Etsy seller Bubble and Geek is selling candles to thrill fans of Portal, Doctor Who, and Plants vs. Zombies! The candle shown on the left is dubbed the Zombie Repellant candle. Not only could it chase away zombies, it’s also an eco-responsible candle featuring a lead-free cotton wick, renewable soy wax made from soybeans grown in the USA, and it comes in a reusable jar. Clever, green, and such a cute thing to have around the house!
The last time I checked, red velvet cupcakes are still the reigning kings of cupcakes in terms of popularity. While I do love me some red velvet anything, I’m a bigger fan of carrot cupcakes. I still marvel at how good carrot cupcakes (and cakes!) taste, to think I found the concept very strange when I was a kid. I’m getting a friend to bake me some very soon, and I figured it would be interesting to find places that make organic carrot cupcakes.
Here’s a quick list of organic bakeries I found.
Lovely Confections. This Denver, CO-based bakery makes sure to use locally sourced and organic products, and offers carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Grant Farms in Wellington, CO supplies the bakery with some of its ingredients.
Cups and Cakes Bakery. Based in San Francisco, CA, this bakery offers the Killer Carrot, described as “A nut-free, raisin-free spice cake, made with freshly shredded organic carrots” and “topped with our signature tangy cream cheese frosting, and a sprinkling of crispy-sweet candied carrots.”
I Love Cupcakes. This bakery is in Largo, FL, and they promise to “bake you happy”. The carrot cupcake they have is called the Peanut Butter Banana, which features “a moist, organic carrot cupcake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting & an organic banana chip”. I have never had a carrot cupcake with peanut butter frosting before, so I’m quite interested in this one!
The Organic Cupcake. This Florida-based bakery is the brainchild of a husband-and-wife team who wanted to make sure that their kids are able to eat something yummy and healthy at the same time. They don’t use premixes in their products, and they make sure to operate in an eco-friendly manner too. They actually offer two carrot cupcakes: Orange, Carrot & Golden Raisins, which also boasts a touch of orange, particularly in its cream cheese frosting, and Carrot & Coconut, which features a bit of nutmeg and a vanilla coconut cream cheese frosting.
Big Man Bakes. As you can guess from the name, a big man (named William “Chip” Brown, to be specific) is behind this Los Angeles, CA bakery. Big Man Bakes offers mini and XL cupcakes, and the carrot cupcakes are made with organic carrots.
Pattycake Vegan Bakery. They recycle, they reuse, they deliver their products by bike, their treats don’t contain any animal products–whew! Pattycake in Columbus, OH seems to be doing everything right. Their carrot cupcake (shown in the picture above) looks really good too, and is packed with healthy stuff like contains organic carrots, raisins, tofu, and dry cane juice, among others, and its “cream cheese” frosting is free from animal products.
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I know this post is supposed to be about organic carrot cupcakes, but I couldn’t resist including a carrot cake that intrigued me. Respect Organics in Dorset, England offers a carrot cake that is certified organic and is good for vegetarians, too.
Knowing where your food comes from, how it’s made, and what’s in it is definitely important these days, since that will allow you to live a healthier life. As part of its ‘Know Your Food’ campaign, Stonyfield has launched an online food hunt that will take you to various websites in search of food products to fill your virtual shopping bag with. Every time you read a clue and find the right food item, you get some interesting tidbits of information about it, too.
Apart from the fun of discovering some healthful and organic food products, what else do you get for taking part in the hunt? If you’re one of the first 50,000 people to fill up your tote, you can get great coupons from the online grocery list. You may even be the winner of the grand prize: a $15,000 kitchen makeover.
Stonyfield’s virtual scavenger hunt began yesterday, but don’t worry–you’re not too late for the party! The hunt goes on until May 21, so you have plenty of time to take part in the game and maybe even win the big prize.
Photo from PR Newswire
Here’s a CNN feature on eco-friendly trikes here in the Philippines. The trikes are currently operating in a limited part of Metro Manila, but I personally love the look and idea, and I hope the e-trike program will be implemented more widely in the near future. I like the approach they used to promote the concept to tricycle drivers as well. While highlighting the environmental benefits sounds like a good idea, many people generally have an I-don’t-give-a-@#!* attitude towards the environment, and are more concerned about having money to feed their families. Hence, the program focused on the economical benefits instead.
