My Best Organic

I’ve had a response from the lovely people at Goodness Direct telling me that you can in fact make requests regarding your fruit/veg box contents.  You just need to write a comment in the box entitled:  Other Instructions - anything else that will help us process your order.

They also very kindly shared a further voucher code with me that is valid until the end of February 2011.  It is for £10 off if you spend £35.  The code is 32233YTV.

Looking forward to my fruit box delivery tomorrow - last week’s has almost all gone - just the mango sitting lonely on the fruit dish, with only a couple of kiwi fruit for company x

We have had a break from Abel and Cole for the last couple of years, but have decided to try it again, particularly as they have a special offer at the moment of ‘buy three boxes, get fourth free’. There’s nothing like free food to tempt us!

We decided that we needed the large box - we are two adults (one with a normal appetite, the other with a massive appetite) and two young children. The box cost £17.75 and delivery was 99p. One of things I do really love about Abel and Cole is their packaging system. You receive your box - no excessive packaging and then you unpack your stuff, store the box for a week then give it back. For those of us who hate waste, it’s a great scheme, as Abel and Cole reuse their boxes.

What did we receive this cold January morning? 2 aubergines, a punnet of mushrooms, a lettuce, a large green pepper, a large head of broccoli, winter greens, fennel, a punnet of tomatoes, 9 potatoes, 5 carrots, a cucumber and 5 onions. So far we have devoured 4 of the carrots, which were incredibly sweet, the broccoli, which was beautifully fresh, some cucumber which was good and the potatoes - which made the most delicious roasts. I’m not sure yet what we’ll do with the fennel.

One of the advantages that Abel and Cole state on their literature, is that of customers being able to exclude produce they do not like. I spent about 15 minutes on their website marking off the veg we don’t eat - you’re allowed 20 ‘dislikes’. Unfortunately, the various types of squash take up a large number of our dislikes, so we’re going to have to put up with receiving some items we don’t usually use. Maybe it’ll be good for us. Maybe we’ll have various veg rotting in the back of the fridge for a while - I’m not sure. I’ll certainly try not to waste anything.

Does this box represent good value for money? I’m honestly not sure yet. The amount of veg does not seem that much considering that it’s supposed to be for 3-5 people for a whole week. I’m certain that five onions will not last more than a few days, and the lack of garlic will need to be remedied by ordering it as a separate item. Now I should start looking up some interesting recipes for aubergines…

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.

Here are some of the best special offers currently available:

Ethical Superstore

• Suma Prepacks Organic & Fairtrade Brown Basmati Rice 500g £1.79
• Suma Organic Apple Juice Concentrate 400ML £2.88 (usually £4.10)
• Percol Fairtrade Organic Espresso Coffee 250g £2.75 (usually £3.45)
• Suma Prepacks Organic Omega Seed Mix 125g £0.89

Ecotopia

• Envirokidz Organic Koala Crisp - 325g £1.20
• Peter Rabbit Organics Peach & Apricot Fruit Puree - 80g £0.66
• Village Bakery Organic Four Fruit Bars - 45g £0.30

Goodness Direct
50% off the following

• Biona Organic Worcestershire Sauce 140ml
• Goodness Organic Sundried Tomato Halves 250g
• Kallo Organic French Onion Stock Cubes 6 x 11g
• Tartex Vegetarian Roasted Onion & Pink Peppercorn Pate

Ecotopia currently have a sale on food items - amongt their selection is a great range of Organic Chinese and Japanese products which can be difficult to find in supermarkets. Blue Dragon Egg Noodles are available from as little as 71p a pack, which seems like very good value to me. They also stock Organic Brown Rice and Udon Noodles in the Japanese section - gorgeous and so quick to cook.

This recipe is suitable for vegetarians, vegans and those allergic to dairy.  It does contain nuts.

I don’t know about you, but in the morning I want to be able to give my little boy a really healthy breakfast which doesn’t involve too much fussing in the kitchen, or that creates too much washing up.  Anything that requires a saucepan at 6.45am is just not acceptable.  My son refuses to eat porrige, so that’s handy!

The best breakfast so far has got to be homemade chocolate spread on toast.  This chocolate spread can be made up and used for a few days if stored in the fridge.  It’s so nice it probably will not last longer than that anyway.  

The Chocolate Spread Recipe

• 125g  organic dates
• 75g organic walnuts
• 1 heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder

Method

Put dates in a small saucepan and put in a couple of tablespoons of water.  Cover and simmer for a few minutes until starting to soften

Blend softened dates, walnuts and cocoa powder together

That’s it!

