Chocolate may be the most common Valentine’s Day gift. And for good reason. Rare is it to find a man or a woman whose heart can’t be turned with a dark chocolate truffle or bar.
This Valentine’s Day, go a little further and make your chocolate giving meaningful.
Dagoba Organic Chocolate was founded by Frederick Schilling in 2001. He was on a cocoa mission of sorts, to create chocolate made from the finest ingredients, that would benefit both people and the planet.
In that vein, Dagoba strives to achieve high standards in Quality, Ecology, Equity and Community in pursuit of what they call Full Circle Sustainability. They work with cocoa cooperatives in Costa Rica to sponsor re-forestation programs, partner with urban greening programs in the US, purchase green power for their manufacturing plant, and create recycled content packaging for their chocolate bars.
“That’s all fine and good” you say, “but how does it taste?”
Let me put it this way. My husband is a bit of a chocolate connoisseur (seriously, the man loves chocolate) and he is a big fan of Dagoba’s dark chocolate bars.
Their award-winning collection includes 17 different bars made from sustainably grown, organic cacao. In many they marry exotic ingredients such as pure essential oils, fruits and nuts. Each bar is manufactured in small batches with great care.
This Valentine’s Day, check out their 12 Bar Alchemist Blend Box ($44.95), the Best Sellers Gift Set ($17.95) or the Drinking Chocolate Trio ($29.99).
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow on FitnessMagazine.com
Has cooking become a drag from standing on a hard floor? Knees aching from kneeling on tile to bathe your toddler? Thinking of throwing in the towel because of pain from standing to fold clothes? Sublime comes to the rescue with the newest Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mats.
The Anti-Fatigue Comfort Mats are made out of a new technology that is environmentally-friendly, non-toxic and manufactured without the use of toxic, heavy metals or formaldehyde. And the cushion can actually help relieve foot and back discomfort.
The main reason I really like them is because of their non-toxic, environmentally-friendly plasticizer that reduces PVC material to help cut back on harmful chemicals associated with PVC and phthalates.
While a lot of people like the added cushion on the kitchen floor for cooking, I was looking for comfort in the laundry room. I hate folding laundry (who doesn’t, seriously) and it becomes an absolutely unbearable task when the concrete floor beneath my feet starts to creep up into my knees and back.
This comfort mat helps and I don’t have to worry about what it’s off-gassing into my home.
You can find the mats at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com. They come in three patterns and six colors and sell for $79 or less (Amazon has them for $69 and BB&B has them for $59).
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
Last week I got a shirt from the new Michelle Feis collection.
All of her shirts are made with organic cotton and are inspired by the notion that “finding that one outstanding T-shirt that you can dress up or dress down is a fashion miracle.” I’d have to agree!!
Each shirt is designed with a hand painted graphic and original line of poetry and can be easily paired with designer jeans, beach shorts or under a cashmere coat.
I chose the “sea maiden” tee and have literally been living in it! (I ordered a size up so it would fit over my pregnant belly.) Check out her beautiful collection today!
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
Here’s a little primer on handling chocolate cravings responsibly…..from a pregnant lady who knows!
I’m not going to tell you to drink some water and eat a piece of fruit. Or to have something sour instead and hope the craving goes away. No, my opinion is that if you’re craving chocolate, EAT IT!
But don’t eat a whole pound and remember that not all chocolate is created equally.
The three cardinal rules of indulging in chocolate
- Do go for dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate
- Don’t eat a whole chocolate bar, tub of chocolate ice cream, or bag of chocolate chips.
- Do explore new ground
By eating dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate your sugar intake will be lower and your antioxidant intake will be higher. Less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff. Excellent.
By not eating the whole kaboodle all at once you’ll save some for next time and you won’t be so overwhelmed by guilt, thereby allowing yourself a next time.
By exploring new territory you too might encounter a certain fantastic new little treat that just blissfully entered my world.
Q.bel Chocolates are the brain child of a husband and wife team who wanted to appease their 10-year-old, sweets loving son but wanted to do so in a natural and wholesome way. So they created Q.bel Chocolates; all free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, free of hydrogenated oils, and free of high fructose corn syrup. Q.bel opened for business in the beginning of 2009, and by the end of the year it was already the number one natural chocolate covered wafer in the country, selling over a million chocolate wafers!
They have two products: Chocolate Wafer Rolls and Chocolate Wafer Bars.
