Recent Favourites #2 – Sustainability Edition

Climate Week. The perfect time to share a few sustainable products, companies, influencers and initiatives that I am really excited about!

I’ve not been writing much recently, partly because I’ve just been through a very lengthy flat purchasing process (yay!) and partly because I’ve not been feeling terribly inspired. Today however, I’m feeling really inspired by the favourites I’m sharing below, because they all contribute to reducing our impact on the environment. Reducing my impact is something I’ve been learning a lot about lately and I want to share all the great solutions I’m finding with as many people as possible!

WWF KeepCup

After my beloved KeepCup went missing at the office, I started using some old reusable plastic cups we had lying around at the back of a kitchen cupboard for a few months. It was never really the same – I love the feeling of having a glass cup, actually seeing the liquid, and of course the KeepCup design is pretty great too. So I was delighted when I was given a WWF KeepCup at a recent work event! It’s perfect when I’m in a rush to get to a meeting but need that morning cup of tea.

About KeepCup: Not only is KeepCup WWF-approved, it’s also a B Corp (this means they’ve been certified independently as having a positive impact on the planet) and a 1% for the Planet member (this means 1% of sales goes back to environmental nonprofits).

About WWF: it’s a fantastic charity and whilst it’s known for protecting endangered wildlife and habitats it has recently shifted its focus towards the climate emergency. Buying products from its store helps it to do great things like lobby governments to take action or plant seagrass to capture carbon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0-RxWNnDIT/
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByAOmZinxdZ/
@TaniaJoyofJane

I’ve recently become glued to every one of Tania’s Instagram stories. I love seeing all the delicious vegan food she cooks and it’s really inspired me to make more of an effort to eat plant-based meals. She also posts tips on how to live more sustainably, from buying second-hand clothes to making your own hemp milk! She recently published a free guide to going plant-based which I’m currently absorbing. Other highlights from following Tania’s stories include seeing her cute rescue dog Nemo jump into rivers and excitedly munch on kale!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B00Ski7Dw6L/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1tH84PDBVw/
Deliciously Ella – the podcast

When I first started eating more veggie meals I turned to the healthy recipes on Deliciously Ella’s website for inspiration. What really kept me going and made me more determined to ditch meat was listening to her podcast. Ella and her husband Matthew invite experts to discuss different topics with them ranging from imposter syndrome to looking after your gut health. The first episode I really loved was actually not food-based, it was all about sleep, with scientist Matthew Walker unpacking some of the main points from his bestselling book Why We Sleep. Other episodes I’d recommend include ‘Veganism and climate change’ and ‘Food waste and climate change’.

Oddbox

This one is only for Londoners, but it’s definitely worth a mention. In the UK, an estimated 3 million tonnes of produce gets wasted before it even leaves the farm – isn’t that crazy?! Oddbox helps to reduce this problem by taking fresh fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste and delivering them to households around London. This produce is perfectly edible, tasty and even exciting if you ask me, but they are either surplus or have been rejected due to the standards supermarkets have regarding colour, size and shape. I was a bit apprehensive at first because you don’t know exactly what’s going to be in your box and I wasn’t sure it would be good value for money, but actually we got more than I expected and it was all delicious! Plus, the packaging is minimal, and plastic is only really included when surplus produce has already been packaged with supermarkets in mind or when it’s needed to protect certain items like spinach, for example.

Use my referral link to get £5 credited to your account after you sign up.

Too Good To Go app

Another great way to combat food waste, and save money too, is to use Too Good To Go to buy leftover food from local businesses at a discount. A lot of restaurants, bakeries and shops are signed up so it’s definitely worth checking it out! (Lola’s cupcakes, hello!!) In most cases you get a great discount but you don’t know exactly what products will be in the bag they give you.

Olio

Another app fighting food waste, Olio lets you share food you’re not going to use with your neighbours, and pick up some free bits from people nearby. We used it when we were moving out and had to empty our fridge and it was great. I’ve also used it to get some free focaccias from a local bakery.

allplants frozen meals

If you’re up for eating more vegan meals but don’t know where to start or are a bit short on time, allplants is a great option. They deliver hand prepared, nutritionist-approved, frozen plant-based meals to most of the UK. Perfect to have in your freezer when you get back from holiday or when you’re feeling too lazy to cook (like me tonight!). I just had the moussaka and it was so flavourful.

Use my referral link to get £20 off allplants! At the minute they are also planting a tree in Zambia for every person that I refer – another reason to give them a go 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ng0rBHNr7/
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByA2GhJhxrT/
The Source Bulk Foods

If you are looking to reduce your single-use plastic consumption, finding your local bulk food store is a great thing to do. The Source Battersea is my nearest store, though there are quite a few others around London and other cities too (The Source are in AUS, NZ and SG too!). Going there is such a treat to me – they not only have staple foods like pasta and oats but also treats like chocolate covered almonds, energy balls, fresh nut butters and kombucha on tap. I just gather all my tupperware containers into a bag before I go and then fill them with all my favourite foods.

Woah, that’s more than I had intended to share but I just kept thinking of great sustainable initiatives I’ve been seeing/trying recently! Let me know what you think of these in the comments and please tell me if you’ve seen any others worth sharing.

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Recent Favourites #2 – Sustainability Edition