Guilt free ice-cream (You heard me!)

Simply chop up ripe bananas, place in ziplock bags and freeze, then pop in the blender and blend until smooth for a delicious, healthy treat! 

More "indulgent" ice-cream recipes…

Banana, mango and coconut ice-cream

• 1 mango or cup dried mangoes
• 5-6 frozen, overripe bananas
• 50-100g coconut cream powder

if using dried mangoes, soak overnight in water or slice and soak in warm water for 2hours, and then drain.

Puree all the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth and fluffy, then freeze.

Once frozen, blend again in a food processor and return to freezer. Bland and freeze once more for a really smooth ice-cream.

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Vanilla-maple Ice-cream

• 2C almond milk
• 1C macadamia nuts
• 1/2C maple syrup
• seeds of 2 vanilla pods
• Pecan nuts chopped

Blend all ingredients together in a power blender until smooth. Stir in chopped pecan nuts if you would like a maple-pecan nut version. Put the mixture in the freezer overnight to set. In the morning take the ice-cream out of the freezer, slice it up and process through a maculating juicer or blend again to remove ice crystals. Refreeze or serve straight away

Chocolate sauce

• 100g cacao paste, melted
• 1/4C coconut oil, melted
• 1/4C agave or maple syrup

On low speed blend all the ingredients together or simply place the ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork

Get out your ice-cream, pour this chocolate sauce over and indulge guilt free.

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Frozen banana Ice-cream with carob sauce

• 1-4 overripe bananas
• 100g-200g coconut cream powder
• or 2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut blend until fine
• 1/2-1cup carob powder
• 300g-400g fructose dairy-free carob chunks
• 1/2-1l carob soya milk

To make banana ice-cream:

-Blend frozen bananas in a food processor/blender until think and creamy

To make sauce:

- Place the coconut cream powder, carob powder and carob chunks in a food processor and blend until smooth. Slowly add the soya milk and blend until well-mixed

Pour over banana ice-cream and serve

Recipes from Rawlicious

Order organic! The new way to shop

Ordering fresh produce from online organic food stores are becoming more and more popular, and I now understand why after ordering a fresh box from ethical co-op. The produce is guaranteed organic and fresh, the service is convenient, affordable and supports our local farmers! I placed my order online on tuesday and collected my box today (the same Friday)

Ethical Co-op supplies organic, biodynamic and ethical produce around Cape Town and countrywide

"In 2005, a group of us grew tired of travelling the Peninsula and beyond to buy the best quality, best-priced authentic produce. We got together and decided to get it brought to us.

Now, our offering is available countrywide. We offer fresh organic fruit, vegetables and dairy in Cape Town, and, countrywide, a wide range of products that meet our high standards, such as herbs and spices, body products, seeds and paints. Products that we use every day on ourselves and our children because we can't find anything better for us, and the broader community. Our range is growing all the time, and if you know of a product that you think beats what we have on offer (healthier, produced more sustainably, and produced closer to home), please let us know about it.

We're a co-operative, so our aim is not to generate vast profits for shareholders. We've had almost no funding, and our overheads are low. Our markups are consequently quite low, and we quite often are better value than the supermarkets."

To place your order visit ethical.org.za

What's the difference between organic and biodynamic?
Biodynamic is a term that predates organic, and applies to farms that adhere to the anthroposophical principles of Rudolph Steiner. Biodynamic farms share principles with organic farms in that they do not permit chemical or GM additives, but go further in taking into account factors such as the influence of the moon and planets.

What does 'non-certified organic' mean?
Non-certified organic means that the product is grown or made according to organic standards, but is not certified organic. Certifying costs money and has strict auditing requirements, making it unfeasible for small farmers and suppliers. 

Moonlight mass revolution

Cape Town is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in the world. It’s a wonder why more people don’t cycle in the city. Reasons to cycle:

• It’s cost-effective (in fact it costs nothing at all)
• It has zero carbon emissions (that’s a BIG reason)
• Cycling keeps you fit and healthy
• Its fun (Bonus!)

Reasons that could possibly deter people from cycling are the lack of sufficient bicycle lanes, lack of respect from motorists and there being no bicycle culture outside the sport. This is the thinking behind the moonlight mass initiative- to raise awareness for cycling in the city and the safety of cyclists in the urban environment and create a cycling culture.

The brainchild of Daniel Graham and Elad Kirshenbaum, Moonlight mass is a casual night bicycle ride starting at the Green Point Circle on a full moon once a month. Started as a social experiment on twitter the ride has been gaining popularity. On Tuesday there were way over 1000 riders, and the numbers are sure to grow!

Cycling on our Trend-e-bikes

The cycle was great fun, and felt so good to be part of an initiative where the people of Cape Town come together to champion a cause. My ride was particularly exciting and pumped up, some would say I cheated a bit (I heard that a lot). I was given the new Trend eBike to ride- a premium electric bicycle soon to hit SA stores! A very cool, trendy, eco-friendly alternative to a car. Look out for the initial launch of Trend eBike at the Hermanus Whale festive in September

The next moonlight mass cycle in Cape Town is on the 4 August- join the revolution!

For more info on moonlight mass cycle follow the event on twitter @moonlightmass, and @trend_e_bike for updates on the Trend eBike

World Wonderer completes first stage of Amazon adventure!

