lifestyle
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Movie Review: The True Cost (Or the Eye Opening Journey into Fast Fashion Clothing)
During my trip for this past two weeks, my friend told me about a documentary called The True Cost and I decided to give it a go and, while I had an idea of why we had such cheap clothing, this was eye-opening to me so I decided to write about this today instead of my trip. It is a slightly more serious, and perhaps surprising, post than what you're used to seeing here but worry not, there will be plenty of posts about my trip in the Balkans in the next weeks because I have a lot to talk about!
So what's The True Cost about? It's a story about clothing, most specifically fast fashion: the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost (2015) is a documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our cheap disposable clothing? On the one hand, consumers, who demand fashionable items at low prices; on the other, exploited workers who manufacture them under extreme conditions. This documentary is filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.
We are actually talking about two additional costs here: environmental and humanitary. Cotton represents nearly half of the total fiber used to make clothing today, being responsible, worldwild, for 18% of pesticide and 25% of total insecticide use. The largely untested impacts of these chemicals on both the land and human health are beginning to be questioned, as our skin is the largest organ, these chemicals may pass into the bloodstream of the people wearing these clothes. Leather production is also increasingly linked to a variety of environmental and human health hazards.The amount of feed, land, water and fossil fuels used to raise livestock for leather production come at a huge cost to the health of our world. In addition, the tanning process is among the most toxic in all of the fashion supply chain and workers are exposed to harmful chemicals on the job, while the waste generated pollutes natural water sources leading to increased disease for surrounding areas.
We are increasingly disconnected from the people who make our clothing as 97% of items are now made overseas. They are some of the lowest paid workers in the world and roughly 85% of all garment workers are women. The human factor of the garment industry is too big to ignore; as we consistently see the exploitation of cheap labor and the violation of workers’, women’s, and human rights in many developing countries across the world. As customers in an increasingly disconnected world, it is important that we feel connected to the workers who make our clothes, as well as inform brands that we care about these people and their voice. I mean, is it worth to ignore the ethical questions here? Is it acceptable for someone do die during their working day for this fast fashion clothing?
So after watching about this I went to the movie's site (where you can read more about what I wrote here) and I found their 5 tips for shopping smarter, which is something that we can all do:
1) Will you wear it 30 times? The rapid turnover of trends means clothes are disposable. Along with the deflation of clothing prices this has put the supply chain under unprecedented pressure leading directly to problems like the Dhaka fashion factory fire that killed over 100 people. Just asking yourself if you will wear an item 30 times is a great place to start shopping smarter and more intentional.
2) Break the cycle. 50-100 new micro seasons a year is the new normal. So slow down your fashion cycle.
3) Spread your fashion money. The global fashion industry is worth 2.5 trillion dollars. Shouldn’t this be shared? Look for producer centric brands with Fairtrade standards with longstanding producer groups who get a fair share of the profits.
4) Detox your wardrobe. Fashion is the world’s second most polluting industry after oil. Notably, Azodyes are still the most used synthetic dyes despite being toxic. 10% of the world’s biggest fashion brands have committed to phasing out toxic substances through Greenpeace’s Detox programme. And you can check the list here.
5) Be the change you want to see in your wardrobe. Fashion Revolution represents millions of consumers who want change and put pressure on the brands to increase transparency and empowers consumers to be inquisitive about #whomadetheirclothes.
Will we continue ot search for happiness in the consumption of things? Will we be satisfied with a system that makes us feel rich while leaving our world so desperately poor? Will we continue to turn a blind eye to the millions of lives behind our clothes or will this be a turning point? In the midst of all the challenges facing us today and all the problems that feel bigger than us, maybe we can start here, with clothing. I leave you the movie trailer at the end of today's post and, if you can spare 1h30 of your time, please go watch it (it's available on Netflix).
So what's The True Cost about? It's a story about clothing, most specifically fast fashion: the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost (2015) is a documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our cheap disposable clothing? On the one hand, consumers, who demand fashionable items at low prices; on the other, exploited workers who manufacture them under extreme conditions. This documentary is filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.
