Natural
Good Greens Organic Raw Food Bar
I am kind of a health food junkie. Walking home from work, I pass a Whole Foods, which is kind of like my version of a candy store. Fresh organic produce and delicious real food found throughout, but some days I just don’t have time to prepare my breakfast or lunch.
I’ve tried to suppress my hunger and supplement my meal (or lack of) with an energy bar or health bar, but usually this just leaves me feeling unsatisfied and hungry. Many taste like cardboard, and those that have flavor are more like a candy bar, loaded with sugar. This usually compounds my problem, leaving me more hungry due to the high carb and sugar content. I wonder what I am missing out on nutrition wise as well since it tends to just be a filler.
Lucky for me Good Greens was kind enough to send me a sampling of their real whole food, natural and organic energy bars. They come in a range of delicious flavors and all but one have a dairy-free organic chocolate coating.
What impressed me the most was the taste was amazing for so little sugar. With 14 grams or less sugar › Continue reading
All Natural Organic Mattresses
There has been a bit of an explosion of natural and organic mattress retailers, many of them have been in business for years in Europe and are just now popping up state-side. Conventional mattresses these days are made with an array of materials and chemicals, especially the popular memory foam mattresses.
Unfortunately many of the mattress producers are also required to add toxic flame retardants although there are more natural ways around this. Still, many compound the issue by using petroleum synthetics, unsustainable materials, and manufacturing practices that release harmful VOCs (that really bad chemical smell from paint or a new foam mattress), and that are not biodegradable or recyclable only to waste space in landfills.
Lucky for us there are now a pluthura of all natural mattress manufacturers out there which use all natural, organic an sustainable materials such as:
- Natural Rubber (Latex)
- Wool
- Organic Cotton
- Bamboo Frames and Support
- Sustainable Wood Frames
- Coconut Fiber Batting
- Horse Hair
- Cactus Fiber
Some of the larger names using 100% natural rubber and various other sustainable materials include › Continue reading
Fearless Raw Organic Chocolate
The folks over at Fearless Chocolate sent us over a friendly care package filled with delicious chocolate treats from their latest batch. Fearless organic raw chocolate is just that, unroasted and minimally processed at temperatures below 118 degrees to preserve the antioxidants, minerals and nutrients naturally found in cacao.
It is also better than fair-trade, it’s direct trade. Collaborating directly with family farms in Bahia, Brazil to ensure complete ‘bean-to-bar’ manufacturing straight from the Mata-Atlantic rainforest. Rounding out the green package, it is organic, minimally processed, vegan, gluten-free with no refined sugars, and if that wasn’t enough, they are also Kosher.
Flavors include super-foods and exotic spices such as chia, matcha green tea, ginger and hibiscus. Donating 1% of profits to change-making organizations of your choosing (you can enter your choice on their website, but you do need a batch number from a purchased chocolate bar), they are helping to give back as well.
› Continue reading
DIY and Homeopathic Cold and Flu Home Remedies
I recently had a really bad cold or flu which lasted forever. During that time I found myself dreading taking another Advil, aspirin, NyQuil, cough syrup or throat lozenge. Was I just prolonging the sickness, and what kind of damaging effects could all of this harsh medicine have on my body? Near the end I found myself replacing the cough syrup with warm water, lemon juice and honey and then gargling salt water before bed.
Deep in my medicine cabinet I found an old bottle of ‘Rainforest Remedies’ that I got from a trip to Belize a while back. The ingredients were simple, with the main ingredient being simply cayenne pepper. I recall coconut water being another thing that really helped in my travels, which makes sense due to the fact it is a great natural hydrator and is full of electrolytes.
There are still many parts of the world which does not have easy access to modern medicine, and while for treating disease and serious illness there really is no substitute, what I was experiencing was more of an inconvenience that could probably be solved by traditional and homeopathic remedies. › Continue reading
CRAVE Green in Seattle
| What: | CRAVEGreen day of Eco-Indulgence |
| Where: | URBAN enoteca 4130 1st Ave South, Seattle |
| When: | May 11, 2011 from 6-9 p.m. |
| Cost: | $35 and $50 Tickets |
Taking place on May 11, 2011 from 6-9 p.m. at URBAN enoteca (4130 1st Ave South, Seattle), CRAVEgreen is an eco-event of luxury and eco-indulgence. Featuring Natural and Organic spa services from Elaia Spa, an eco-friendly fashion show with the latest in sustainable style with designers such as Eileen Fisher, and fresh local and organic foods and wines catered by URBAN enoteca.
Coconut Oil Skincare – Just Coco
The smell of coconut oil always transports me to tropical island paradise, and for good reason- coconut oil has been used as a skin moisturizer, hair conditioner and healing agent by Pacific Islander and tropical natives for centuries.
Just Coco is a sustainable, community empowering business started by my world traveling friend Sara Krosch, and uses all natural cold pressed virgin coconut oil in their products. Based out of her home on tropical island paradise in the Philippines, she runs Just Coco.
Using only all-natural and, whenever possible, organic ingredients combined with virgin coconut oil, they create skin, hair and nail care products. All of Just Coco’s products are vegetarian or vegan.
Their cold pressed, preservative free pure virgin coconut oil contains 50% lauric acid (the highest content possible) with natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. › Continue reading
Traveling – Eco style
Where in the world is The Chic Ecologist? Well, check his new globe trotting travel blog, New Spore. He is on a whirlwind trip down through South America, across to New Zealand, Australia, then back up through Asia hitting places like Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
You will find travel tips, great adventures, packing secrets, secret spots, hidden treasures and more. Great for the backpacker, shoestring budget traveler and culture seekers alike along with great photography along the way. Follow him up to the moment on twitter as @New_Spore.
The Big Business of Organic Foods
Who owns your favorite organic food label? Think most organic products and companies are independent- think again. Odwalla = Coca-Cola; Green and Blacks Chocolate = Cadbury; Cascadian Farms = General Mills. The list goes on and on. In fact, if you see it at a chain grocery store, your favorite organic or natural foods product is probably owned by a big corporation. See the graphic below for your favorite organic brand and their parent company.
It is the natural progression of business. In 2005, US organics accounted for 2.6% of the food market, growing at a rate of 17-20% a year resulting in a $52 billion industry in 2008.
The plus side
- Organic food is easy to find, is plentiful and the costs are reasonable.
- The food is predictable in quality, flavor and taste. Often smaller producers have a smaller production line and work in small batches with less strict ingredient or quality controls. While this can add to the uniqueness, it occasionally can produce unexpected results.
- It can expand the organic market, adding and converting farmers and updating practices to the mainstream.