Here’s how they describe them:
Decadent but light. You’ll know from the first crisp and creamy bite that these filled and enrobed wafers hit the sweet spot. We start with a thin batter and form it into a roll while it’s still soft. We add just the right amount of all natural filling, and cover the whole thing in classic milk or semi-sweet dark chocolate. Getting the right balance of wafer, filling,and chocolate is an obsession for us. We think we finally got it, though.
When we set out to make chocolate wafers bars, we had no idea how many variables were involved. How thin should each layer of wafer be? How sweet should we make the batter? How many layers? How much filling? How much chocolate? Our quest was for a product that would gratify and satisfy with just the right combination of light and airy wafer, delectable cream filling, and exceptional Belgian chocolate covering the whole shebang.
So, dig in and enjoy!
Trust me…I am!!
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
I was sent a book to review just before the holidays and delayed telling you about it, thinking I’d wait until a little closer to spring.
One Child One Planet is a breathtakingly beautiful book with words that will inspire the young and young at heart to enjoy and preserve this planet of ours.
“Children of all ages will be captivated by this loving tribute to Mother Earth, her gifts and her greatest concerns. Young or old, everyone’s actions make a difference. Loose-rhyming text and awe-inspiring photography are woven into a family treasure that will create excitement and responsibility toward the planet.”
A fellow Michigander, Bridget McGovern Llewellyn wrote One Child One Planet “to show children that Earth is a fragile and precious gift, and inspire them to care for such a treasure.”
Back in her college days, Bridget encouraged her friends to recycle (though it was far from stylish at the time) and she carried her own Buffalo Bills to-go mug for coffee and hot chocolate around campus. Today she is a wife, a mother of five, and now an author; one who is passionate about helping children see the beauty of the world around us.
On her site she lists “a zillion things we can do for the planet.” Things like:
- When grandparents ask, “What would you like for your birthday?”, impress them by asking for a tree! Plant it somewhere special. The tree will clean the air, and you will treasure it much longer than any toy.
- Go for an “ Eco” walk, picking up debris along the way. You enjoy nature while nature enjoys you!
- Limit time on electronics: TV, computer and video games. Lift your spirits by playing outside instead.
- See if your school recycles paper. If not, inquire about starting a green club.
I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book (available on her website and Amazon.com) and share it with all of the kids in your life.
You can follow Bridget on her blog for more inspirations.
Also on Fresh & Fit with SaraSnow at FitnessMagazine.com
Gone are the days of drab and crunchy green beauty products. Today formulators, manufacturers and consumers are recognizing that green is glam!
As the only carbon-neutral online boutique which specializes in luxury green, organic, and cruelty-free beauty and lifestyle products, Spirit Beauty Lounge is here to make the transition to natural beauty a little easier.
SpiritBeautyLounge.com was founded as a place to shop online for the best in organic beauty and lifestyle products safely, knowing they’ve done the research for you. The company was launched in fall 2008 as a one-stop shop for high end organic and sustainable beauty products from companies with clearly defined humane, ethical, and environmental policies that equal or outperform their conventional department store counterparts. Spirit Beauty Lounge also carries recycled and vintage jewelry and handbags, hard-to-find European skincare lines, and non-toxic household cleaning products.
Offering more value for every green dollar, the Web site offers deluxe customized hair, makeup, skin care, and fragrance sample kits so you can try before you buy. They also provide free samples with every order, free shipping offers, and eco-beauty specialists by phone, email , and live chat to help make the transition to greening your beauty routine.
Spirit Beauty Lounge is the exclusive online retailer for a new line of natural perfumes from Tallulah Jane. Tallulah Jane is a NYC-based perfumery crafting natural fragrances made from botanical essences and absolutes. The 100% natural perfumes are mixed in small casks to maintain purity and left to macerate before pouring. Many of the ingredients are rare and grown seasonally so mass production is difficult, making each vintage that much more unique.
Also in the eco-chic fragrance category, the site introduces A Perfume Organic. This debut collection by vegan, organic, local, and raw food advocate Amanda Walker is exquisitely crafted from the finest certified USDA certified organic botanicals, hand-poured in small batches.
Hot new accessories include Apple & Bee high quality, affordable handbags and makeup bags made from the finest natural fibers like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo silk and calico. Their whimsical patterns and practical designs are made to last, without harming the environment. The carbon-neutral Australian company donates a portion of profits to environmental charities.