We are actually talking about two additional costs here: environmental and humanitary. Cotton represents nearly half of the total fiber used to make clothing today, being responsible, worldwild, for 18% of pesticide and 25% of total insecticide use. The largely untested impacts of these chemicals on both the land and human health are beginning to be questioned, as our skin is the largest organ, these chemicals may pass into the bloodstream of the people wearing these clothes. Leather production is also increasingly linked to a variety of environmental and human health hazards.The amount of feed, land, water and fossil fuels used to raise livestock for leather production come at a huge cost to the health of our world. In addition, the tanning process is among the most toxic in all of the fashion supply chain and workers are exposed to harmful chemicals on the job, while the waste generated pollutes natural water sources leading to increased disease for surrounding areas.
We are increasingly disconnected from the people who make our clothing as 97% of items are now made overseas. They are some of the lowest paid workers in the world and roughly 85% of all garment workers are women. The human factor of the garment industry is too big to ignore; as we consistently see the exploitation of cheap labor and the violation of workers’, women’s, and human rights in many developing countries across the world. As customers in an increasingly disconnected world, it is important that we feel connected to the workers who make our clothes, as well as inform brands that we care about these people and their voice. I mean, is it worth to ignore the ethical questions here? Is it acceptable for someone do die during their working day for this fast fashion clothing?
So after watching about this I went to the movie's site (where you can read more about what I wrote here) and I found their 5 tips for shopping smarter, which is something that we can all do:
1) Will you wear it 30 times? The rapid turnover of trends means clothes are disposable. Along with the deflation of clothing prices this has put the supply chain under unprecedented pressure leading directly to problems like the Dhaka fashion factory fire that killed over 100 people. Just asking yourself if you will wear an item 30 times is a great place to start shopping smarter and more intentional.
2) Break the cycle. 50-100 new micro seasons a year is the new normal. So slow down your fashion cycle.
3) Spread your fashion money. The global fashion industry is worth 2.5 trillion dollars. Shouldn’t this be shared? Look for producer centric brands with Fairtrade standards with longstanding producer groups who get a fair share of the profits.
4) Detox your wardrobe. Fashion is the world’s second most polluting industry after oil. Notably, Azodyes are still the most used synthetic dyes despite being toxic. 10% of the world’s biggest fashion brands have committed to phasing out toxic substances through Greenpeace’s Detox programme. And you can check the list here.
5) Be the change you want to see in your wardrobe. Fashion Revolution represents millions of consumers who want change and put pressure on the brands to increase transparency and empowers consumers to be inquisitive about #whomadetheirclothes.
Will we continue ot search for happiness in the consumption of things? Will we be satisfied with a system that makes us feel rich while leaving our world so desperately poor? Will we continue to turn a blind eye to the millions of lives behind our clothes or will this be a turning point? In the midst of all the challenges facing us today and all the problems that feel bigger than us, maybe we can start here, with clothing. I leave you the movie trailer at the end of today's post and, if you can spare 1h30 of your time, please go watch it (it's available on Netflix).
Sunday, 17 June 2018
I Tried Yoga For the First Time
You might not know this, but a couple of months ago I signed up at the gym next to my house and have been consistently working out there. They offer a wide range of group classes but I ususally go to Body Pump since it's the one that makes me feel strong and that has the best schedule for me. I hadn't tried any other ones, mostly because of the schedule they're on - I have been meaning to try the one for your glutes, abs and legs but they don't do them as often as Body Pump. My goal is to try most of them at least once so I know which ones I enjoy and which ones I don't (I already know RPM will kill me so will stay as far away from that for the longest time possible).
The gym usually has Yoga scheduled for Saturday mornings (9h15-10h15) and since I'd been feeling sort of stiff lately, and want to improve my flexibility, I thought I could try this class first. So this past Saturday I woke up early (as always, because apparently my body is no longer capable of sleeping past 8h30) and marched towards the gym. I got there one minute before 9h and a line was already forming to get the tickets for the class and, as a result, my expectations rose. I looked around and realised a few of my future companions had also brought their own yoga mats so I immediately started to wonder if I should've brought my own as well and making mental calculations on how long it'd take me to go back home to get mine - I had time to do that but I chose to take the risk anyway, since I also noticed a few people without their own mat.
