London & UK Organic & Sustainable Eating

UK green travelers and residents need never go hungry again! Explore the following super useful tools:

At the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) you can search for restaurants which have been rated based on 14 criteria including use of local and seasonal foods, sustainable seafood and meats, water conservation, and fair trade.

Check out the 2012 sustainable restaurant award winners such as the restaurant at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxford where organic food grown in its own two-acre garden supplies the kitchen with over one hundred and fifty different vegetables and herbs. Another award winner, Ode, in Devon, serves local and organic meals for lunch and dinner.


With the new app from the Good Food Guide 2012  you can search for restaurants by cuisine type (vegetarian, French, etc), cost, distance, or alphabetically by name.

And for organic and natural food markets check out The London Organic Directory to find restaurants, cafés, pubs and health food stores.

If you need gluten-free options the UK Celiac Society provides a guide for allergy-sufferers which will help you find eateries and hotels.

Eating in the UK will never be the same—enjoy!

LIVE on iTunes It's Venice: The Essential Green Travel Guide!

YAY—the date has arrived! Venice: The Essential Green Travel Guide is LIVE on the iTunes store—the only green guide to Venice.

For only $1.99 you can see great pictures of Venice, find all the health food stores and markets in Venice, learn where you can bike, camp, kayak and do yoga, as well as see videos of boat races, bars and restaurants serving local foods, pigeon-loving tourists, and the first woman gondolier in the history of Venice.

Next up—Vermont Eats: The Essential Green Travel Guide app—coming within a month.

Happy green traveling!

Green Dublin on the Cheap

There are numerous possibilities for traveling green in Dublin. Enjoy the green at almost every turn—here is a sampling of some of the cheapest options.

Organic eats are available at the Dublin Coop, a GMO-free zone, with a large variety of fresh produce, dairy, groceries and cleaning products. The Coop has a cafe serving organic and fair-trade coffees and treats. Dublin Food Coop, 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8; Tel: 01 454 4258; open only Saturday, Sunday and Thursday—Saturday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Thursday from 12 noon to 8:00 pm. On Sundays there are specialty markets such as crafts and flea-markets during which you can also make regular Coop purchases.

The Temple Bar Food & Farmer's Market is held on Saturday mornings in the colorful Temple Bar neighborhood in the center of Dublin. Here you will find wonderful organic cheeses, breads, fruits, vegetables and prepared foods. Temple Bar Food Market, on East Essex and other streets in Temple Bar; open Saturday 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

For rock-bottom priced green lodging, there are some hostels in Dublin powered by renewable energy.

Kinlay Hostel implements a number of green strategies to reduce energy use and to minimize waste. Its electricity is from wind energy. It offers dorm rooms as well as private rooms. Rates range from 15 to 33 euros/per night per person depending on room choice and time of week (higher rates Friday and Saturday). Kinlay House Dublin hostel, 2-12 Lord Edward St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2; Tel: 1 679 6644; Email: info@kinlaydublin.ie.

At the Avalon House hostel the hot-water is solar-powered. Other amenities include WiFi, baggage scales and bike rentals for 12.50/day. Twelve-bed dorm rooms as well as singles are available from between 10 to 34 euros/night. Avalon House Hostel, Avalon House 55 Aungier Street Dublin 2; Tel: 1 475 0001;Email: info@avalon-house.ie.

In addition to hoofing or biking around the city, you can walk the labyrinth and gardens at Dublin Castle, Castle Street, Dublin 2. You can also enjoy St. Stephen's Green, a 22-acre park in the heart of Dublin with 2-plus miles of paths—open until dusk.

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.

Deep Organic and Groovy in Valencia

The longer I am in a place the more opportunity  I have to sniff out its organic and groovy world and Valencia is full of surprises. In the Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain, I cover many sources for organic and natural foods, but Valencia has other gems slightly hidden from the beaten path which I am listing below. Wherever you go remember to bring your own bags!

This coming weekend (Friday June 4 through Sunday June 6) is the 23rd Fira Alternativa de Valencia (Alternative Fair of Valencia)  featuring all organic and alternative foods and goods with many local artisans and farms represented. The fair, open from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm each day, will be in the Turia Park between the Bridge of Flowers and Calatrava Bridge. 