Laura Langley’s Exclusive Collection of eco eye sleep masks for Spirit Beauty Lounge are perfect for travel or home when you need undisturbed rest. Two layers of 50% bamboo and 50% organic cotton interior batting provide light blocking and ultra comfort while the back of each mask is lined with 100% natural, breathable bamboo fabric. In luxe damask patterns, these make a great gift for brides, bridesmaids, and new moms.
Spirit Beauty Lounge’s shipping and office facilities are powered by 100% Green-e certified renewable wind and hydro energy, and the Web site is hosted with 100% solar energy. The company ships and gift wraps using only biodegradable or recycled materials, and offers carbon offsetting for the shipping footprint of every purchase at checkout. Spirit Beauty Lounge also makes efforts to reduce its own carbon footprint. As a member of 1% for the Planet, the company donates 1% of sales to a network of 1,458 environmental organizations worldwide, and its annual donation to Carbonfund.org supports carbon-reducing projects like renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects.
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
I’ve always been aware of those things that I put on and in my body, but even more so now that I’m growing a little bun in the oven.
Which is why, though I love the romantic thought and smell of perfumes, I steer clear of nearly 100% of the perfumes sold in any traditional beauty or department store.
Thankfully, there are makers of beautifully smelling and wonderfully healthy natural “perfumes”. Here are three of my favorites:
AMBRE BLENDS
This was one of the first all-natural, essential oil perfumes I tried because the company is local to me. And though it initially only launched regionally, Ambre Blends quickly rose to national acclaim.
Ambre Blends come in three delicate, all natural scents meant to compliment one’s own natural chemistry, to produce a unique individual aroma. The custom blending of ambre oil, the key ingredient, with other essential natural oils, produces lasting unique personal fragrances.
The three blends:
- Ambre essence is the original Ambre custom blend. It carries a clean, euphoric and sensual aroma.
- Invoke essence (my favorite) builds upon ambre essence by adding a stimulating blend of pure jasmine, neroli, sandalwood and a hint of rose. The essence invokes the scent of spring blooms kissed by the sun.
- Solace essence infuses the ambre essense with a sensuous vanilla blend, interwoven with a rare special ingredient. This essence was created for the sole purpose of comfort and attraction.
TSI~LA
TSI~LA (pronounced chee-la), is the abridged version of the word “atsilvsgi”, meaning “flower” in Chrokee.
Their perfumes, from the packaging to the scents, are delicate, luxurious and unarguably among the best. Tsi~La creates pure natural and organic products made from the world’s finest essential oils and plant botanicals. All of their products are crafted in artisan size batches using only the worlds finest essential oils and active plant botanicals. Tsi~La perfumes use bewitching blossoms, exotic spices and precious woods that are steeped in beauty and seduction and untouched by alcohol, preservatives, artificial fragrances or colorings, and bottled into delicate little jars for frequent application.
Try their Eau de Perfume Mini Collection (shown above), meant to be worn alone or layered, if you’re not sure which scent will be best for you.
AGAPE AND ZOE
Agape and Zoe is my newest discovery, and understandably as its still a relatively new company. Their perfumes are 100% natural, phthalate-free, and made with simple, pure ingredients like organic grain alcohol and 100% pure essential oils.
Created by the company’s dedicated founder, Patricia, Agape and Zoe fragrance blends are crafted with love and a caring nature for you and the environment. Patricia is a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, guaranteeing that her products will be free of all chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects.
Agape and Zoe fragrances come in the following four sensual, gentle, and beautifully named blends (I recently gave one to a friend who generally can’t wear perfume because of an aversion to chemical “perfumes”):
- Beauty is composed of vanilla, sandalwood, and just a hint of lemon essence–rich and sophisticated.
- Calm Serenity is composed of vanilla, coconut, and lavender–calmly peaceful like the lull of ocean waves.
- Faith is composed of the indulgent scent of Egyptian White Musk, the tang of grapefruit, and the sweetness of vanilla–tranquil guidance.
- Peace is composed of the light, feminine scent of musk and the femininity of iris–soothing comfort.
If, like the old me, you’ve been avoiding perfumes, thinking them full of synthetic ingredients like chemical fragrance and phthalates, then think again.
There is a world of beautiful and all natural perfumes and fragrance blends waiting to be discovered.