I got inside the studio at the designated time, noticed how the average age was around 40-50 years old, and proceeded to copy the people who were already settled by getting a mat and a yoga block. They had also removed their shoes and socks so I assumed it was the standart practice and did the same. The instructor then started the class and we started by saluting the sun, which was sort of weird because we were inside a building, and it basically consisted in a lot of stretching upwards and quick exhalations. After we were done saluting the sun we started the hard moves (to me, at least). The were a lot of "mukhas" involved, I discovered I didn't have half the flexibility I thought I had and started to feel bad about myself because I was watching 60-year-old ladies doing better than me, but I'm sure that's because they were regulars (at least I hope so). You feel your muscles working (and sometimes screaming at you), and halfway through I realised yoga isn't about stretching your muscles to unstiffen them, but rather to work them and work on your breathing as well, although there is some stretching involved as well.
I'm not sure yoga is for me. I understand the appeal it can have but I simply couldn't turn off my mind and was constantely thinking about something else instead of focusing in the now. I had some problems with the breathing part as well: the instructor counted how long each breathe was supposed to be but honestly, if I breathed like the counting I'd probably run out of oxygen. I did enjoy her very much, though, because she kept saying what we were supposed to be doing all the time (and modifications) so if someone is used to the names of the positions they can do it themselves without having to constantly look at her, like I was doing. The easiest part of the class was, by far, the final 5 minutes where we just lied on the mat, breathing with our eyes closing - I'm sure this is the only position I can easily do.
Have you tried yoga before? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Sunday, 4 March 2018
Workshop: Pre and Post Workout Snacks
Depois de ter experimentado o workshop sobre pequenos almoços saudáveis da Patrícia, autora do blog Ele Cozinha, Ela Lava, inscrevi-me no workshop seguinte em Lisboa sobre snacks pré o pós treino como tinha dito que ia fazer. De maneira que nesta manhã de domingo enfrentei a chuva (que não era nada pouca) e lá rumei ao centro de Lisboa à procura de novas ideias saudáveis para snacks.
Este workshop teve a colaboração da Sik Nutrition com o João Gonçalves (CEO Team Sik Nutrition) que fez uma breve introdução sobre nutrição, os seus pilares e a importância de uma dieta adequada, variada e, acima de tudo, uma que nos faça felizes. Tivemos também direito a informação nutricional das receitas na hora e ele foi-nos dando pequenas dicas e conselhos de substituições ou adições que podíamos fazer às receitas.
Desta vez já sabia ao que ia por isso não comi grande pequeno almoço mas mesmo assim saí de lá a rebolar e sem vontade nenhuma de almoçar! Em um pouco menos que quatro horas, a Patrícia mostrou-nos como fazer seis receitas mais uma surpresa que derivou da conversa entre o grupo. Mais uma vez, com a ajuda dela, fomos nós a "pôr as mãos na massa" e fizemos tarteletes, bolinhas energéticas, potinhos proteícos, sumo verde do Hulk, crepioca e mousse/brownie. Claro está, tudo delicioso, como era esperado!
Começámos por fazer a base das tarteletes mas, em vez da aveia usada no workshop dos pequenos-almoços, usámos quinoa. À falta de frigorífico, ficou algum tempo a repousar para ficar mais rígida e no final pusemos skyr e acrescentámos alguns toppings em cima. Seguimos para as bolinhas energéticas de tâmaras com cobertura de sementes de cânhamo ou cacau magro que, para mim, são claramente as vencedoras do dia (vou ver se compro tâmaras para as fazer!). A Patrícia publicou uma versão com batata doce que também quero ver se experimento, se forem tão boas como as que ela apresentou hoje, isto promete! Experimentámos depois uns potinhos proteícos com queijo quark, fruta e granola. Mesmo pessoas que não sejam grandes fãs de queijo (euzinha) vão gostar deste porque é líquido e praticamente não sabe a queijo. Aliás, misturado com fruta e granola, fica divinal!
