I am all out of Traidcraft muesli, so it was on to the Alara stuff, which is also a great way to start the day. Friday was a busy day in the office, so it was a quick stop for Balance Foods organic Fairtrade rice cakes and Liberation peanut butter for lunch. Fortunately we still have a stash of Fairtrade fruit, so the oranges, plums and pears are keeping our vitamin intake up!
In the evening I was off to the Fairtrade Town of Leamington Spa for a Fair Trade fashion show, which was amazing - very professional, excellent outfits from People Tree, Wombat and Sir Steve Redgrave's 5G range, all made with Fairtrade certified cotton. There was a glass of Co-op Fairtrade wine in the interval before some fantastic recycled creations by students from a local school.
It was a bit of a late one by the time I got back into Paddington, but a couple of Fairtrade bananas and a Doves Farm Fairtrade flapjack on the train kept me going til I got home. More soon...
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Passion for pesto - by Hannah
Returned back to London on a huge high having celebrated with a wonderful crowd of people who'd been working hard to make Dover a Fairtrade Town. We toasted the creation of the UK's 425th Fairtrade Town with the Cooperatives Sparkling Brut and listened to pupils from Dover Boys school speak about their vision for the future of Fairtrade in Dover. Perfect!
Woke up and geared up with a mug of Cafe Direct, bananas and dried mango. Delicious start to the day and starting to notice I have loads more energy having cut out a lot of processed food and replaced it with fresh fruit and nuts. It could just be the coffee (!) but feeling very perky.
Back in the office on Friday to find more gifts for Team Fairtrade - Equal Exchange Brazil Nut oil and those delicious walnuts. Inspiration - Fairtrade cashew and walnut pesto. This one does need to be tried - absolutely scrumptious. Take a handful of Fairtrade walnuts and Fairtrade cashew nuts, a tablespoon of Equal Exchange Tahini (creamy and nutritious!), a splash of Brazil Nut oil, half a cup of water, one healthy squeeze of fresh Fairtrade lemon and blend for five minutes. Cook up Traidcraft Fairtrade organic fusili and smother liberally with the walnut pesto. Sit back with a glass of Stellar Organic Shiraz and enjoy. The meal was made all the sweeter by knowing that every farmer behind every ingredient had been paid enough for today and to invest in a better tomorrow. You can read more about Jose Luis, a Fairtrade cashew nut farmer suppling Equal Exchange here.
Definatley one I'll do again and a meal and a story to share with friends and family - possibly with some crunchy bread and a green salad once the Fairtrade Fortnight challenge ends!
Text from Veronica at 11.00 on her way back from Leamingston Spa - a fantastic evening but a little peckish and considering tucking in to the Fairtrade roses she'd been presented with. Another note to self - share Fairtrade walnut pesto recipe with train companies. Now that would make the journey sweeter.
Woke up and geared up with a mug of Cafe Direct, bananas and dried mango. Delicious start to the day and starting to notice I have loads more energy having cut out a lot of processed food and replaced it with fresh fruit and nuts. It could just be the coffee (!) but feeling very perky.
Back in the office on Friday to find more gifts for Team Fairtrade - Equal Exchange Brazil Nut oil and those delicious walnuts. Inspiration - Fairtrade cashew and walnut pesto. This one does need to be tried - absolutely scrumptious. Take a handful of Fairtrade walnuts and Fairtrade cashew nuts, a tablespoon of Equal Exchange Tahini (creamy and nutritious!), a splash of Brazil Nut oil, half a cup of water, one healthy squeeze of fresh Fairtrade lemon and blend for five minutes. Cook up Traidcraft Fairtrade organic fusili and smother liberally with the walnut pesto. Sit back with a glass of Stellar Organic Shiraz and enjoy. The meal was made all the sweeter by knowing that every farmer behind every ingredient had been paid enough for today and to invest in a better tomorrow. You can read more about Jose Luis, a Fairtrade cashew nut farmer suppling Equal Exchange here.
Definatley one I'll do again and a meal and a story to share with friends and family - possibly with some crunchy bread and a green salad once the Fairtrade Fortnight challenge ends!