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
New Wave Enviro Products, makers of fantastic reusable bottles, lunch pails and more, has announced that they will be the exclusive and official provider of stainless steel water bottles for the U.S. Ski Team and the U.S. Snowboarding Team at (and leading up to) the 2010 winter Olympics in February.
Both team logos will be available on New Wave Enviro Products’ stainless steel bottles beginning next month.
According to their press release, New Wave Enivro was the first company to introduce stainless steel drinking water bottles to the health food industry after their founding in 1993. The company also boasts having developed and introduced the first BPA-free plastic bottles made from Eastar (a reusable yet recyclable bottle), the first reusable bottle made from corn resin (it degrades in 80 days in a commercial composter), and the first lunch bag made from 100% bamboo.
Using healthy (for the planet and for my body) drinking containers is something so important to me. At home I drink from glass and ceramic cups and mugs and when I’m out and about I drink from reusable BPA-free plastic or stainless-steel bottles. A few years ago I gave New Wave Enviro bottles as stocking stuffers to all of my family members.
Make the better choice and select healthy reusable bottles – better for you and for the planet. It’s exciting to hear that two of the olympic teams are now on board!
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
Today I’m wearing my brand new scarf and undies (yes, undies…but that’s not my tush in the picture) from A Lot To Say. They’re a radical new clothing company whose manifesto goes like this:
If you think something, say it.
If you believe something, say it.
If you want something, say it.
Because saying it creates new awareness.
Awareness sparks new behavior.
And new behavior inspires us all to be better.
If we speak out, others will act out.
To vote. Recycle. Save.
To think a little more.
To try a little harder.
To live more honestly.
Thoughtfully. Joyfully.
You have a lot to say.
So never be afraid to say it.
Or wear it.
Everyday.
They claim that their tees (and scarves and undies and totes and more, but especially their tees) are more progressive, more green, more environmentally respectful than any other t-shirt out there.
How?
Every A Lot To Say t-shirt is make entirely of recycled bottles, thus removing non-biodegradable material from our landfills, and conserving other raw resources. They claim that the t-shirts reduce energy consumption by 80%, and eliminate the use of PVC (plastic) products by 100%.
Plus, their tees are dyed with a new process called AirDye. While the traditional way to dye a t-shirt uses, on average, 15-25 gallons of water per t-shirt, AirDye uses no water in the printing process. And it contains no PVC or toxins in the ink. These recycled polyester t-shirts last up to five times longer than a classic cotton tee and they’re all 100% US made.
Pretty cool. And they look cool, too, sporting slogans like CHANGE is not only good, it’s essential andBREATHE in wellness, breathe in harmony, breathe in rejuvenation.
They have a yoga line, a celebrity-designed line (coming), and edgier line and even a full line for the dudes.
Check ‘em out at shop.alottosay.com
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com
So, you’ll probably never sail around the world. I’m sorry, maybe you will, but chances are it’ll just end up on that list of things that sound really cool to do but never make it on your calendar.
Just the other day my Aunt Judy emailed me about a friend of hers, Jon T Howard, a singer/songwriter and artist who works by day for EcoUsable, makers of those fantastically cool BPA-free stainless steel water bottles with the built in water filter.
Enjoy filtered tap water on the go instantly filtered as you drink through the ech2o Ionic-Adsorption Micro-Filtration System! This exclusive top removes up to 99.99% of pollutants for up to 100 gallons of great tasting filtered water.
Back to Mr. Howard. For a short while he’s taking a break from his desk at EcoUsable and instead is, well, he’s sailing around the Atlantic (not quite all the way around the world). Impressive nonetheless!
He is on an expedition with Dr. Marcus Eriken and Anna Cummins of theAlgalita Marine Research Foundation to explore the North Atlantic Gyre. Together they’re joining a crew of 14 aboard the Sea Dragon, a 72 foot research vessel. They will be examining the role plastic pollution plays in transporting POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) in the marine environment.
They’re somewhere near Bermuda right now and while the levels of plastic that they’ve found are so far less than those found in the Pacific Gyre, they expect that there will be a much denser accumulation of debris once they get to the center of the gyre.
You can discover along with him by following his blog chronicling his adventure: http://jonthoward.blogspot.com/
Wishing Jon a safe journey home and a successful venture in this environmentally important mission!
Also on Fresh & Fit with Sara Snow at FitnessMagazine.com