Prosseguimos para o sumo verde do Hulk com pepino, espinafre, banana e ananás. Esta é uma excelente maneira de conseguirmos incorporar alguns vegetais na nossa alimentação e efectivamente uma boa ideia para "mascarar" alguns vegetais se a pessoa não estiver para aí virada. Eu que não sou grande fã nem de espinafre nem pepino posso dizer que não me importava de beber um destes todos os dias. Como eu sou "repetente" já conhecia a receita seguinte, a crepioca com recheio de banana e manteiga de amendoim mas, em conversa com o grupo, a Patrícia depois mostrou-nos como fazer a famosa tapioca com o mesmo recheio. Por último e para terminar em grande, ela apresentou-nos uma mousse/brownie mediante quando tempo a deixarmos estar no microondas, ou petit gateau se o pusermos no forno. Fiquei grande fã desta última também porque acaba por ser mais simples do que as bolinhas e leva menos ingredientes.
Em resumo, mais uma vez conheci novas marcas e sabores e saí de lá de barriga cheia, cérebro cheio de ideias e com a certeza de que estarei presente no próximo workshop em Lisboa!
Este workshop teve a colaboração da Sik Nutrition com o João Gonçalves (CEO Team Sik Nutrition) que fez uma breve introdução sobre nutrição, os seus pilares e a importância de uma dieta adequada, variada e, acima de tudo, uma que nos faça felizes. Tivemos também direito a informação nutricional das receitas na hora e ele foi-nos dando pequenas dicas e conselhos de substituições ou adições que podíamos fazer às receitas.
Desta vez já sabia ao que ia por isso não comi grande pequeno almoço mas mesmo assim saí de lá a rebolar e sem vontade nenhuma de almoçar! Em um pouco menos que quatro horas, a Patrícia mostrou-nos como fazer seis receitas mais uma surpresa que derivou da conversa entre o grupo. Mais uma vez, com a ajuda dela, fomos nós a "pôr as mãos na massa" e fizemos tarteletes, bolinhas energéticas, potinhos proteícos, sumo verde do Hulk, crepioca e mousse/brownie. Claro está, tudo delicioso, como era esperado!
Começámos por fazer a base das tarteletes mas, em vez da aveia usada no workshop dos pequenos-almoços, usámos quinoa. À falta de frigorífico, ficou algum tempo a repousar para ficar mais rígida e no final pusemos skyr e acrescentámos alguns toppings em cima. Seguimos para as bolinhas energéticas de tâmaras com cobertura de sementes de cânhamo ou cacau magro que, para mim, são claramente as vencedoras do dia (vou ver se compro tâmaras para as fazer!). A Patrícia publicou uma versão com batata doce que também quero ver se experimento, se forem tão boas como as que ela apresentou hoje, isto promete! Experimentámos depois uns potinhos proteícos com queijo quark, fruta e granola. Mesmo pessoas que não sejam grandes fãs de queijo (euzinha) vão gostar deste porque é líquido e praticamente não sabe a queijo. Aliás, misturado com fruta e granola, fica divinal!
Prosseguimos para o sumo verde do Hulk com pepino, espinafre, banana e ananás. Esta é uma excelente maneira de conseguirmos incorporar alguns vegetais na nossa alimentação e efectivamente uma boa ideia para "mascarar" alguns vegetais se a pessoa não estiver para aí virada. Eu que não sou grande fã nem de espinafre nem pepino posso dizer que não me importava de beber um destes todos os dias. Como eu sou "repetente" já conhecia a receita seguinte, a crepioca com recheio de banana e manteiga de amendoim mas, em conversa com o grupo, a Patrícia depois mostrou-nos como fazer a famosa tapioca com o mesmo recheio. Por último e para terminar em grande, ela apresentou-nos uma mousse/brownie mediante quando tempo a deixarmos estar no microondas, ou petit gateau se o pusermos no forno. Fiquei grande fã desta última também porque acaba por ser mais simples do que as bolinhas e leva menos ingredientes.
Em resumo, mais uma vez conheci novas marcas e sabores e saí de lá de barriga cheia, cérebro cheio de ideias e com a certeza de que estarei presente no próximo workshop em Lisboa!