Alicia Silverstone’s dedication to a healthy lifestyle is no secret, and she’s taking it even further by teaming up with skin care and cosmetics company Juice Beauty. The company pledges to provide effective organic products, to support local farmers, and to keep sustainability in every aspect of its business and operations, so you can see why Juice Beauty and Alicia are a good fit.
Far from the usual celebrity-branded product lines, Alicia’s proud of her involvement in the creation of all five products in the collection. In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Alicia said, “This is who I am. This is not just something I’m slapping my name on. I would never align myself with something that I don’t 100 percent believe in. I think people count on me for that, and I take pride in that.”
Her Juice Beauty collection includes a cleanser, moisturizer, and lip color. All items from her collection can be purchased here.
My mother and I went on a quick trip to Antipolo City the other day to buy the usual goodies: suman, kalamay, and cashew nuts. To our surprise, the seller wrapped our purchases in old newspaper pages. It looks like the city really is taking its plastic bag ban seriously, so well done, Antipolo.
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Earlier today, I headed over to Santis Deli for some cheese and phyllo. It’s been about a couple of months since I was last there, so I was happy to see that they’ve done away with their plastic bags and are using paper bags instead, although they encourage people to bring their own bags.
I think it’s pretty amazing how more and more supermarkets here are encouraging people to bring their own shopping bags, when just a few years ago, the idea wasn’t very popular. Some places are charging for plastic bags as well, and many are selling their own branded reusable bags. Now if only more people would actually start using reusable bags.
Photo by Jackerbie/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
We’ve all heard about how the right light bulb can slash our power bills and energy use. It looks like the right light bulb is finally here. This bulb created by Phillips won the L Prize, a contest launched by the U.S. Congress in 2007 to replace the standard “incandescent” 60-watt bulb. The light bulb is definitely energy-efficient, using only 10 watts and has a lifespan of 30,000 hours or 20 years when used for four hours a day. It also doesn’t contain any mercury vapors unlike CFLs, and it emits a warmer, natural-looking light. The catch? Oh, the $60 price tag. Fortunately, Phillips is looking for ways to bring the price down. Still, I’m sure there are people out there who’d willingly fork over $60 to give the bulb a try, if it means never having to change light bulbs for a long time and being able to save money.
H&M has come out with its collection of eco-friendly gowns and dresses. The line is called the Exclusive Glamour Collection, and features dresses made of hemp, organic cotton, and recycled polyester. It’s definitely a great way to take the concept of eco-friendly fashion even further, showing all of us that it’s not only shirts, tops, and pants that can be green.
When plans for SM City Baguio were unveiled around 10 years ago, people were naturally offended by the idea. SM malls are known for being large sprawling structures, and one can imagine how out of place a mall would be in Baguio City. Despite criticism and protest, the plans pushed through, and today, SM stands there as a hulking eyesore. Even if the place uses natural lighting, has no air conditioning, and features gardens, they don’t seem to be enough to make up for plopping a huge structure like SM on top of Luneta Hill in a city that’s struggling environmentally. People went to the mall anyway–no one can resist the siren call of an SM mall in their midst.
And then a few days ago, this picture came out.
This picture shows trees being cut to make way for new facilities being built as part of SM City Baguio’s redevelopment plan. Rappler.com reports that SM has plans to cut a total of 182 trees from the hill, an issue which local residents have been protesting since January this year. SM has released a statement, but the concept of cutting trees to expand the mall still doesn’t sit well with many people. SM promises that the trees are being earthballed and that they will be replanting new trees as well. However, with SM being a major company that conducts rapid and aggressive expansions of its properties all over the country, to the point where I think the Philippines will be eventually swallowed up by their malls, supermarkets, and high-rise residential buildings. I have to say I’m raising a skeptical eyebrow at that statement.
A Temporary Environment Protection Order has been issued, halting the project for now. For people who have been protesting against the tree cutting and SM’s greed, the TEPO is a very good thing, but there’s no doubt that we’d all like to see SM do away with their redevelopment plans permanently. I’m not holding my breath, though, because when has SM paid attention to protests in the first place? Not when they were building SM Marikina, and certainly not when people objected to the construction of Berkeley Residences and Blue Residences along Katipunan Avenue.
Update: Oh well.
Photo from the Boycott SM Baguio Facebook group
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