Olive oil: an olive oil lover's guide to the organic oils of spain

The new Green Earth Guide to the organic olive oils of Spain is now available on Amazon!

Olive Oil: An Olive Oil Lover’s Guide to the Organic Oils of Spain
is for any connoisseur or lover of olive oils. Passionate about olive oil, Dorian Yates, author of the award-winning Green Earth Guide series to traveling naturally and ecologically in Europe takes you on a tour of the abundant, fresh olive oils produced organically in Spain. Olive Oil includes historical and cultural information, growing and processing techniques, as well as full listings of over forty oils. Her mouth-watering guide to Spain’s organic olive oils makes you want to break out the dipping bread and start tasting.

Buy the book and start tasting the over forty delicious oils listed in the Guide. Some of them are available in the United States, others you will have to travel to Spain to enjoy.

Raw Food in Unlikely Places

Cigars and raw foods do not seem a likely combination, but un•dun' breaks the mold. Tucked back in the corner of a small shopping plaza in downtown West Lebanon, NH, un•dun' advertises low prices on cigarettes and cigars, while selling some of the healthiest products available—organic and "live", or raw, oils, beverages, snacks, and superfoods.

un•dun's  healthy food department has recently outgrown its original jam-packed location, and has now expanded into the adjacent storefront offering a much wider variety of foods and supplements. Here you will find made-in-Vermont, fresh kombucha tea on tap, refrigerated sprouted flours, beverages and special "live" treats. "Live" or raw food products as well as high-quality nutritional supplements cover the rest of the store, which also offers an oxygen bar.

The new store, called undoo', is open the same hours as un•dun'. Raw foodies will be thrilled at undoo's selection, which differs almost completely from the other stores in the Upper Valley selling health foods and supplements, making its specialty that of organic, raw/live foods. undoo' also sells gift items—jewelry and body-care products.

For aspiring beer masters and wine makers, undun' has added home-brewing equipment and supplies to their offerings.

For more information about raw, or "live" foods see Traveling Naturally's Traveling Raw post

un-doo', Seminary Hill Plaza, 1 Main St, West Lebanon, NH 03784; Tel: 603-790-8129; open Monday to Wednesday and Saturday 10am to 6pm; Thursday to Friday from 10am to 7pm; Facebook pages:  undunnh and Un Doo

Organic Chai for the Caffeine Sensitive.....in Vermont

Always on the search for divine, but caffeine-free beverages (as opposed to decaffeinated which usually have a tiny amount of caffeine—enough, sadly, to set me off), I have happily found my replacement for chai tea, a particular favorite of mine.

As I have been working on my new Green Travel App for Vermont foods and eateries I have found some wonderful products, including much to my delight, Chai Wallah. Tucked away in southern Vermont, Neil Harley uses his experiences as a chef and world traveler to create authentic chai teas and spices. Chai Wallah is certified as an organic processor, since they use only certified organic and fair-trade spices and teas grown by indigenous farmers around the world. Without Neil and his expert blending, my chai would not be the same.

The recipe is simple—brew up a pot of Rooibos tea (pronounced roy-bus), a South African legume tea. My favorite brands are Equal Exchange and Chai-Wallah, both organic and fair-trade.

To the Rooibos tea add 1 teaspoon of Chai-Wallah's Chai Spice-Only (sans organic teas).

I let it steep and then,  hmmm…. enjoy with no ill-effects. Thank you Neil for making a tremendous chai-spice blend for those of us who need to (regrettably) abstain from caffeine. For a milky version add your favorite organic milk (cow, goat, soy, rice or other).*

If you are on the road and want to enjoy some of Chai-Wallah's offerings you can find their products at the Brattleboro Food Co-op in Brattleboro, Vermont, where they sell the dry mixes in the bulk department and serve freshly made Chai-Wallah at the deli, available with soy or cow's milk.


*The soy milk I recommend is Vermont Soy Plain soy milk which is prepared from Vermont-grown, organic and GMO-free soy beans. The Unsweetened "flavor" has no sweeteners or flavors and has the highest protein content so also the highest isoflavone content—phytonutrients which some women find helpful with their menopausal symptoms.