Swiss Water

The Swiss Water Process is a sustainable method of decaffeinating coffee, which is why we take quite an interest in programs that promote and educate better care of the world we live in.

We’ll be mentioning some of the initiatives that have inspired both kids and adults to be eco-friendly on our Twitter account over the next week. Terracycle, however, is innovation worthy of a blog post.

It’s called “upcycling;” a term that refers to taking a discarded product or item and reusing it for something else. The founder of Terracycle, Tom Szaky, came up with the idea for the program when he was making sustainable fertilizer made from worm waste and didn’t have enough funding to package his product. The then 19 year old started putting the fertilizer in empty, used pop and water bottles, and the concept was born.

Now Terracycle is a fully matured program that encourages young and old to collect items that they can upcycle into new products, which are also available on the site for purchase (we’ve got our eye on these circuit board coasters for our coffee mugs around the office.) Terracycle then pays you for your efforts in the form of a donation on your behalf to one of the charities they’re affiliated with. Now schools, organizations, and businesses are pooling together to “sell” they’re unwanted garbage into profit-donations of their choosing.

We’ll be mentioning some other creative ways people are contributing to sustainability, so give us a shout if you’ve come across anything inspiring that we can point our readers to.

We’re a fan of the straightforward, simple approach that Jason, over at CoffeeCupNews, brings to the activity of coffee tasting. You should try it sometime. According to Jason, all you need to effectively taste and describe coffee is a “nose, a mouth, and a French press.” Why not approach your next cup of coffee with the seriousness of a connoisseur? Who knows, you might wind up finding a new hobby and starting your own blog about coffee, or a Youtube channel.

If you do wind up taking Jason’s advice, and getting into the slurping fun of coffee tasting, we’d love it if you reviewed a cup of decaf that’s been processed by the Swiss Water Process. We’re always curious (and confident) to see how our Process fares outside of our lab when it comes to taste. Are you a coffee enthusiast with your own blog or video channel like CoffeeCupNews? We’re always looking for coffee lovers to feature on our blog, especially those with an interest in decaf. If so, go ahead and link us in the comment section of this post. Simple, and easy, just like enjoying a good cup of coffee.

We read a lot of blogs to help us gain insight into how people on an individual level are approaching a Decaf Lifestyle. One such blog is called Keep It Real: Celebrating the Natural and the Hand Made in a World Full of Things That Are Not. It’s written by a full-time mother named Alyssa who’s expecting in the Fall. What tipped us off to her blog was the nice write up about our Process that she gave us in one of her recent posts about coffee.

As much as we love to see how The Swiss Water Process helps coffee lovers enjoy an organic and environmentally ethical decaf, that’s not the topic of our blog today. Instead, we wanted to bring your attention to something else Alyssa mentioned in her post; the Whole Food Bible.

Written by Christopher Kilham, the Whole Food Bible seems like a good reading choice for those of us new to incorporating healthy and ethical choices into their diets. It was published in 1996, pretty long ago, so we’re curious if anyone else, besides Alyssa at Keep It Real, have found this book to be helpful.

Do you author a blog about natural food choices or coffee? Do you have a favourite book similar to the Whole Food Bible? If so, feel free to post it in our comments section. We’re always looking for more material to add to our growing list of things to read on the weekend.

Using reusable bags to carry home food from your local grocery can result in the spread of bacteria that causes foodborne illness according to a report that was recently released. In fact, 97% of the subjects interviewed in the study didn’t regularly wash or renew their shopping bags, revealing reusable cloth and plastic bags as largely overlooked despite the important cargo they carry. We have to admit, it’s something that we didn’t think of despite how obvious it became after we came across this article. Besides washing or replacement, here are a few tips to keep you safe from cross contaminating food in transit from the store to your door:

1) Make sure you’re keeping raw foods away from other food products
2) Use your reusable grocery bags for just groceries
3) Make sure you’re not keeping your reusable bags in high heat areas that can help bread bacteria

Most importantly, wash those bags! If it’s been awhile, or you just don’t feel like doing laundry, get new ones. Why take the risk? Keep clean, keep safe, and of course, keep recycling and reusing!

