Product Review: Glenisk Raspberry Yoghurt

Glenisk the Irish organic dairy have recently re-branded. I have long been a fan of their organic milk. The full fat version, which until now has been the only cows milk available, is gorgeous. I don't usually use full fat milk but this one is sooo yummy that I just have to treat myself now and then. I started using the yogurts a little while ago and although they were tasty enough I was always disappointed that they didn't have any chunks. Part of the pleasue of a yogurt is to bite into the fruity chunks, it's the best bit just like the orange centre a Jaffa Cake.

At first sight the new packaging doesn't really do it for me. I liked the old fashioned style graphics that used to adorn the milk cartons. One bonus however is that the milk now comes in a regular 1 litre size, the smaller 750ml cartons used to run out way too quickly. Another improvement is the new low fat version, this means I can use it all the time.

I buy the single portion sized yogurts to bring to work with me, that only flavours available at my local supermarket were natural and raspberry. So I bought the raspberry. At 11am I sat down for my tea break and peeled back the lid. To my delight the new improved Glenisk yogurt now included chunks! The yogurt itself remains the lovely creamy satisfying flavour that it always was and although raspberry isn't really the best flavour to judge chunks on, it was great to have them there. I can't wait to taste the other flavours.

It is also worth mentioning that the yogurt is described on the packaging as low fat. I often find that low fat yogurts contain gelatine and as a vegetarian this is a big no no. I was pleased to find that the Glenisk yogurt was marked as suitable for vegetarians and was completely gelatine free.

Glenisk products are available in health food shops and supermarkets country wide. Their products are certified organic by IOFGA

What A Nice Man

I subscribe to the British magazine: Natural and Organic Products. It is an industry publication and usually just a little bit boring. This month however I was delighted to find this article by regular columist Craig Sams.

It's not often you will find somone so positive about Ireland. Maybe it takes a visitor to appreciate what we really have.

Recipe: Organic Blueberry Muffins

With the wide variety of organic ingredients now available in our health food stores and supermarkets it is now quite easy to bake your own organic goodies.

I made these yummy muffins this evening and we have polished off quite a few already! I stock the organic vanilla sugar and found it a good alternative to the muscavado sugar that I usually use. The only ingredient that I couldn't find an organic version of was the baking powder.

Ingredients:
350g plain white flour
1 tbsp baking powder
175g Vanilla Sugar
50g Softened butter
3 Large Eggs
150ml milk
I carton of blueberries

Preheat the oven to 200c/400f/Gas Mark 6. Line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, mix in the vanilla sugar. Whisk in the butter eggs and milk until the mixture is smooth.

Stir in the blueberries.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Bertie, The Greens and GMO

It seems to be big news all over the Irish sites. Some of my favourites are reporting it yet it refers to just a small section of the Green Parties programme for government. I for one am going to watch progress closely.

Fianna Fail have agreed that in partnership with the Green Party they will work to keep Ireland a GM (genetically modified) free zone. I am cautiously enthusiastic and will keep you posted on any developments.

I am in the middle of a document outlining the main concerns with GM food but in the mean time you will find plenty of information on GM Free Ireland.

For information on the programme for government have a look at the Green Party website. And for the press release in full check here.

Product Review: Meridian Organic Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce

To be completely honest, I love this sauce so much, and eat it at such a speed that I find it almost impossible to describe.

Spaghetti Bolognese has always been a firm favourite of mine and over the years I have tried many pre-prepared sauces as well as making a few of my own. This sauce, in my opinion is the best of the pre-prepared sauces. I always like to have a jar sitting in the cupboard for that emergency pasta urge.

I like a bit of spice in my food and this sauce provides it in bucket loads. The heat of the sauce is well balanced with the tomatoes and a good dose of herbs. Don't worry if spice isn't your thing, there are a variety of flavours available including tomato and herb, tomato with mushroom and tomato with Spanish olives. It is worth noting that although I use this sauce for my Bolognese it is intended to be heated through and served on it's own with pasta.

The one downside for me is that as it contains no added sugar it can seem a little bitter. I always add a teaspoon or so of organic sugar to counteract this.

It can be found in most good health food stores and is certified organic by the Soil Association.

Why Organic Cotton?

Organic cotton seems to be really hot this year. I sell organic cotton baby clothes both in my hampers and at my market stall in Stillorgan, Dublin. I have been stocking them for just over a year, and they have always been a big seller . The trend seems to be spreading. One of the local shopkeepers in the Stillorgan shopping centre was telling me that they were particularly pleased with their new organic cotton range. It had only been on the rails for just over a week but were already selling really well. If you are in Stillorgan on a Wednesday pop by my stall and I will point you in the direction of her shop.

I am often asked how cotton can be organic. I think we often forget that our clothes come from plants too. In fact, according to The Guardian's Green Living Guide: "More than 10% of all agricultural pesticides are used to grow cotton, even though it makes up less than 3% of the worlds crops" Also most of these crops are grown in developing countries where the environmental impact and damage to human health that these chemicals cause is most damaging. Imagine a country with very little water, then imagine polluting that water source. The best source of information on organic cotton that I have found is PAN UK

The advantage for us? The baby clothes I sell are noticeably softer than the non-organic alternative, they are gentle next to the babies skin, and in my opinion less likely to flare up any allergies that a child may have. For the adult it's the same. There are great brands of organic socks and underwear out there. As for organic cotton fashion items, you can feel good about wearing them as well as looking great.

So where can you buy organic cotton? In Ireland of course you can buy from me. Also try Unicorn Designs or Oxfam and I know there are a lot more that you can get mail order from the UK.

Another reason to eat Organic

With all the recent hype about global warming it seems that one of the largest contributors is being ignored. No I am not talking about Methane from farting and belching cows.

Nitrogen which is used to create chemical fertilsers, pesticides and animal feeds has a 300 times greater effect on the global warming epidemic than Co2.

Of course organic crops are grown without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides so choosing the organic option is not contributing to global warning in this way.

Find out more about nitrogen here.