Sunday, 11 February 2018
Workshop: Healthy Breakfasts
Já há algum tempo que me tenho interessado por alimentação saudável e equilibrada (apesar de nem sempre o praticar) e desde então que ando a seguir algumas contas mais saudáveis e "fit" no Instagram. Passou pelo meu feed um anúncio a um workshop e pensei que não podia ser mais oportuno! Afinal, o pequeno-almoço sempre foi algo complicado para mim porque apesar da maioria dos especialistas defenderem que é a refeição mais importante do dia a verdade é que eu, como nunca tenho fome assim que acordo acabo por comer muito pouco, não comer como deve ser (olá chocapic!) ou mesmo sair de casa sem nada no estomâgo. Assim, no sábado passado, dia 3 de Fevereiro, decidi experimentar o Workshop sobre Pequenos-Almoços Saudáveis com a Patrícia, autora do blog Ele Cozinha, Ela Lava.
Confesso que inicialmente estava um bocadinho de pé atrás porque não arranjei companhia para vir comigo e porque sou ligeiramente esquisita com comida mas acabei por me inscrever e ainda bem que o fiz! A Patrícia foi super simpática, todo o grupo que foi ao workshop era muito porreiro e comi tanto que mais valia não ter almoçado antes de ir para lá! Conheci algumas das pessoas que já seguia no Instagram e descobri novas pessoas para seguir, todas muito simpáticas e terra-a-terra e todas com um objectivo: tornar os pequenos almoços mais saudáveis!
Foram quatro horas e um bocadinho onde a Patrícia nos mostrou como preparar seis receitas, onde tivemos que "pôr as mãos na massa" e tínhamos um cantinho especial para tirar fotografias dos resultados finais. Saí de lá a saber fazer matcha latte, papas de aveia proteícas, panquecas de banana e baunilha, crepiocas, tarteletes de aveia e com umas ideias giras para coberturas saudáveis em tostas e sandes.
Começámos pelo matcha latte, algo que eu nunca tinha provado, e confesso que fiquei um bocadinho reticente quando ouvi a Patrícia dizer que no último workshop que deu a maioria não tinha gostado e por isso ia fazer com metade da dose desta vez. Alguém também comentou que uma das propriedades era o efeito laxante, o que contribuiu ainda mais para o meu receio dado que eu sou bem esquisita com a comida! Sabem o sabor ao chá verde? É basicamente isso, mas com leite. Gostei bastante e, felizmente, não teve o efeito laxante nenhum. Prosseguimos para as tarteletes de aveia que, à falta de forno na altura, tinham sido cozinhadas pela Patrícia antes do workshop (e estavam tão saborosas!) mas mesmo assim fizemos na hora e experimentámos à mesma. Seguiram-se as papas de aveia proteicas, com três sabores para experimentarmos: maçã e canela, banana e cacau e bagas goji e arónia, O meu preferido foi o de maçã e canela com manteiga de amendoim por cima, estava delicioso! Depois disso aprendi a fazer crepiocas, ou seja, crepes com tapioca (algo que ainda hei de experimentar cá em casa) e por último, experimentei pela primeira vez abacate no pão.
Ontem experimentei pôr em prática a receitas das paquecas. Não tinha baunilha por isso fiz sem ela e acrescentei aveia de brownie em metade delas (ver fotos no final). Acho que não correu mal de todo apesar de ainda ter que trabalhar na minha técnica de viragem de panquecas e, talvez, investir numa placa ou numa frigideira maior. De qualquer maneira, apesar de ligeiramente desformadas, o sabor estava todo lá e é isso que importa!
Em conclusão, fiquei muito contente por ter decidido ir ao workshop apesar dos meus receios iniciais. Conheci pessoas novas, experimentei sabores que de outra maneira não me tinha aventurado e que irei introduzir no meu dia-a-dia e fiquei cheia de vontade de aprender mais por isso no próximo workshop (dia 4 de Março sobre snacks pré o pós treino) estarei lá!
Sunday, 19 November 2017
5 Things You Can Never Have Too Much of At Home
Last week I finally had a big change in my life I was very much looking forward to: I moved in with the boyfriend. And that came with a lot of shopping and finding a lot of things were missing we wouldn't even consider at first. So we decided to keep a list on the fridge of things we discovered that we didn't have and couldn't forget to buy next time we went shopping (of course one has to remember to bring the list when one goes shopping). Unsurprisingly, the list grew bigger everytime we entered a new division, mostly the kitchen, because there are really so many things one never thinks one needs except when you actually need them. Here's five things we discovered we can never have too much of:
1 - Outlet extensions: Rather obvious, this one. However, we pretty much need an outlet extension for every outlet we have in the house. We bought three of these and we still need another one!
