europe, where it was often exposed to world exhibitions or the topic of various books, starting from the beginning of the 20th century.

Nowadays, there are books in almost every language about it, and you can find it in many houses over the world. There are even bonsai online clubs where those passionate about these small plants are sharing their experiences and tips. 

Besides the historical background and other researched information, the author also outlines some of the advantages of owning a bonsai: it is easily transported, allows the creation of a realistic miniature version of nature, is beneficial for the health and the environment, offers the chance of exercise through gardening, it is an art form and also adds value to the house. So many reasons for such a small tree...

There are different types of bonsai - depending on the size and types - that are treated in different ways. The book presents details about various features, pruning, watering and repotting. Some of the most beautiful ones are magnolia, fuchsia, wisteria, rhododendron or dwarf pomegranate.

The author also shares some of the trivia that at the first sight look really shocking, like the fact that you have to chose if your bonsai is a boy or a girl, a choice that obviously influences its development. Who would have think about this issue?

Although it is supposedly addressed to beginners, it goes beyond the introductory knowledge and explains how to find a soil with good qualities, how to do the drainage or the good aeration, the proper roots checking or the items that have to be included in the bonsai tools or what food to prepare for the bonsai.

After going through this crash course I did look completely different to the bonsai from the Bauhaus store in my area, but I still need some time till will finally decide to buy one for my house. In fact, everything looks more complicated now. 

The bonsai photos were took at a local Bauhaus store in Berlin

Book review: How to make money on eBay, by Sarah Goldberg

I do have an ebay account, but the only time I wanted to sell something - some old but expensive German high-school handbooks - I failed so I just took it as a personal business failure. I also tried to buy once something for my bf, but somehow, the transaction did not go through. However, I know or heard about many people that are really successful, especially at selling various products, sometimes with a good income.

My curiosity to read this book was the result of my failure but also the interest to find out how to use ebay correctly, just in case that I want to successfully sell things or just to start my own business. Written in a simple yet systematic way, this book offers a lot of pratical tips about how to use eBay either you want to sell or to buy. As an online market place where you can buy and sell almost everything, eBay has a huge potential, with over 300 million users with a ratio of around 2 million new users every day, if used wisely it can give you the chance to make money from home with little effort. 

Being reliable as a seller and gathering as many positive reviews as possible is one way to achieve success. This success lasts also through a wise knowledge about your product and inclusion in the correct category and listing. You also have to write a proper description of your item(s) accompanied by relevant photo. Fast answering will increase the credibility of the seller but also the chances to sell fast.

If you plan to start a business on ebay, as in the case of any such project, it is recommended to start with a plan where to write down what you will sell, evaluate the market for the prices and the current trends. Well written, SEO-rich descriptions are the easiest way to reach efficiently your potential target. The book has also a rich section dedicated to various resources that may be helpful for a successful ebay experience.    

Book Review: Eliminate Negativity in Your Life

I consider myself a very positive thinking person, despite what life reserved me once in a while. However, sometimes you just are not ready to cope with so many difficulties and problems that seem to invade your life one after the other. I started to read this book when I was in one of these overwhelming moments, not necessarily looking for a solution, but to focus my mind elsewhere. 

I connected with this book after the first pages, when I found the advice that although it is not possible to have positive thoughts when you feel terrible, you can change your situation when invaded by joy and inward peace.

The everyday peace may come when we shift our brain - 'what controls your brain controls your life' the author said - from judging and examining people to perceptions and positive convinctions about yourself and the world. Having positive convinctions and trying not to change people, avoid images and representations that can create envy, do not focus on pas, especially on the negative encounters, staying away from conflicts of will are some of the advices the author gives for a joyful and positive oriented life. I especially found useful to remember how important it is to be focus on the moment, not on the past - that cannot be changed anyway - or planning the future. If in case of the past, I am tempted to refer to as a succeesful struggle - an advice of the book too - the future made me a lot of problems. My source of pain is when I have some careful planning ahead that ends up obsolute. What annoys me is the time spent in planning and even though the mantra 'it is all for the good helps me' I continue to be very sensitive when it comes to such failures. 

Other advices I did found useful are: celebrate your triumph over past struggles, feel and breathe your happiness and success, become a good Samaritan, create a vibrant, positive environment. 

The book can be read within an hour, is simply written and does not require complicate thinking. It belongs to the category of general self-help books that you can life without it but it help you to have some reflection when you need to see the half-full glass. Do not expect anything spectacular, just some kind reminders to live your life. 

Book review: Die Kinderkrankmacher

Although it is one of the most developed countries in Europe and in the world when it comes to medical services and pharmacology, Germany is equally the country where a significant amount of people prefer to use alternative homeopathic medicine (also a German creation). The book publised in March 2015 by Beate Frenkel and Astrid Randerath deals extensively with the use of medicine in treating various behavior irregularities by children, such as ADHD. Based on interviews and discussions with both medical experts and parents of childrenl patients, the authors outline the social tendency towards uniformity and refuse of taking the children "the way they are". Medicine seems to be the easiest way to cope with these relatively common problems among children and teenagers, with dramatic medium and long-term negative effects. 

I also noticed during my various interaction with the German educational system and society in general that there is a strong pressure towards uniformity, particularly when it comes to educational establishments. There is also a high tendency to label various temperamental differences under big medical labels such as ADHD. After all, I remember myself and many of the children I met during various school interaction as being very active at the disturbance limit without anyone took as to the psychologist and started to be on medication for various behavioral problems.

The downside of the book though is of repeating over and over again the same sentence in various contexts: the (German) society wants to create standard children and it offers permanent customers for the great medical concerns. The truth is always, in between.