Browsing: credit crunch

Whilst enjoying my tea and toast this morning, I was pleased to hear the news announcer declaring that America anticipates pulling itself out of the recession by the end of the year. This headline was music to my ears, as surely global recovery will eventually follow. I’m sure everyone is as sick of hearing about ‘the current economic climate’ as I am, so an end to this Credit Crunch will be a huge relief.

With so much doom and gloom in the media, one would be forgiven for thinking that everything in our economy has ground entirely to a halt. However here at Ethical Superstore we’re absolutely delighted that even in this current economic climate (sorry – I couldn’t resist using the phrase!), people are still staying true to their beliefs and their ethics and continuing to buy what they believe.

Beliefs and principles are important to all of us, but the good news for consumers is that often products that are easy on the environment don’t need to cost you a fortune – We’ve got plenty of energy saving gadgets which will help you to reduce your fuel bills, and many of our household and cleaning selection are great money savers too. But beyond these items, we are so pleased that so many of you are staying faithful to your loyalty to fair trade and organic products amongst other beliefs, despite their (often unfounded) reputations for being slightly more expensive.

Read the rest of Credit Crunch Defying Ethics »

I’ve been avoiding the news of late. I realised I needed to take a serious time out from it last week when I caught myself day dreaming of launching a cheap and nourishing breakfast cereal which I’d call ‘Credit Crunch’.

Last night though, I thought I’d risk a glimpse – perhaps the sacking of Luiz Filipe Scolari by Chelsea (and let’s not forget Portsmouth’s dismissal of Tony Adams too) might provide a little colour in the monochrome news diet.

I have to say I was flabbergasted, not by (or perhaps that should be not only by) Scolari’s reported pay out, but by a report from Northern Ireland.  Predictably it involved two words, each starting with C – but this time they represented a different global threat – Climate Change.

It would seem that Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson has banned government television adverts in Northern Ireland warning of the effects of climate change.

The DUP man said he was not prepared to allow “insidious New Labour propaganda” about the impact of climate change which would have been screened on UTV.

Read the rest of Am I alone? »

Who ever said there is no such thing as a free lunch had obviously never thought of Soup Club!

If you’ve been keeping up to date with last week’s Soup Challenge here at Ethical Superstore you’ll know that five brave souls took up the challenge of preparing and providing lunch for their colleagues one day a week; thus five mouths were fed and they only had to dip into their pocket once.

Not only was last week great fun, but each lunch time was so much more relaxing and enjoyable simply by taking half an hour away from our desks to sit around a table together and share a warm, hearty, homemade meal.

Conversation was flowing, recipes were passed around, and compliments were bounding forth for each chef and every soup. Perhaps most importantly though, in these tough economic times where your ethical purchasing decisions may be put under a little more pressure than usual, we proved that you can eat, and indeed eat well, both on a budget and whilst upholding your ethics.

All soups fulfilled the criteria of having “Ethical Credentials”, whether this was by including locally produced or seasonal vegetables, organic ingredients, or fair trade fodder in their recipes. As well as this, they all scored highly for taste; proving that ethically produced soup, made on a budget does not have to compromise on flavour. Finally, they were all scored at least 2 out of 3 in terms of value for money.

With the cost for each vat of soup (including a side dish in many cases!) averaging out at less than £4, each participant in the Soup Challenge left Soup Club with a renewed vigour to make their own lunch, share their dinner, and produce ethical food safe in the knowledge that it will not only save them money, but will contribute to a sense of relaxation and community come lunch time.

Just to recap, we started last week with John’s Carrot & Coriander, followed by Elaine and her Moroccan Carrot & Lentil, Wednesday’s soup was provided by Ben who made a Spicy Winter Veg, Twanna brought Organic Pea & Bacon to the table and we closed proceedings with Dan and his Spicy Tomato soup.

So, here’s the bit they’ve all been waiting for, as independent adjudicator I can confirm the final scores:

Read the rest of Ethical SOUPerStore: The Verdict »

I question whether or not my lunches will ever be the same after last week’s cook-a-thon.  For five consecutive work days me and four of my ambitious colleagues set out to cook up a lunch storm.  Starting last Monday and ending Friday our goal was to cook soup for five on a budget using ‘ethical’ ingredients – the winner to be judged on taste, ethics, and value for money.  In a mouthful, it was a yummy success and although the winner has yet to be announced – I couldn’t care less.  The fact that I was served a lovely bowl of soup every day last week, saving me in the region of £15.00 which I normally spend buying food lacking in all things good and healthy, made me a very happy woman indeed.