2 - Tupperwares: While I agree this one can be a trap we definitely don't have enough of these at the moment and I think you only have too much of them if you've bought 50! I feel like tupperwares come in so many shapes and sizes it's very easy to fill all the ones you have with something and, therefore, very easy to run out of them!
3 - Hangers: Trust me on this one. When you think you may have too many of this you'll find out you need more and that you're actually putting two or three things in the same hanger. The only exception is, of course, if you have a quite limited wardrobe space. In this case it may be easier for you to reach your limit amount of hangers but you'll see you wish you could have more.
4 - Clothespins: You not only use these for clothes but also to clip food packages like cookies and chips. Bascially everything and anything that is sold in packages and is not eaten or used immediately. You (and by you I mean me) can easily lose them or break them so having a good stock of them is essential, in my opinion!
5 - Bags: Either paper or plastic these are essencial in any home. Since they introduced the bag tax here in Portugal whenever you go grocery shopping if you forget a bag, you have two options: either you carry everything in your hands or you buy a big one. So whenever a store gives one out for free when you buy something you can bet I'm keeping it for later use! Now, you have to be selective about this one because you can quickly become burried in a miscellany of different bags so it's important to keep different sized and very resistent ones, throwing away the ones that don't make this cut or the ones that become too old and used.
And that's pretty much it! I hope this was somewhat helpful and if you have any suggestions please let me know, because I may need to actually add them to my fridge list!
1 - Outlet extensions: Rather obvious, this one. However, we pretty much need an outlet extension for every outlet we have in the house. We bought three of these and we still need another one!
2 - Tupperwares: While I agree this one can be a trap we definitely don't have enough of these at the moment and I think you only have too much of them if you've bought 50! I feel like tupperwares come in so many shapes and sizes it's very easy to fill all the ones you have with something and, therefore, very easy to run out of them!
3 - Hangers: Trust me on this one. When you think you may have too many of this you'll find out you need more and that you're actually putting two or three things in the same hanger. The only exception is, of course, if you have a quite limited wardrobe space. In this case it may be easier for you to reach your limit amount of hangers but you'll see you wish you could have more.
4 - Clothespins: You not only use these for clothes but also to clip food packages like cookies and chips. Bascially everything and anything that is sold in packages and is not eaten or used immediately. You (and by you I mean me) can easily lose them or break them so having a good stock of them is essential, in my opinion!
5 - Bags: Either paper or plastic these are essencial in any home. Since they introduced the bag tax here in Portugal whenever you go grocery shopping if you forget a bag, you have two options: either you carry everything in your hands or you buy a big one. So whenever a store gives one out for free when you buy something you can bet I'm keeping it for later use! Now, you have to be selective about this one because you can quickly become burried in a miscellany of different bags so it's important to keep different sized and very resistent ones, throwing away the ones that don't make this cut or the ones that become too old and used.
And that's pretty much it! I hope this was somewhat helpful and if you have any suggestions please let me know, because I may need to actually add them to my fridge list!
Sunday, 29 October 2017
SourcedBox: Healthy and Natural Snacks in your mailbox
I was beyond excited when this green/blueish package came in the mail and I found out it was SourcedBox. And what is SourcedBox? It is a snacking service that delivers healthy, natural and vegan snacks through the post every month. They usually aim to have ten to twelve snacks in each box and they don't contain refined sugars, artificial flavourings or preservatives, additives or chemicals. Now you can see why I was excited to try them all!
They usually send boxes out in the first week of the month and my October SourcedBox was shipped from Brighton on the 4th and took 10 bussiness days to get to my mailbox so it was right on their estimate delivery period (7-10 working days for Europe deliveries). The box comes with a little leaflet describing the snacks, two recipes, a discount code for Mindful Chef (unfortunately it only works in the UK) and some information about the companies that made the snacks in the box. It contained 11 snacks including two drink and a tea:
> Cherry Scrummies by Clearly Scrumptious - Inspired by childhood sweets, these cherry flavoured juice cranberries and succulent raisins are a great alternative to sweets! If you're a fan of raisins this is perfect for you because they're not too sweet but sweet enough as well so you won't end up eating any more sugar. A package comes with 20g so that's 58 kcal, 0,2g of fat, 14g of carbohydrates, 12,5g of sugar, 0,7g of fibre and 0,37g of protein.
