REVIEW - Organix Goodies Food for Toddlers

The Organix cereal bars come in a variety of flavours (Apple & Orange, Blackcurrant, Raspberry & Apple, Carrot Cake and Cocoa & Raisin) all of which don’t contain sugar but are sweet, moist and tasty. A little crumbly perhaps, but then so are many things in the hands of toddlers! As well as cereal bars, Organix also offer Date & Apple and Banana & Date Fruit Bars made simply with dried fruit and a little oat flour. These count as a portion of fruit so are a great healthy snack and come individually wrapped.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Organix Food for Babies

I (or rather my little one) never tried the weaning food suitable from four months but we did buy some of the finger foods. Rice cakes are a great snack or meal accompaniment for babies, as they are easily ‘gummed’, and the Organix rice cakes, which come in plain, apple and orange flavours, don’t contain any salt. In fact, the plain ones are just rice! We also tried the Organic Crunchy Rings (sweetcorn) and the Organic Crunchy Sticks (Carrot) which were firm favourites. My child and I would definitely recommend all the baby products we tried!

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Riesling Kabinett, White Organic & Bio-Dynamic Wine (2007)

It is some time since I have drunk a Riesling wine, something which I intend to remedy after trying this delicious wine from Fuchs-Jacobus. It had a lovely fruity scent and was very easy to drink, not being too dry. The alcohol content is 13% and it is recommended to be drunk at between 10° and 12°C. We did try it straight from the fridge, however, with no complaints. This is a perfect wine to accompany a meal.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Standby Buster

Setting up the Standby Buster couldn’t be easier. Simply plug the product into the wall socket, check the remote is connected (instructions supplied – just involves pressing a couple of buttons) and plug your appliance or multi socket board into the Standby Buster. Four zone settings are available so you can have up to four appliances/groups of appliances operated by one remote control. And that’s it. Thereafter to turn the appliance(s) off just press OFF for that zone and they will be switched off completely. To turn on again, just press ON. The power consumption of the device is under 1W.

See the full review here.

New PDF Documents from UK Energy Saving

At UK Energy Saving we have put together some PDF documents with overviews of some of the key areas we cover. We often get requests for information on subjects such as energy saving grants and renewable energy and we have now put four PDFs onto a page on the main site, two which existed previously along with two new ones. The topics covered are Energy Efficiency, Energy Saving Grants, Recycling and Renewable Energy.

Visitors to the site are welcome to download and/or print these documents and we hope they will prove useful.

View press release on this subject at one of the following links:
UK Energy Saving
PRLog
24-7 Press Release
Pressbox

REVIEW - Crazy Jack Organic Traditional Dried Apricots

We have already reviewed that Crazy Jack Organic Soft Apricots and have now also tried this traditional version. These apricots are dryer and, as you would expect, less soft, but still tasty. They can be eaten as they are or soaked in order to soften them, but they must then be refrigerated and eaten within a week. Personally, I would probably go for the Soft Apricots for snacking and use the Traditional Dried Apricots in cooking.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Ubuntu Fairtrade Cola

We didn’t know what to expect with this Cola product as some non-branded Colas aren’t great, but we were pleasantly surprised. As with all Cola drinks, Ubuntu Fairtrade Cola is best served chilled, and we found it to be a refreshing, tasty drink. Cola tends to come down to personal taste, as many consumers have a distinct preference even between the leading brands, but this is certainly worth a try. And there is the added bonus that you are supporting sugar suppliers in Africa firstly due to the fact that it is Fairtrade and also because Ubuntu plough a proportion of their profits into development projects for producers.

See the full review here.

Have an Ethical Christmas Dinner

UK Energy Saving's latest press release gives an overview of how to have an ethical Christmas dinner this year. Check it out by following one of the links below.

UK Energy Saving
PRlog
UKPRWire
24-7 Press Release
Pressbox

Spread goodwill and Christmas cheer at the same time as spreading the message of energy saving and lowering our carbon footprints by sending out personalised Christmas cards to all of your friends and families.

Related Blog posts:
REVIEW - Christmas Stocking - Fairtrade Certified Organic Cotton

Related UK Energy Saving pages:
Article - Tips on Keeping it Green in the Run up to Christmas
Green Product Reviews

Get a Free eaga ShowerSmart - Apply by the end of November

eaga are offering their new ShowerSmart free of charge to all households until the end of November. Simply provide your contact details and eaga will send you this power and water saving device. By regulating the flow rate of inefficient showers the ShowerSmart could save you both water and the associated heating costs.