However the real point of this blog is to highlight my soup, the only green and non-vegetarian soup of the week – Twanna’s Easy-peasy Pea and Smoked Bacon soup. A delicious, hearty soup/meal, ideal for lunch or dinner and it doesn’t break the bank. It’s perfect for those of us on a budget during these credit crunching times.

You could say my soup recipe is a little like that of Innocent Smoothies, nice and simple yet not nearly as expensive (sorry Innocent no harm intended just telling the truth – as I see it).

So here it goes – ideally all ingredients are organic and where possible local and/or Fairtrade:

Read the rest of After a ‘SOUPER’ week will lunchtimes ever be the same? »

As the second ‘Souper cook’ to take part in this weeks lunch time soup challenge the bar had been well and truly set with John’s carrot and coriander number.  It had set the bar high not only on cost , flavour and ethical values but also on presentation (I noticed John’s post neglected to mention his smart place mat’s and designer salt and pepper mills!)

The pressure was on and I had to deliver a home made soup that was not only flavoursome but different as my main ingredient would also be the humble seasonal orange carrot!

So after much debate I came up with a stock cupboard favourite Carrot and Lentils with a Moroccan twist. A really easy recipe to put together which would also allow me some  extra time to create a couple of homemade naans, to accompany  the dish and maybe score me some extra brownie points…game on.

Read the rest of The Morrocan Twist »

please sir can I have some more?

Maybe it’s just me, perhaps I’m somewhat unusual in this respect, but I tend to be a little sceptical of simple ideas. I really should qualify that, I’m lacking in confidence when they are my simple ideas.  With an almost alarming regularity I find it easier to convince myself that it won’t work rather than trying it and seeing what happens.  Not so this week when I took the plunge and initiated the Ethical-SOUPer Store challenge.

My basic idea was to try and beat the credit crunch by sharing an ethical lunch.

Lately I’ve found myself thinking about how much money and time I spend on lunch.  Possibly it’s the current media deluge on all matters financial, or the fact that every day I pass a poster for Delia’s Frugal Food.  Maybe it’s that it’s so cold to venture out and wait in a queue, and in my case always get stuck behind that person. Let’s face it in the name of ‘convenience’ (the irony of this term assaults me as I type it) we can pay an inflated price for food which just doesn’t come close to that which we know we’re capable of making for ourselves.  So I talked myself out of talking myself out of it and sent a message to all of our staff to see if I could persuade 4 others to join me in each taking a day of the week and making soup for each other. (Amazingly within 10 minutes I had four co-conspirators).

Read the rest of Eat well, stress less with Ethical-SOUP-erStore »

In this current climate of the credit crunch, with fears of a looming recession, and with bills on the increase, it’s easy to see why people have taken to monitoring the amount of energy they use with a view to reducing what they can.

There are various makes and models on the market at the minute, claiming that they can show you all those silent but deadly energy guzzlers, and suggesting that they will help you cut your energy use and electricity bills.

So here are my Armchair Activist Top 5 Energy Monitors – one for every budget!

Read the rest of Armchair Activist: #5 – Energy Monitors on a Budget . . . »

The Credit Crunch. You couldn’t have escaped that fateful phrase over the past few months – but did you know that the bursting of the most powerful financial bubble since the end of the Second World War is coming up to its’ first birthday?! Now, I’m not suggesting we get all sentimental and sing it a couple of songs, shower it with gifts, and get its granny round for tea. But I do think that we should all be made aware of little things that everyone can do to get a little extra cash, and of course, help the environment along the way.

One little tip I stumbled upon this week was to earn cash from recycling! A simple and convenient way to do this is to crush up all those empty drinks cans, take them down to your local cans recycling centre. All you need to do is get as many cans together as possible, give them a ring, go and drop them off, and claim your not-so-hard-earned cash! Check out ThinkCans for more details on this project.

Of course, the more cans you have to recycle the better – for the planet and your pocket – so why not invest in an affordable, simple to use, and convenient can crusher to flatten those aluminium devils and fit more in your containers! Ethical Superstore has a great foot-operated can crusher – suitable for aluminium and steel cans for only £14.99. To top it off, the lovely folks at HippyShopper have made a video review of said Can Crusher to demonstrate its crushing prowess and ease of use.

For more tips on the possibilities of recylcling check out the Recycling Guide, or have a browse through one of our previous posts here at How Ethical; 25 Alternative Uses for Plastic Bags!

So, there you go, the third Armchair Activist post on how you can make an individual contribution to a global problem, and the first to highlight the money making, rather than money saving, Credit Crunch beating possibilities that an eco-friendly, green attitude can bring about.

Stay tuned for more . . . 

(Check out this great chair made from recycled cans by amir zinaburg>>>>>)