> Cherry Scrummies by Clearly Scrumptious - Inspired by childhood sweets, these cherry flavoured juice cranberries and succulent raisins are a great alternative to sweets! If you're a fan of raisins this is perfect for you because they're not too sweet but sweet enough as well so you won't end up eating any more sugar. A package comes with 20g so that's 58 kcal, 0,2g of fat, 14g of carbohydrates, 12,5g of sugar, 0,7g of fibre and 0,37g of protein.
> Oat & Cacao Cookie by The Beginnings - The delicate oat flavour of these cookies is embellished with crunchy cocoa beans and rich coconut flakes. Maple syrup and aromatic cocoa butter adds creamy sweetness. These had all the potential to be my favourite ones but they only had one problem: the light coconut flavour. Since I'm not the biggest coconut fan, I could see myself ABSOLUTELY LOVING these if it were not the coconut. This package comes with three cookies (45g) so in total it has 231 kcal, 14g of fat, 21g of carbohydrates, 8g of sugar, 3g of protein, 3g of fiber and 0,1g of salt.
> Korean BBQ Chips by Wainut - The authentic smoky and fully BBQ flavour in each bite will leave you wondering where they hid the grill. An amazing sweet and savoury snack for any occasion. One of my favourites! Perfect, perfect, perfect flavour! The only fault I would point is that they're slightly hard but THE FLAVOUR THOUGH. Unfortunately I got sent a package with the wrong labeling (which is why I don't have the nutritional information) but I contacted the SourcedBox support and they kindly contacted Wainut. They're going to send me a package with a few of their snacks to try and I honestly can't wait for those amazing snacks again which my supermarkets unfortunately don't sell on their own (here's a suggestion, though, please come and sell here in Portugal!)!
> Cucumber Water by Dash - Refreshing, sparkling british spring water infused with whole, wonky, misshapen cucumbers for a dash of flavour that's pure from source to sip with no sugar, fake flavours and calories. Since I'm not a fan of carbonated drinks (I'll make an exception for Sprite and 7Up but don't even let me start on Coca-Cola) I feel like I could have enjoyed this one a lot more. It's definitely refreshing, though and if you enjoy soda and cucumber this one might be perfect for you! Personally, I feel like their lemon water would suit me better.
> Carrot & Spice Boost Banana Bar by Snact - Food waste featuring unawnted ugly fruit brings this delicious banana, oat and pumpkin seed bar with a superfood boost of anti-inflamatory cinnamon and anti-oxidant carrots and walnuts. I enjoyed this one as it had a lot of flavour as I felt like the pumpkin and cinnamon were an amazing mix, and I especially enjoyed the whole #deliciousprotest "more taste less waste" idea where every snack saves one apple or banana from going to waste! I'm also curious about their Apple & Cinnamon Kick Banana Bar and their fruit jerky packs. This one is a 35g bar so it comes with 128 kcal, 4,4g of fat, 17,6g of carbohydrates, 12,8g of sugar, 2,7g of fibre and 3,3g of protein.
> Hazelnut Praline Chocolate Bar by Rythm 108 - A gloriously swiss dark chocolate bar with praline oat and quinoa filling that melts in your mouth and is guaranteed to bring a smile to any chocolate lovers face. And it was released just in October! I absolutely loved this one!! The only problem with it is that it's too small as it's only 33g. I swear I could eat another one (more like 100 more, to be honest) because the taste is so amazing you have trouble believing it's actually healthy, with 47% less sugar than comparable products in the same category. My only question now is where can I buy 100 more of these? A 33g bar has 19 kcal, 14g of fat, 12g of carbohydrates, 8g of sugar, 4g of fibre and 2g of protein.
> Banana Bread Chai Tea by Bluebird Tea Co. - Imagine the blissful smell of freshly baked banana bread cooling straight from the oven and there you go, an amazing blend of banana, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla and cardamom. A warming hug in a mug that sort of reminded me of Christmas and cozy winter evenings under a blanket and a book in your hands! Even with a cold I was able to smell that cozy smell and, not going to lie, it not only made me feel all warm but also managed to unblock my nose for a while!