We’ve been discussing healthy diets, exercise, and sustainability quite a bit as of late. So let’s switch gears for a bit, and get back in touch with our first love, coffee! Don’t get us wrong, we’re still hooked on the Decaf Life, but this batch of videos that we found on Epicurious are pretty informative, and worth a mention. Seven videos in all, that cover everything from buying to brewing. We’ve started with episode one, embedded above this blog post. After that, you’re on you own, but if you’re looking for the others, they’re right here. Enjoy the movies! Just go easy on the butter with your popcorn.

Image: joyosity via Flickr

A recipe blog we are not, but with the warmer days of summer upon us we’re always looking for healthy ways to incorporate lighter fare into our diets. This blog, in fact, is dedicated to lessening things that aren’t so great for us, and increasing the things that are. This salad, which was recommended to us by one of our Twitter followers is packed with goodness since it’s main ingredient is the kale, part of the collard family that we mentioned in an earlier post that is so good for us.

This salad is so easy, the way all summer cooking should be. It comes by of Epicurious, which is an excellent resource for recipes online. Rich, hearty, and most importantly, raw; so it won’t lose any of those excellent nutrients that can be lost by cooking fresh vegetables. It’s also inspired by a popular New York city restaurant’s antipasto, just to throw a little authenticity and sophistication into the mix. So let’s get down to business.

Lacinato Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad

Makes six servings | prep time: 25mins

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 to 1 pound lacinato kale (also called Tuscan kale) or tender regular kale, stems and center ribs discarded
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces coarsely grated ricotta salata (1 cup)

PREPARATION:
Working in batches, cut kale crosswise into very thin slices.
Whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.
Toss kale and ricotta salata in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat well, then season with salt and pepper.

Easy and delicious! Just the way we like to toss it. If you have any other summer recipe favourites, paste them in the comments for this post, or our Facebook wall, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

It’s not something you should be afraid to fly over, and we’re not referring to something you ring on the porch to announce dinner. What we mean by a healthy triangle is a three point mandate for a healthier lifestyle. The concept of this triangle is easy to behold, but just as easy to fall out of line with. So let’s give it another ring, since it’s so beneficial to feeling great.

Point 1: Eat well
There are so many options and beliefs about how to diet that it’s a whole blog post in itself. No, wait, actually it’s an entire blog! Like this one. So, when in doubt, we like to refer to the Canada Food Guide for advice on this one. If you hit on even a few of their suggestions, we’re sure you’d be in better shape than most of us when it comes to eating well.

Point 2: Exercise often
How much? How often? How hard? Again, we’re on a topic with all kinds of opinions. So we’re just going to suggest (within reason, of course): as much as you can , as often as you like, and as strenuous as you feel you can manage.

Running, biking, walking on the beach, playing a sport, working in the garden are all ways that we can get a little fitness into our routine. Everyone is at a different stage  in their lives, so all we’re suggesting is that you find some way to stay active. Once you find out exactly what that is, do it as much as you can!

Point 3: Sleep a lot
Sleep at least 7 to 8 hours a night. Six hours should be your absolute bare minimum. Seems easy, but so many of us are sleep depraved out there. Sleep helps reduce stress and anxiety, battles depression, and keeps us looking vibrant and fresh. So get to bed!

Sure, these three points are pretty obvious goals when it comes to a healthy lifestyle, but a quick look at some news headlines would lead one to believe that they’re either overlooked, forgotten about, or just plain ignored. So, throughout the coming months, if you’re looking to have a little more balance in your life, maybe keep in mind the triangle we’ve outlined here. It’s really just simple geometry.

We’re always mindful of how the coffee business impacts the environment. One of the biggest offenders is the to-go cup, so popular and useful to the coffee drinker that doesn’t have time to while away their beverage in a cafe. As it turns out, we must be collectively pressed for time because, while the estimates vary, the amount of paper coffee cups that wind up in the trash number in the billions. Not good.

Solutions to this problem have varied from all kinds of reusable flasks and thermoses, to attempting consumption of coffee in one spot (and in the ceramic cup belonging to the place that served it.) The effects of these alternatives haven’t done much to impact the problem,  because in the end, that darn paper cup just makes things too easy.

We’re happy to report that there have been a couple developments lately that just might put the King of to-go coffee, the paper cup, into permanent exile. One of which, is a contest with a $20 000 reward up for grabs to the person or group that comes up with the ultimate solution to this environmental issue. It’s called Betacup. We’ve included their video in this blog post, but they also have a website where you can find out everything needed to enter your idea. Hurry though, you’ve only got until June 15, 2010, when the contest closes.

