Category Archives: Sustainability

Green food, Green ideas, Sustainability, Vegan, War on waste, Zero Waste Week

The Surprising Talents of Fruit Stones

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It’s over half through Zero Waste Week already, and I’m slowly learning my lesson that the key is in the planning! Having gotten back from a lazy holiday away, to an impending week of daily blogging; I knew from the onset the easy task of doing “one more thing” to reduce my waste might actually be harder than it first sounded. But I have been eternally grateful to the impressive inspiration oozing from everyone involved in the week, and it has spurred me on to get off my butt and get waste fighting!

But after several days of feeling smug that not one part of my fruit or veg was being thrown away, I hit a wall. Well, more accurately, I hit a stone…a plum stone. I obviously didn’t want to throw it away, but I was smart enough to realise that it would do more damage than good if I tried to stick it in my juicer! Had I finally found the one piece of food I couldn’t eat?! Continue reading The Surprising Talents of Fruit Stones →

Green ideas, Sustainability, War on waste, Zero Waste Week

How Eden Does Neutral Waste

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So, its day three of Zero Waste Week and so far so good with my pledge to do “one more thing” and go zero food waste with my fruit and veg scraps. It helps that I have a more than average appetite, and generally polish off every last scrap of food in my kitchen anyway! Over the last two days I have been using up ALL of my fruit and veg; either by juicing it (then using the juice pulp) or by thinking outside the box with my left over peelings. The theme I’m spotting is creativity and curiosity with food; all of which takes little time or effort!

But before I go further, I thought I would check in with the experts and see how they tackle waste. I have mentioned before that I work at a pretty amazing environmental and educational charity – the Eden Project – whose stunning captive Rainforest and Mediterranean biomes attract millions of visitors to Cornwall every year. But Eden doesn’t just encourage people to think about the impact we have on our planet, and how we can collectively protect and conserve its resources. They also put their money where their mouth is operate as zero waste as they can. Continue reading How Eden Does Neutral Waste →

Green food, Green ideas, Green news, Recipes, Sustainability, Vegan, War on waste, Zero Waste Week

Recipes and Uses For Juicing Pulp

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Zero Waste Week is finally here, and I’m feeling excited and overwhelmed in equal measures!  I have been looking forward to the week’s challenge of doing “one more thing” in a bid to reduce my household waste (and hopefully kick a few of my lazy habits of throwing things away too easily). But less than 2 days ago I was relaxing and sunning myself by a pool in the South of France, successfully switching off from the rest of the world and intentionally avoiding any forms of writing or thinking. Now I’m very unprepared and have no idea how I intend to approach my waste reduction; let alone what I will write for my daily blogs! That really is lazy procrastination at its best!

But as my pledge for Zero Waste week is to use up ALL of my fruit and veg – doing my bit to reduce the estimated 15 million tonnes of UK food that’s thrown away annually – I thought there is no better way to kick off the week than a deliciously lazy recipe!! Continue reading Recipes and Uses For Juicing Pulp →

Facts and Stats, General ramblings, Green Living, Sustainability, War on waste

15 Quotes Inspiring you to Live Greener

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Sometime we all need a little inspiration to remind us the importance of looking after our wonderful planet.

I often find short but sweet quotes motivate me more than reels of scary stats and facts; so I thought I would share 15 of my favourite inspiring quotes to help you in your quest to live greener… Continue reading 15 Quotes Inspiring you to Live Greener →

Events, General ramblings, Green Home, Green ideas, Green Living, Green news, Sustainability, War on waste, Zero Waste Week

Zero Waste Week: Less than 2 weeks to go!

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Over the last 5 months – as I’ve attempted to live greener without changing my whole lifestyle drastically – I have learnt a lot along the way. From shopping short cuts and lazy vegan recipes, to informative research on the issues our world currently faces; I have shared my experience and ideas with all you lovely people!

But one thing I have yet to conquer is my battle with waste; something which fills me with dread every time I’m faced with yet another statistic about the pollution caused by our own consumerist habits. I have shared a few waste reduction ideas over the last few months, but food waste is still high on my agenda, so I have taken the pledge to be involved in this year’s Zero Waste Week; in a bid to kick start this battle with the bin! Continue reading Zero Waste Week: Less than 2 weeks to go! →

Green Living, Sustainability, Upcycling, War on waste

Love Thy Old Phone (& Lazily Cut Electrical Waste)

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I still remember the day I took my very first smart phone home. Excited about the convenience of carrying around what was essentially a mini computer; I loaded up my new best friend with gazillions of useful – and not so useful – apps.  In one small device I could manage my whole life on the go. Juggling my work emails and social life in one hand; whilst sharing Instagram photos of my ultra-healthy vegetable smoothie sludge, in the other. It felt like the complete epitome of modernity.  Oh the glamour! My phone are I became two peas in a pod; in which one day apart brought about feelings of longing you only see in the cheesiest of chick flicks. I was in love…

But relationships like this rarely last. As newer, sexier models come along, the heart often becomes fickle. It’s made even harder to resist by the people whose jobs are simply to lure you into upgrading to an improved version of your previous love; dazzling you with temptations of cheaper deals and a better camera…
Continue reading Love Thy Old Phone (& Lazily Cut Electrical Waste) →

Facts and Stats, Green food, Green health, Nature, Sustainability, What to buy

Is Soy really the greener option?

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Soy is fast becoming a healthier, greener option for meat and dairy; not just for vegetarians, vegans, and the dairy intolerant, but for the environmentally, ethically and health conscious too. As most coffee shops now offer soy milk, and soy based products – such as tofu and tempeh – become a standard option in many restaurants and cafes; it’s provided the world with a widely available alternative, in which to get your protein, calcium and B vitamins.

Over the last few months I have certainly become a bit of a soy fiend; and find I rarely go a day without some kind of soy based product. The convenience of tofu burgers, soy milkshakes and tempeh “bacon” rashers have largely made my transition to veganism almost seamless; in a world where I can lazily keep my eating habits if I want, simply by switching to this magic bean ingredient!

But this has got me thinking. Making these switches has been fantastic for avoiding animal products; but as the industry continues to grow, how green can soy really be? So I did a bit of digging, and opened a whole can of worms… Continue reading Is Soy really the greener option? →

Green news, Sustainability, What to buy

10 Ethical Brands Owned by Big Corporations

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When going green, an obvious first step for many is trying to buy more ethical products; from organic veg and natural soap, to shampoos and cleaning products which haven’t been tested on animals. That’s why one of the first blogs I wrote, when trying to live more sustainably, was all about Understanding Ethical Labels and how you can work out what’s green or not.

But more and more, small ethical brands, which use these labels, are being bought by big corporations who, – through other brands and products – may often be considered the antithesis of ethical. Primarily focused on profit and expansion; these large corporations often use unsustainable practices, produce genetically modified products, test on animals and generally seek to compete with smaller, family run companies. It seems that as big brands become less desirable than the natural, organic or ethical companies; they are investing in them to reap the benefits of the booming green industry. Big corporations are really beginning to have a monopoly on everything we buy… Continue reading 10 Ethical Brands Owned by Big Corporations →