HI, I'M ANNIKA

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY PRACTITIONER, HEALTH COACH, AIP COACH AND COOKBOOK AUTHOR

I help women like you who struggle with food sensitivities and autoimmune diseases overcome digestive discomfort, cravings and fatigue so you can enjoy food and life again.

If you want to live your best life and enjoy delicious foods you have come to the right place! I am very passionate about empowering people with food sensitivities with the tools and information they need to enjoy food––and their lives––again. As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Holistic Health Coach, and Autoimmune Paleo Coach I look at all aspects of a person’s life that affect their health and performance level – of course with a huge focus on nutrition.

If you have a gigantic list of foods you cannot eat anymore, struggle with weird unexplained symptoms or classic autoimmune symptoms – I hear you! I’ve been living with food sensitivities for over a decade and have been managing an autoimmune disease with the help of food and lifestyle. I feel very passionate about spreading the message that you don’t have to be the victim of random symptoms or a condition — even an autoimmune disease. You can take charge of your health and dramatically improve the quality of your life. And I am here to show you how.

I am a foodie and I believe that deprivation is not helpful on one’s healing journey. I love developing recipes for people with food sensitivities. All recipes on the blog are gluten, dairy, grain and soy-free, paleo, and most of them are AIP. In the lifestyle section, you can find health-related articles, tips and tricks, and a lot of articles about my other passion – sustainability.

Fun Facts

I am half Swedish, half German and I grew up in Munich, Germany. You can definitely see some of that influence in my recipes.

I was a professional dancer before I started working in the wellness field.

 I lived in Stockholm for a couple of years. I still think its one of the most beautiful cities.

NYC is my new home (well it’s been my home for 13 years to be exact) and I live here with my husband.

I am a crazy cat lady. Snuggling with a cat is my happy place.

My favorite food is cheese – sadly it doesn’t love me back. But I still have hope that one day we will reunite – because did you know food sensitivities can go away?

I am a nature lover. Mountains forests, lakes, the ocean…I m into all of it. I know I said I live in NYC ;).

I studied Biology and did my Bachelor thesis about the connection between the gut microbiome and allergies and asthma.

I don’t drink alcohol, I hate the taste. Yes especially beer, even though I am German.

I am a Pilates instructor. Pilates saved my back!

MY HEALING JOURNEY​

I have experienced firsthand the impact of food and lifestyle on my own health. Struggling with a lot of sicknesses during my teens and early twenties, traditional Western medicine was not able to help me. After many years of frustration and sickness and trying all sorts of therapies, I was finally healthy again, mainly by changing my diet. That experience completely changed my life and my outlook on food as medicine.

Unfortunately, years later, major stress, and slipping back into old dietary patterns made my health crash again, and I was diagnosed with uveitis, rheumatoid arthritis and suffered from severe seasonal allergies. I knew the solution would not be to pop even more pills and I decided that I had to put my health first and I drastically made a lot of changes. I quit my job, went on the autoimmune protocol, started seeing a functional doctor and step-by-step got rid of toxins in my environment. After a few weeks, I was symptom-free for the first time in years. 

Empowered by the experience, I wanted to share my story and recipes – 50 Shades of Avocado was born.

I wanted to help people who were struggling with their health like me, so I changed my career and got certified as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Holistic Health Coach and as an Autoimmune Paleo Coach

This used to be end of my healing journey on this about me page. I was thriving for many years, but I had to learn the hard way that healing is not linear and that living with an autoimmune disease has its ups and downs. In 2020, after an autoimmune flare shattered the illusion of thinking I had it all figured out, I found out that I had very high levels of heavy metals in my body, and I am currently still dealing with this. This has once again changed the direction of my work and I am now focusing a lot of my attention on environmental toxins. 

I like to view setbacks as a learning opportunity, and now that I am coming out of the worst of it, I can see how this experience brought me to a place I was meant to be. I have always had a passion for sustainability and the environment and including environmental toxins into my work makes me bridge the gap between health and sustainability.

I truly feel that a lot of suffering can be avoided by finding the right diet that works for you, by changing your lifestyle and by addressing environmental toxins. I have seen it and I have experienced it first hand. If it wasn’t for my drive to find a different way, I would be on a lot of medications right now and would be suffering from a lot of symptoms. My mission is to help people avoid having to go through what I went through and to live a healthy and fullfilling life. 

Credentials

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, 2019

Nutritional Therapy Association (Affiliated with NANP)

AIP Coach, 2018

Autoimmune Wellness

Holistic Health Coach, 2016

Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Pilates Instructor, 2012

Balanced Body University

Bachelor of Science, Biology 2012

Stockholm University

Good health starts in the kitchen



Explore the Blog

recipes

Nutrient-dense recipes to satisfy your cravings. All recipes are gluten and dairy free, and Paleo. Most are also AIP, but and egg-free.

lifestyle

Here you can browse articles on topics of  health, practical tips, non toxic living and sustainability. 

Shop

Find my favorite non-toxic and sustainable products that I use on a daily basis and recommend to my clients. 

coaching

If you need more help on your healing journey, I offer 1-on-1 nutritional therapy coaching to help you thrive.