Your idea better be good though! It looks as if the Australian based, Planetware might have an inside lane on the prize if they decide to enter their compostable to-go cup and lid, into Betacup. The Planet Cup is 100% compostable in commercial facilities and is made from biodegradable, plant-derived material. Any labeling is done using only water based inks to reduce the number of chemicals entering the environment, something that we obviously applaud.

With this news in mind, the future looks pretty promising for a world that can enjoy a take-away coffee without taking away anything from the environment. Until then though, make sure you’re enjoying your to-go coffee responsibly!

Changing dietary habits can often leave one overwhelmed and discouraged with something that’s difficult enough to begin with. So we decided to put together a simple list of activities that can help you make some more natural food choices. Nothing to weigh, or measure, and no heavy diet regimens. Just 10 things to keep in mind when it comes to some of the choices you make at the grocery store, and the way you prepare your food.

1) Cook your vegetables with water, and for as short a time as you’re comfortable with. The longer you cook them, and the more water you use, lessens the goodness they provide. Also, have you thought of keeping that water for soup? Try it, it’s packed with nutrients!

2) Corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, fructose, brown sugar, 10X sugar. These are all things that you should be scrutinizing as they’re refined sugars. There are some great natural ways to sweeten things up, like unprocessed honey, blackstrap molasses, or date powder. Stevia is also a natural substitute for sugar when baking (one teaspoon is equal to a cup of sugar!) And it pretty much goes without saying that Nutrasweet and Aspertame aren’t exactly natural.

3) Avoid caffeine! But of course, it’s likely you’re already doing that, or at least thinking about it. How else did you wind up here!?

4) Don’t plan for leftovers. Leftovers often wind up in our bellies instead of the fridge, and if they do get there, they lose a lot of their nutrients with each reheat.

5) Tuna, great diet food, but get it packed in water. Those super healthy Omega-3 oils you’re after won’t mix with the water and wind up down the drain.

6) Check your food labels and try to limit anything with trans or saturated fats. You’ll find these in anything that says, “hydrogenated,” or even “partially hydrogenated.” Those are words you want to avoid.

7) Remember, natural is the goal here. Not so much weight-loss (that’s a bonus!) so try to consume things as much as possible in their natural states. Their are all kinds of vegetables, fish, and more obviously, fruits, that can be consumed raw.

8 ) Keep it fresh! Anything pre-packaged is designed to last a long time on the shelf. Preservatives, artificial colorings, chemical flavoring agents, synthetic emulsifiers, extenders, stabilizers, are just a few of the very unnatural ways in which science has found a way to make foods last unnaturally longer.

9) Stick to whole grains. The processing of bleached white flour strips a away a lot of the vitamins found in natural grains. Whole grains are also full of protein, B complex vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids that keep your colon healthy. Bread, rice, and pasta, are all things that come in whole grain, healthier versions.

10) For our last tip, we suggest that you try to get away from the TV, or computer, as much as possible to enjoy the natural wonders of the outdoors. Sure, exercise is a great way to lose weight, but it also benefits our bodies and minds in so many ways that we would require another list to describe them. So, just trust us on this one. Exercise, often, and while you’re at it throw in some weight bearing exercises.

We’re no experts, but we’re pretty sure if you followed even just a few of these suggestions, especially the last one, you’d begin to see a change in the way you feel and probably even the way you look. If you have any other tips for our readers by all means leave them in our comments section.

If you enjoy the process of brewing coffee just as much as drinking it, we’re pretty sure you know about brewing with the pour over technique. However, if you don’t know about it, you’re about to learn about one of the most pleasurable ways to make coffee!

There are several types of apparatus that allow you to achieve a cup of coffee using the pour over technique. Melitta makes several manual coffee making systems, there’s one made by Hario that’s popular, and then there’s the Chemex coffeemaker. The Chemex is featured in the above video which will also give you an introduction to the pour over technique, and the Chemex. If you found the video to be a little fast, then there’s a detailed, less musical diagram over at Coffeegeek.

However you wind up employing this very hands on way of of making coffee is up to you, but we’re sure you’ll enjoy its attention to detail and the wonderful flavours of the coffee it produces. Happy brewing!