Text from Veronica at 11.00 on her way back from Leamingston Spa - a fantastic evening but a little peckish and considering tucking in to the Fairtrade roses she'd been presented with. Another note to self - share Fairtrade walnut pesto recipe with train companies. Now that would make the journey sweeter.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Fairtrade pasta saves the day! - Veronica
We sadly missed out on our inclusive breakfast at the hotel, due to their lack of Fairtrade produce...thankfully we were also carrying our own teabags, so the morning started with a lovely cup of Equal Exchange Roiboos tea, which is great without milk. Got through some of the muesli we lugged to Cardiff too, topped off with Fruit Passion orange juice. Note to self: campaign to get the hospitality sector to do more Fairtrade (great things happening with this in Cumbria by the way).
Lunch was quite exciting, as we made a tasty concoction of quinoa, tahini, lemon juice and black pepper - all Fairtrade, of course! Interesting, but not bad at all, and I think I might make it again.
In the afternoon, the first packs of Traidcraft's brand new Fairtrade pasta arrived and then a big sack of the most delicious Fairtrade walnuts from Equal Exchange (one of the benefits of being in the Fairtrade Foundation offices). Read about their producers here. So dinner was pretty good - Good Life Fairtrade nut cutlets (I am thinking of renaming them lifesavers), Traidcraft pasta and a slightly bland guacamole (no coriander or chilli!). I don't think Hannah had such a good meal, as she was off declaring Dover a Fairtrade Town, but at least she got a drink of Fairtrade red wine.
Lunch was quite exciting, as we made a tasty concoction of quinoa, tahini, lemon juice and black pepper - all Fairtrade, of course! Interesting, but not bad at all, and I think I might make it again.
In the afternoon, the first packs of Traidcraft's brand new Fairtrade pasta arrived and then a big sack of the most delicious Fairtrade walnuts from Equal Exchange (one of the benefits of being in the Fairtrade Foundation offices). Read about their producers here. So dinner was pretty good - Good Life Fairtrade nut cutlets (I am thinking of renaming them lifesavers), Traidcraft pasta and a slightly bland guacamole (no coriander or chilli!). I don't think Hannah had such a good meal, as she was off declaring Dover a Fairtrade Town, but at least she got a drink of Fairtrade red wine.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Day three – Team Fairtrade on the road. Hannah writes...
Daybreak on day three and stomach starting to feel suspiciously empty. One of the unexpected complications of the great Fortnight Fairtrade only challenge is the added baggage. 24 hours in Cardiff = 18 geobars, a vat of fruit salad, rice-cakes, slightly softened avocados, an interesting collection of Tupperware, Liberation peanut butter and Traidcraft Apricot and Cranberry muesli. Added to the larder, we were also carrying two pull-up banners, lap-tops and a selection of 6 ft flags, shaped suspiciously like fishing rods and just that bit too tall to move easily on and off trains.
Fairtrade on the move, a feast of ricecakes, Tropical Wholefoods dried mango and good ole crunchy Fairtrade peanut butter on the 13.25 from Paddington. A few raised eyebrows gave us the chance to explain that the peanut butter comes from Liberation - a 100% Fairtrade company owned 42% by nut farmers and gatherers in Asia, South America and Africa. Reckon we may have a few converts – our lunch looked and smelt a million times healthier and tastier than wilted over-priced sandwiches that may once have been touch by cheese. More importantly, the people – farmers and their families – behind our lunch were paid enough for today and to invest in a better future.
Evening meal on hold as the Great Trade Debate – Can trade be both free and fair? – unrolled. Stomachs rumbled as the great and the good of Cardiff debated the role of Fairtrade as a catalyst for action and a political and social call for greater trade justice.
Food for thought was followed by food for the body. Well-travelled Tupperware yielded a nutritious and delicious Fairtrade organic, brown rice salad with pan-roasted Malawian, cashew nuts and fresh pineapple from Ghana. One final challenge for the day – a glass of wine. Spoilt for choice in my local Co-operative, finding a glass of fruity Fairtrade red out and about proved challenging. Sadly, we failed despite forays into the Old Goat, Prince William and a terrifying – but buzzing – hot-spot called Revolution in central Cardiff. Lesson learnt – we need more Fairtrade in pubs! Home to bed for a mug of Divine Hot Chocolate.