My son has a cup of organic rice drink and two slices of wholemeal bread with ‘Pure’ spread and chocolate spread.  The best thing about it, is that if he decides he’s had enough, I get to finish it for him x

As I sit typing this, I have a piece of Green & Black’s Butterscotch chocolate slowly melting in my mouth. Wow, it’s gorgeous. I’ve had quite a few cravings during this pregnancy, but this has to be my favourite so far. Just a minute; got to go back to the fridge to get another square.

That’s better…although I could easily polish off the whole bar in one sitting. Unlike with some other chocolate, Green & Black’s leaves a nice clean taste in your mouth. It’s not cloying or overly sweet. It’s just right. They don’t use bulking ingredients in their products, either - no cheap ingredients to ruin the quality of their products. I’m so pleased to see that their available range seems to be expanding - what a great excuse to taste-test them all! Well, I do have to ensure I do my product research x

As the economic problems in the UK continue to hit harder and harder, I’ve started wondering which source of organic food is the cheapest. I decided to do a little comparison check, taking prices from some major supermarkets as well as online retailers…

1. Organic white basmati rice 500g: Tesco £1.60, Sainsbury £1.60, Abel & Cole £1.89, Ethical Superstore £1.79

2. Organic tinned red kidney beans (400g approx): Tesco £0.45, Sainsbury £0.62, Abel & Cole £0.95, Ethical Superstore £0.85

3. Ecover washing-up liquid 500ml: Tesco £1.48, Sainsbury £1.48, Abel & Cole £1.15, Ethical Superstore £1.29

4. Organic brazil nuts: Tesco £1.99 (150g), Sainsbury £2.69 (200g), Abel & Cole £3.35 (250g), Ethical Superstore £2.25 (250g)

5. Nairn’s Organic Oat Cakes 250g/same size similar product: Tesco £0.86, Sainsbury £0.84, Abel & Cole £1.99, Ethical Superstore £1.29

6. Chopped organic tinned tomatoes 400g: Tesco £0.56, Sainsbury £0.72, Abel & Cole £0.89, Ethical Superstore £0.99

7. Organic spaghetti 500g: Tesco £0.69, Sainsbury £0.89, Abel & Cole £1.39, Ethical Superstore £1.39

8. Camomile tea bags (20): Tesco £0.99, Sainsbury £1.19, Abel & Cole £1.59, Ethical Superstore £1.09

9. Organic extra virgin olive oil (500ml): Tesco £3.48, Sainsbury £3.48, Abel & Cole £4.79, Ethical Superstore £4.89

10. Organic pinenuts: Tesco £2.35 (100g), Sainsbury £2.35 (100g), Abel & Cole £3.49 (150g), Ethical Superstore £2.79 (125g)

Delivery Charge: Tesco £4.50, Sainsbury £4.50, Abel & Cole free, Ethical Superstore free

Total:

Tesco: £18.95
Sainsbury: £20.36
Abel & Cole: £21.48
Ethical Superstore: £18.62

Believe it or not, this took me hours to do! It was really hard to find products that all four sources sell. The difference in range of products is incredible…for me, the winners for best range are ‘Ethical Superstore‘ because they sell far more specialist vegan and ‘world’ foods. They also sell in bulk, so it’s great for stocking up.

One area that I haven’t compared is fresh produce. It would be impossible to make a fair comparison, as the box schemes vary from week to week.

Here are a few of the special offers running currently:

Abel and Cole

Half price: Salmon trimmings

20% off: Fish Pie Mix, Lemon Sole Fillets, Beetroots, Jerusalem Artichoke, Pink Fir Potatoes

15% off: A selection of fresh soups

Goodness Direct

50% off: Organic Aubergine, Organic Fennel, Organic Green Peppers, Organic Parsley, Organic Red Peppers, Organic Yellow Peppers

40% off: Organic Green Beans, Organic Carrots

30% off: Organic Broccoli & Cauliflower 200g, Organic Cauliflower each, Organic Cherry Tomatoes 250g, Organic Green Apples 750g, Organic Ruby Red Grapefruit 2 Pack, Organic Tomatoes on the Vine 400g

NaturalGrocery.co.uk

Comvita Manuka UMF 10+ Honey Organic £16.14

Doves Farm Organic Fairtrade Butter Flapjacks £1.43

Enviroclean All Purpose Cleaner £4.79