The ShowerSmart is suitable for non-electric showers and is apparently very simple to install. Visit the eaga website for more information and to apply for your product.

REVIEW - Crazy Jack Organic Fairtrade Himalayan Basmati Rice

It is recommended to cook this white rice for 15 minutes following soaking for 20 minutes in cold water. I have to confess to missing out the soaking (I tend to rinse rice in boiled water after cooking so I did the same with this rice) but found that the rice cooked beautifully in less than 15 minutes. It was soft, fluffy and delicious!

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Christmas Stocking - Fairtrade Certified Organic Cotton

The Christmas stocking is just under £6 and is made of 100% Fairtrade certified organic cotton and decorated with a lovely Christmas Tree and is 43cms high. It really is a nice small Christmas stocking with hook for maybe hanging on a fire surround with some gifts in or just as a decoration. The envelope was made of Recycled paper with plastic sleeve inside which can be recycled.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Cannonau Di Sardegna Meloni Organic Red Wine

We found this wine to be full bodied with a wonderful fruity flavour and you could sense the different aromas. It is quite a strong wine at 13.5% Vol but this did not come across as being too strong in the taste. We tasted the wine with fillet steak and the pairing was wonderful. Our verdict is that this is a truly very nice organic red wine.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Peace Tea bags Organic Fairtrade Black Tea

We found the Peace Tea bags to be a weak tea but very refreshing and palatable. It has no distinctive taste and is better drunk without milk or sugar. The good news is that 10% of the profits go to charitable projects for the environment and poverty. The box and sachets are paper and can be recycled but not made from recycled paper and used tea can be composted.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Green Tea Bags Organic Fairtrade

We found the Green Tea to be a weak tea which was very refreshing and has a slightly bitter after taste. Each packet has a lovely message on which says "Green Tea stands for a friendlier and more thoughful world. Its about promoting peace and fairness and living in balance with nature." 10% of profits go to charitable projects for the environment. The box and sachets are paper and can be recycled but not made from recycled paper and used tea can be composted.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Côteaux d’Aix en Provence (Rosé organic wine)

My family and I tried this wine before and during a meal and, whilst not being wine experts, found it to be an enjoyable drink. This is a pale, clear Rosé with a delicate bouquet. I found the taste to be light and smooth, although actually this wine is quite strong at 13%. Personally, I felt it was best suited as an aperitif or served with canapés, but is also suitable for drinking with a meal.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Crazy Jack Organic Soft Apricots

The Crazy Jack Organic Soft Apricots are described as ‘delicious and ready to eat’ and I have to agree with that statement. They were soft and succulent so perfect for snacking, as well as being suitable for use in cooking. Apricots are of course a very healthy snack, and my little one, whose taste for apricots waxes and wanes, thought these were great.

See the full review here.

www.propertyproblemssolved.co.uk

www.propertyproblemssolved.co.uk is a recently launched website offering information on a wide range of property related issues. These range from building defects to buying & letting and there is also a section on energy saving related topics. It is in this area that UK Energy Saving have got together with www.propertyproblemssolved.co.uk and provided articles on renewable energy and utility bills.

Whatever your property concerns this website is certainly worth a look with an ever increasing range of useful information.

REVIEW - Jurawine’s Cremant du Jura Blanc

I don’t profess to be any sort of wine expert, but have been known to enjoy a glass or two, so felt well placed enough to give this wine a try along with my family! Despite its Brut description, we didn’t find this sparkling wine to be too dry, but rather pleasantly refreshing. It was a smooth wine with no sharpness and an enjoyable subtle flavour. As you would expect this is perhaps best enjoyed as an aperitif or possibly with dessert.

See the full review here.

REVIEW - Eco Stapler

This clever little gadget is smaller than a stapler and safer to use if there are children around. You simply press it together over the corner of the sheets of paper, much as you would with a conventional stapler. Certainly the three sheets of paper recommended is about right as the eco-stapler becomes quite stiff even if those sheets are a thicker paper. You do need to make sure that you press the stapler fully together, but if done so it very cleverly cuts and folds the paper together. I then gave the paper a shake for good measure and they held together no problem.

See the full review here.