"It was a great privilege to delve into the personal mind and spirit and see what moves and stops you..." 1st July 2012, saw the commencement of young adventurer Davey du Plessis solo navigation of the mighty Amazon river from its source to the the sea. The estimated 6500 km journey has been broken into three stages. An initial hike to the summit of Mount Mismi (the source), followed by an estimated 800km cycle through the Peruvian Andean Mountains, finalized by an estimated 5700km paddle to where the Amazon meets the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. The entire journey is directed at a cause relative to the adventure - promoting Individual Empowerment on tackling the many issues faced by the natural world and working in collaboration with the Adventurers & Scientists For Conservation Organisation in collecting visual and research data on the environment traversed through. Davey at the summit of Mismi mountain in the Peruvian Andean Mountains Davey du Plessis faced the Mismi mountain range with no guide, no maps and only GPS way points to provide the general direction of reaching the summit. The 4 day, 60km hike, Davey faced below -10 degree temperatures at night, arrid terrain, pure isolation and total self reliance. The day of summiting, Davey had to navigate his way through 1 foot deep and wide sheaths of glaciers covering the summit peak and due to the self navigation, Davey followed what was thought to be a route to the summit, but was actually a route caused by wind movements through the glaciers, this error resulted in a frustrating false summit of Mount Mismi. With a clear goal of reaching the summit Davey re summited the official Mount Mismi, upon which the official Amazon source to sea navigation commences. The successful summit of Mount Mismi and return to the village of Tuti results in the completion of the first stage of the adventure. Davey is now set up and geared for the second stage of the adventure, the cycle through the Peruvian Andean mountains.   Public research states, thus far, that Davey du Plessis is the youngest and second, to Mike Horn, individual to attempt such an adventure solo. "Despite the frustrations and cold experienced, the solitude provides the platform to really work on ones self. To find your own forms of motivation, rectify any negative and pessimistic inner dialogue and truly trust in yourself and your decisions. It was a great privillege to delve into the personal mind and spirit and see what moves and stops you. Even though it is only the first and smallest stage, in terms of milage, the pure isolation and self reliance provides a great platform into the next stages of navigating the Amazon from its source to the sea." For further info and details on the journey, check www.worldwonderer.co.za.

A Wild Amazon Adventure with a Cause

24 year old Davey du Plessis set off to South America a few days ago to begin his solo adventure across the Amazon. The Amazon project is directed at addressing issues faced by the natural world and working with a notable conservation organization to promote and raise funds towards conservation of the earth and her inhabitants.

The project consists of three stages that will see Davey completing the Amazon River from source to mouth. An initial hike to the 18 000ft Mt Mismi source in the Andean Mountains, an estimated 1 000km cycle along the main Apurimac tributary, through the Andean mountains, and the final 5 700km paddle decent down the Amazon river. If completed, Davey will be the youngest and second solo adventurer to travel the Amazon River from source to mouth, after Mike Horn.

Davey has had previous experience of completing a charitable cycle from Egypt to South Africa, addressing the housing issues faced by rural Africa, working with Habitat for Humanity. The journey took 4 months and covered just under 10 000km, and resulted in the completion of a house built for a family in Tanzania.

Davey will also be collecting research data during the Amazon Source to Sea project for the Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation Organization. The project Davey will be collecting data for is the South American Wild lands and Biodiversity project. Much of the Western parts of the Amazon are largely unexplored and lack current data. Davey’s observations, photos, interactions and descriptions of the local environment, species and people will be used in instrumenting clearer knowledge of the areas he travels through.

We’ll catch up with Davey in the coming weeks to fill us in on his travels

Follow Davey’s adventure on worldwonderer.co.za and on twitter

Sustainabilty Week 25-29th July 2012, Sandton Convention Centre

Sustainability week kicks off next month at the sandton convention centre from 25-29 July 2012.

Learn about the latest in green building, décor and design with over 100 eco products and technology exhibits at the Green Home and Lifestyle Fair, watch the latest eco-fashion trends hit the runway at the Eco Fashion Show, and check out the latest energy efficient cars at the Eco car show.

There will also be public lectures and workshops given by experts in sustainability- An opportunity to listen to environmental leaders speak about the opportunities inherent in the green economy, not only for the future but for right now.

For more info visit sustainabilityweek.co.za

Plant a herb box!

I have my first herb box! Yay and snaps for me! I’m so excited to watch these babies grow- I’ve literally been checking them every couple of hours to see if they’ve grow inches… borderline obsessive I know.

For those who thought you couldn’t have a veggie and herb garden while “city slicking” it in an apartment, well think again. I give to you the mother of all solutions to having your very own garden without a garden aka. for those living in an apartment or area without grass. I introduce to you… the herb box…

But not just any old herb box… A really cool herb box- like mineJ

How cool is this herb box?!

So after a visit to my local friendly Starke Ayre nursery near me (what a great nursery), I ended up with a boot kitted out with all the supplies needed to establish my herb box. Supplies included:-

• 1x cool herb box
• 3 bags compost (I only ended up using two)
• a hand spade (really not necessary- I’m all for getting your hands dirty and getting stuck in there)
• a variety of herbs in trays (sweet basil, rocket, rosemary, mixed lettuce, Italian parsley and Petunias- because I just love them)
• 1x a small tin of varnish to seal the herb box

And after giving the herb box a good lick of varnish, then leaving to dry, and then layering the box with black sheets of plastic- it was time to put the compost in and plant the herbs. Leaving the final ingredient- watering the herbs with LOVE and positive, nurturing energy!

E Voila! The recipe for growing delicious yummy herbs! (mmm get in my belly)

I highly encourage you to plant your own cool herb box! (Do it, do it)

Happy planting:)