The new, airy Bio Basic Supermercat Natural, is next door to the Gobinde Yoga studio in the Russafa neighborhood of Valencia. Bio Basic sells teas, personal care products, supplements, dry goods, some gluten-free foods, and they have a small refrigerated food case and some produce. If you bring your own bag(s) and pay with cash you can get a 3% discount. BioBasic, calle Pintor Salvador Abril (Abrir) 31, 46005 Valencia; Tel: 963 349 327; open Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm/5:00 pm to 8:30 pm, Saturdays from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm.

L'hortet is a cute health food store in Russafa. While not large it is well stocked with a full range of products including produce and some interesting choices - that is some products not commonly found at the other health food stores in Valencia, for example some of  the Mon Deconatur body-care products which are high quality and made in Spain. A favorite of mine is the Alcohol de Romero (Rosemary Alcohol) excellent for rubbing on tired feet at the end of the day. The Mon Deconatur product is simply made with wild rosemary, lavender and bitter orange alcohol extracts. While not in the general tourist zone, L'hortet is only about five blocks from the train station and only about one to two blocks from the Russafa Mercado. L'hortet Ecologia Vital, Calle de Cadiz 38, Valencia; Tel: 963 126 372; Open Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm/5:00 to 8:30 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Just outside of the north part of the old city, out past the Serranos Towers is Ecologicos La Llavoreta, a sweet coop food store with organic, mostly Spain-grown, produce, and a variety of other dry goods and dairy, a little slim on gluten-free. The Ecologicos LaLlavoreta, c/ Orihuela (or La Oriola) 14, 46009 Valencia; Open Monday 11:00 am to 2:00 pm/5:00 to 8:00 pm, Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm/5:00 to 8:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

On the same street as the Amnesty International Valencia offices in the old part of Valencia a few blocks from the Quart Towers there is a small Fair Trade store with some delicious treasures but limited hours. Tenda de la Solidaritat, Calle Carniceros 8 (on the corner of Calle Villena); open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Listed in the Green Earth Guide to Spain, Ecorganic is worth a second mention as a Green Earth Guide Favorite. Ecorganic, out by the University on Ave. Blasco Ibañez, is large and well-stocked with a down-to-earth feel and good selections of everything.

See the recent Traveling Naturally post for information about the new cafe and health food store, L'Eco Russafa.

The La Morhada organic stall at the Mercado Central, listed numerous times in the Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain, is a favorite - and wonderful Lucia always has beautiful produce and food.

There are even more spots which I will cover in future posts- stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy all the green that Valencia has to offer.

Fair Trade in Venice

You might think that the touristy area around the famed Venice Rialto bridge would be an unlikely spot for a store specializing in Fair Trade products, but this is Italy where Fair Trade and Slow Food are huge (in fact the Slow Food movement originated in Italy).

And sure enough on the main street that flows from the east side of the Rialto Bridge steps, Salizada Pio X, you will find the Botteghe del Mondo. The window displays may catch your eye before you realize which store it is as they are filled with brightly colored leather handbags, natural fiber clothes, and "Peace Steps" leather sandals. The hand-made sandals are produced by a non profit cooperative in Palestine with local materials to help fund education and social services for children in Palestine refugee camps.

The suede handbags, in an array of gorgeous, bright colors, are handmade by a local cooperative, Coop Filo, near Venice working with disadvantaged and troubled youth. A side corner of the store has more common Fair Trade food products but most of the store is filled with non-food items, some made in Italy, others, like the Peace Step sandals, made elsewhere with purpose and care.

While there are stores in Venice, and throughout Italy, filled with leather goods (some made in Italy, others in China), this one offers the possibility of locally made products with a worthwhile cause.
In addition, you will find lovely and helpful service at Botteghe del Mondo even if you enter rain-soaked as I did on my first visit. But here's a tip- if you do enter wet - save your fondling of the suede bags for another, drier time.

Botteghe del Mondo-Coop Filo, Salizada Pio X, 5164 Ponte di Rialto, 30124 Venice (Venezia in Italian); Tel: 041 522 7545; Open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm/2:00 to 7:30 pm, Sunday from 10:30 to 1:30 pm/ 3:00 to 7:00 pm.

Coop Filo has three other stores in Italy - Milan, Rome and Trento.