> Waku Waku Cashews by Kimoni - Crunchy cashew nuts, coated with an intriguing blend of Norwegian arctic seaweed, Iranian Sumac and a signature soy sauce glaze, creating a rich, satisfying savoury flavour. Hands down another of my favourites from this box! This one has exactly the right flavour for a nice salty/savoury snack, I would absolutely recommend this one! I went to their website and they don't ship to Portugal (but according to the company they're working on it - I'll keep waiting!) and I'm disappointed the Portuguese supermarkets don't sell this one. This unfortunately only comes with 20g so it has around 123 kcal, 10g of fat, 5g of carbohydrates, 0,92g of sugar, 0,82g of fibre, 4g of protein and 0,06g of salt.
> Dehydrated Mango by I Love Snacks - Hand-picked and carefully selected from a sustainable sourced orchards in Thailand, this gently dehydrated mango contains no added sugar, is gmo free and is deliciously tasty! I enjoyed this one, it had just the right amount of sweetness! I've seen their other products and would absolutely love to try the dark belgian chocolate one! This one, though, comes in 25g with 85 kcal, 20g of carbohydrates, 15g of sugar, 1,75g of fibre, 0,7g of protein and 0,02g of salt.
> Fruit Jelly by Naturelly - They have Apple & Blackcurrant, Summer Fruits and Tropical Fruits flavours and I got the Summer Fruits one. It is brilliant for lunchboxes, after-school snacks or tasty treats on days out and I feel like it's perfect for kids and teens to bring to school beause it's very sweet even though it has no added sugar or sweeteners. Honestly, it was too sweet for me but I usually stay away from juices anyway so it'd be perfect for people who like sweet juices. This fruity jelly snack has been made with scrumptious fruit juice, in my case apple, strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant, blended with water and a special gelatine free jelly called gelan gum which is a natural dietary fibre found in lily plants. It comes in 100g with 36 kcal, 8,1g of carbohydrates, 7,2g of sugar, 0,5g of fibre, 0,6g of protein and 80mg of vitamin C.
> Banananut Bites by Moral Fibre - Deliciously chewy bites of Fairtrade bananas and organic dates with rich pecans and coconut. An energising quick bite when time is short and craving strikes. When you look at them, they resemble Ferrero Rocher so I'm not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed they didn't have a chocolaty flavour. However, after getting rid of the Ferrero Rocher thoughts I was able to appreciate them. Again, not the biggest fan of coconut so despite them being really good I thought they were a bit too sweet after a few of them (it's the coconut, I know). I've checked their website and I'm really interested in their Choco Banananut Bites, Raspberry Cocolossal Balls and Banana Berry Bites. This package comes with 70g, so around 10 moral bites (I confess I didn't count, I just ate). Each 7g moral bite contains roughly 27 kcal, 1,8g of fat, 2g of sugar, 0,3g of protein, 0,5g of fibre and 0g of salt.
So overall I would totally recommend trying SourcedBox at least once. It's an amazing and fun way to discover new healthy and vegan snacks! Of course you will not LOVE everything they put in the box but I'm sure there will be at least a few items you'll wish they'd sent more of. At least I know I would love to get a whole box of cashews, chocolate bars and korean chips! I also like that they give smaller companies a chance to get some visibility by choosing companies that aren't huge already. The only suggestion I have is the discounts part to be more inclusive for non-UK residents. This October box discount to Mindful Chef could only be used for people living in the UK, as I've previously mentioned, and while I assume a huge percentage of the SourcedBox subscribers are indeed UK residents, some of us aren't so I feel like it could be more global instead.
SourcedBox has monthly subscriptions which cost 18.95£ and you can keep, pause or cancel your subscription any time as well as annual subcriptions for 189.95£ where you’ll essencially get 12 months of SourcedBox for the price of 10. But you can get 15% off by subscribing through this link (:
SourcedBox has monthly subscriptions which cost 18.95£ and you can keep, pause or cancel your subscription any time as well as annual subcriptions for 189.95£ where you’ll essencially get 12 months of SourcedBox for the price of 10. But you can get 15% off by subscribing through this link (:
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