My Best Organic

I love receiving my fruit, salad and vegetable boxes - I get quite excited about what delights will be revealed as I open the boxes. However, I have to admit that I have had to find new recipes in order to include some of the contents into my family’s diet. Take, for example this week we received a butternut squash. We’ve had quite a few lately and at first I struggled to know what to do with them. CAKES! This is the answer provided by Jamie in his book “Jamie at Home” - and the recipe works a treat. What I also really like about his recipe is that he uses olive oil as rather than butter - so great for those with dairy allergies or vegans. I also made the cakes with gluten-free flour and it still worked out fine.

We’re really happy to announce that Goodness Direct, who supply a fantastic range of organic foods and products, now have an affiliate scheme and we have joined it. I’ve been shopping with Goodness Direct for some time now, and have always received excellent service, and have enjoyed exploring their wide product ranges for new foods to try. They also stock a wide range of natural toiletries, among which they have Urtekram products.

Of course, one of the most appealing aspects for me is their range of chocolate - they have over 200 tempting chocolate treats. They stock Plamil (great for those with dairy allergies), Booja-Booja and Montezuma, among others. They also have an easy to use key that shows if each food is suitable for different dietary needs, which is a real time-saver.

Healthy food and healthy lifestyles for you and your planet.
We gather together everything that is good for you with fresh organic produce, fitness foods, vitamins and eco-friendly brands.
For special dietary needs you will find thousands of gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and other special diets foods all delivered directly to your door.

This post was submitted by Susannah.

Ethical Superstore are offering free delivery on all orders over £10 this Easter weekend. Offer ends noon 14th April. Enter code FSEW2009 at checkout to qualify.

This post was submitted by Susannah.

Ethical Superstore are currently offering £5 off when you spend £40 – Enter code at checkout to qualify – X5EGG (Ends 7th April 2009).
Happy shopping x

This post was submitted by Susannah.

We received a lovely big parcel yesterday, full of organic goodies. I was quite excited, as I had ordered a couple of new products. I did, however, feel a little guilty about having goods delivered to our door. What about the packaging? What about the environmental costs of the transportation?

I decided to have a look into the policies of a few well known eco/organic providers.

Abel and Cole are really great in that they collect all packaging from you and state that they reuse it (I even return the string). They also ‘experiment with alternative fuels for their vans’ and do not air freight. I wonder how many times a cardboard box can be reused - particularly as the vegetables are usually (and fantastically!) covered in soil. The reusable crates and ice-packs used for fridge and freezer items are a great idea.

Goodness Direct uses biodegradable or recyclable materials wherever possible, including the use of biodegradable corn chips which disintegrate on contact with moisture. I did an experiment to see if this was true, and they did need a bit of persuasion to disintegrate, but we got there in the end. Even the boxes for chilled and frozen items are 96% biodegradable.

Ethical Superstore use ‘fuel-efficient delivery organisations’ and give customers the opportunity to offset carbon emissions by donating £1.00 per order, which is used on eco-projects. I have also personally seen that their packaging is kept to a minimum and is recyclable.

These web-based businesses also don’t contribute to the issue of plastic bags, and should be more energy-efficient due to not running retail units. OK. My guilt has evaporated…particularly as I reuse all packaging myself too x

This post was submitted by Susannah.

I’ve just been looking at the 40% off sale on Ecotopia, and found some excellent bargains - particularly the herbs and spices. For example, organic ground ginger for 59p.

This post was submitted by Susannah.

As the free delivery special offer at Nigel’s Eco Store runs out in a few days, I was having a quick browse to see if there were any items I just had to have. What I did find was this really cool handbag made from recycled juice packs by a cooperative in the Philippines. It’s very reasonably priced, eco-friendly and supports a worthy cause. I think it looks particularly summery, too. Let’s hope we get some sunshine soon!

This post was submitted by Susannah.

As it’s Fairtrade Fortnight, our friends at Ethical Superstore are offering free delivery on all UK orders up until 6th March. It’s usually free if you spend more than £15, so if you’ve been eyeing up a couple of products, but were loathe to fork out for delivery, now’s your chance x

This post was submitted by Susannah.

We have now launched our Social Networking component of our My Best Network. Using the Ning platform, which allows anyone to create their own social network, we have themed our own network and invite you to join us on there. “But I already have Facebook…” you may wonder. Facebook has in my opinion become unwieldly, too many apps, too much information, the irony with Facebook is that the more friends you have, the harder it is to actually keep up with what they are all doing because of the masses of information you get presented.

A ‘niche’ Social Network can be less anonymous, have more of a community feel and immediately more intimate and relevant. Plus, the My Best Network promotes positivity and what better place to socialise ? You want to hear about the good stuff, you don’t need other people to tell you the wrongs of the world! I’m sure you all feel it yourselves. So join us, share with us all the things that are the Best in your life…