Fairtrade on the move, a feast of ricecakes, Tropical Wholefoods dried mango and good ole crunchy Fairtrade peanut butter on the 13.25 from Paddington. A few raised eyebrows gave us the chance to explain that the peanut butter comes from Liberation - a 100% Fairtrade company owned 42% by nut farmers and gatherers in Asia, South America and Africa. Reckon we may have a few converts – our lunch looked and smelt a million times healthier and tastier than wilted over-priced sandwiches that may once have been touch by cheese. More importantly, the people – farmers and their families – behind our lunch were paid enough for today and to invest in a better future.
Evening meal on hold as the Great Trade Debate – Can trade be both free and fair? – unrolled. Stomachs rumbled as the great and the good of Cardiff debated the role of Fairtrade as a catalyst for action and a political and social call for greater trade justice.
Food for thought was followed by food for the body. Well-travelled Tupperware yielded a nutritious and delicious Fairtrade organic, brown rice salad with pan-roasted Malawian, cashew nuts and fresh pineapple from Ghana. One final challenge for the day – a glass of wine. Spoilt for choice in my local Co-operative, finding a glass of fruity Fairtrade red out and about proved challenging. Sadly, we failed despite forays into the Old Goat, Prince William and a terrifying – but buzzing – hot-spot called Revolution in central Cardiff. Lesson learnt – we need more Fairtrade in pubs! Home to bed for a mug of Divine Hot Chocolate.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Go go go team Fairtrade! - Veronica
After a fantastic Fairtrade Fortnight launch event on the South Bank in London on Sunday, where thousands of people came along to sample Fairtrade goodies and take part in weird and wonderful activities (Harry Hill look-a-like competition anyone?), Team Fairtrade awoke on Monday to the realisation that they had committed to eating only products with the FAIRTRADE Mark for the whole of Fairtrade Fortnight.
There's a huge range of Fairtrade products now, so it's not that hard...at least that's what we are thinking! Monday started with a fine dish of Traidcraft muesli, with the traditional milk replaced with Clipper hot chocolate. It's a pretty busy time in the office, so by lunchtime we were ready for our organic Fairtrade Kallo rice cakes and Liberation peanut butter, topped off with a delicious slice of Fairtrade avocado.
We are lucky enough to have Fairtrade producer partners visiting from all over the world, so we are getting to hear their stories and how Fairtrade is making a difference in their communities. In the next couple of weeks we will share some of these stories with you, as well as details of what we are eating and where you can get hold of these delicious Fairtrade products... Find out if there are producers in your area by checking the Fairtrade Foundation event calendar online.
For dinner, Team Fairtrade split up, as I went off to The Great Trade Debate in Oxford - the first of 5 debates across the country during the Fortnight. Try and get to one in Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Leeds in the next two weeks... Another avocado, some Harry's Nuts and an eccles cake from AMT made for a slightly strange evening meal, but it's always tricky on the move...
There's a huge range of Fairtrade products now, so it's not that hard...at least that's what we are thinking! Monday started with a fine dish of Traidcraft muesli, with the traditional milk replaced with Clipper hot chocolate. It's a pretty busy time in the office, so by lunchtime we were ready for our organic Fairtrade Kallo rice cakes and Liberation peanut butter, topped off with a delicious slice of Fairtrade avocado.
We are lucky enough to have Fairtrade producer partners visiting from all over the world, so we are getting to hear their stories and how Fairtrade is making a difference in their communities. In the next couple of weeks we will share some of these stories with you, as well as details of what we are eating and where you can get hold of these delicious Fairtrade products... Find out if there are producers in your area by checking the Fairtrade Foundation event calendar online.
For dinner, Team Fairtrade split up, as I went off to The Great Trade Debate in Oxford - the first of 5 debates across the country during the Fortnight. Try and get to one in Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Leeds in the next two weeks... Another avocado, some Harry's Nuts and an eccles cake from AMT made for a slightly strange evening meal, but it's always tricky on the move...
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