Smoothies and Bamboo Straws
February is here and I’m still feeling that I’m in need of some vitamin D – we’ve been experimenting with smoothies (and a guilt of all the plastic straws we have ever used hanging over me).
So first – smoothies – make it up as you go along, however here’s what’s in this one (makes two portions)…
- Almond milk (a good source of Vitamin D and in a recyclable carton)
- Thumb sized chunk of ginger peeled and grated (purchased loose from the local store, no plastic* – bonus)
- Banana (Fairtrade, and try to buy loose, after all, they have thick skins, nature’s packaging at its best)
- Kiwi Fruit (high in fibre, vitamins C, A and E and a good source of antioxidants)
- Handful of Kale (right, this is where Riverford organics comes in handy – no plastic bags!)
- Squeeze of Lime
So let’s talk #TheLastStraw – I’ve always been frugal, and used the same plastic straws over and over again at home; and now in bars and restaurants, it’s great to see so many of us re-training ourselves to say ‘no thank you’ to straws in our glasses, as although using one straw doesn’t seem like a big deal, – it is estimated that the UK and US alone throw away around 550 million plastic straws every day. Each one of those straws is used for an average of maybe 20 minutes (probably just once) the problem with plastic straws is one of sheer volume.
If you’d like to find out what you can do to cut down on your plastics, and how you too can work to inspire a generation to save our oceans check out both the @oceangeneration and @theglobalgoals instagram pages.
We can all work together to raise awareness, encourage attitude shifts and create behavioural change – starting with the simple plastic straw – try a bamboo straw.
More that you can do to tackle the plastic problem:
Do you have bread bags, polythene, toilet roll bags, bubble wrap etc you want to recycle? post it to Polyprint. http://polyprint.co.uk/recycling/ accepts recycling from the general public. Please visit their website for details. 
Mid writing this post about Smoothies and Bamboo Straws and Saving the Oceans, I happened to have a chat with Eve Broadis from fairtradescotland.co.uk who has been telling me about their exciting tartan news (more on that soon). Meanwhile follow @fairtradesco on instagram, and take a look at the funky tartan covers they have been making for the Suck On That bamboo straws!
Suck On That is a social enterprise founded in Cambodia in 2017, with the initiative to promote the use of bamboo straws as an alternative to plastic. Their straws are reusable, environmentally friendly, and fair trade.
It is the first and only Fair Trade straw in the world so that means that they ensure that the straws are made according to all the 10 WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization) Fair Trade principles. Suck On That is partnering with two WFTO Guaranteed Members to not only have a positive environmental impact but also a positive social impact.
These bamboo straws are hand crafted by Khmer villagers, creating employment opportunities for disadvantaged Cambodian communities. Suck On That are passionate about supporting Cambodian villagers through fair employment and ensuring a safe working environment. Follow them on instagram to keep up to date with their news.
Suck On That will be distributing the straws through wholesale and retail to businesses and individuals fed up with wasteful and environmentally harmful plastic straws. Contact them here: http://suckonthat.com/#contact
I asked Eve to tell me why Bamboo vs paper or Aluminium straws?
Eve: “I picked up the metal straw in Cambodia – at a cafe where we were telling the owner that she needs to ensure bamboo straws are sourced sustainably – there are lots of people thinking ‘wild bamboo’ is more natural – not realising that once it’s gone it’s gone! Replanting is about sustainable livelihoods 
buying these straws mean producers can plan for the future rather than live a a hand to mouth existence.
Paper straws mean more trees will be cut down and metal straws are not good either due to the process of the metal having to be heated to high temperatures and the overall process and working conditions of the mining metal workers**.
So my job – as a WFTO GS (World Fair Trade Organisation Guarantee System) member is to look at the whole supply chain and guarantee is the best there is!
**Once mined, aluminum within the bauxite ore is chemically extracted into alumina, an aluminum oxide compound, through the Bayer process. In a second step, the alumina is smelted into pure aluminum metal through the Hall–Héroult process.”
Really pleased to share this article on bamboo straws – we will be stocking them with lovely WFTO Tartan pouches – watch this space – coming soon 👍
Posted by Fair Trade Scotland on Monday, 29 January 2018
Read more about plastic in tea bags here
Further zero-waste reading:
Plastic Free Conditioner from JustLittleChanges
Easy Coconut Oil Deodrant DIY from allotmentrecipes
Planning to cut waste from eachlittlestep
Getting stuff done in the kitchen from juicyfig
Zero waste and some recipe ideas from spotofearth.com
All of the soups are home made, and incredibly healthy. Made from organic vegetables, packed with nourishing vegetable protein. They’re creamy with blended nuts and are gluten and dairy free too.
Interestingly, they use no flours, potato, starch, yeasts or sugars in their soups and broths either.
UPDATE – winners announced:
You may well be familiar with Sophie la girafe? She is a natural rubber teething toy – born in France, on St Sophie’s Day way back in 1961 – she’s OLDER than me!!
I’m sure like me, you’ve bought several pairs of flip-flops in your life – but have you ever really thought about who made them and where they were made? And indeed, WHAT they were made of??
Be part of the solution, caring about sustainability as much as who makes them – every step makes a difference
WIN a pair – Giveaway
We have been experimenting with making a vegan pancakes, to try to get them JUST right (as they can be quite WRONG sometimes!!) and we think we’ve cracked it – no pun intended, in fact no egg related products are featured in this blog post AT ALL!
We have made QUICK pancakes previously with 
So – what do you need, well, you could just watch the YouTube video HERE – as I will talk you through the recipe stage by stage, in fact, do that, but come back here to pick up the ingredients list…
To make the pancakes:
When you are ready to make the vegan pancakes, take a large ladle full of the batter, and pour slowly into the hot frying pan – we like to use a small cast iron pancake, they are easy to clean, and get nice and hot (you will need an oven glove, or tea towel to hold the handle of the frying pan, as that gets hot too!)
Oh how we love a scented candle – for as long as I remember, we’ve burnt candles in our homes, wherever we’ve lived around the country.
INSTRUCTIONS