Salt of the Earth Rock Chick Deodorant - A review and giveaway

Crystal Spring, who already make the award-winning Salt of the Earth natural deodorants have just launched a new 100% natural deodorant for girls, called Salt of the Earth, Rock Chick.

Both deodorants are unscented, long lasting and good value for money. They are suitable for vegans and obviously are not tested on animals. They both contain naturally-occurring potassium alum and are suitable for young skin too (so are great for young adolescents, who might not need a strong antiperspirant). The Rock Chick solid crystal deodorant (priced at £4.96) is attractively packaged in purple and silver. My girls, who aren't particularly sweaty teens, found it easy to use and effective. 

They weren't as quite as keen on the Salt of the Earth Spray, as it goes on wet and takes a little while to dry, but they thought it smelt pleasant as a body spray. Although it has no added perfume, it contains  honeysuckle flower extract so smells faintly floral. I think it would work well as a body-freshening spray at festivals or during camping trips, when daily showering isn't always possible.

"A little bit of girl-power confidence for those who are starting to notice changes with body odour. Long lasting and great value, Rock Chickis kind and gentle to skin and kind to clothes. Being unfragranced it will work without anyone knowing it is there..." 

I have a set of Salt of the Earth deodorants (including one unscented full-sized spray, a travel spray and a Rock Chick, crystal stick) to giveaway, simply use the Rafflecopter widget and leave me a comment below, telling me your favourite smell! Closes Midnight 7th June UK only.
Integrity Statement
I received complimentary products to review and giveaway. The views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.  a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you're not lucky enough to win this prize, Crystal Spring are currently hosting a giveaway for their new scented Salt of the Earth deodorant. Competition closes Sunday 8th June.

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Grow organic, eat organic - a review and giveaway

Grow Organic, Eat Organic (by Lone Morton, b small publishing) is a lovely little book for budding gardeners. It includes instructions and tips on cultivating easy-to-grow food crops like potatoes, tomatoes and strawberries (plus herbs and flowers) in even the smallest outside spaces. It also has a child-friendly recipe section (almost all vegetarian) which shows children how they can use their home-grown produce in the kitchen.

What I particularly like about this book, is it's introduction to organic gardening methods, the tips on what equipment to use and how important it is to attract 'garden friends' like birds and frogs into the garden to eat pests like slugs and snails, rather than to poison them.

I would say the book is aimed at a KS2 aged children (7-11), although it would also be a nice book for parents to share with younger children, as it has attractive pages beautifully illustrated by Martin Ursell. The book would also be a great resource for primary schools.

Grow Organic, Eat Organic retails at £5.99 (affiliate link).

Integrity Statement
I received a copy of Grow Organic, Eat Organic to review and 1 copy to give away on my blog. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

If you would like to win a copy of the book, just use the Rafflecopter entry form below and leave a comment (UK only).
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The Living Kitchen: a cookbook review, a recipe and giveaway

I'm an avid collector of vegetarian cookbooks, so I was delighted to be offered a copy of a new cookbook by Jutka Harstein, called The Living Kitchen: Organic Vegetarian Cooking for Family and Friends (published by Floris Books). As always, I had a good look through the book and tried out a few recipes, before I wrote up my review.

When I first received the book, it reminded me of a book I already had, but I couldn't remember which one. After reading the introduction, it became clear that it was The Moosewood Cookbook, and that this book had partly inspired Jutka to write her own cookbook.

The Living Kitchen is quite different from most other cookbooks as it not only details some delicious, organic, vegetarian recipes, but it also tells a story...

"Jutka has run the restaurant at the Harduf Kibbutz, Israel, for twenty years. This wonderful cookbook was born from her philosophy of sharing her recipes whenever asked, and the enthusiastic demand of her customers. The dishes are interspersed with captivating personal anecdotes telling of the inspirations behind her nourishing cuisine and her Rudolf Steiner-inspired philosophy of food.
The Living Kitchen offers colourful meals for children, feasts for family and friends, warming winter soups, fresh summer salads, meals for the week using seven different whole grains, plus advice on nutrition and on planning balanced meals that will nourish body, mind and spirit.
All the recipes are kosher and vegan recipes are indicated."

I found the book a little 'hippyish' in places, but not in a bad way! It contains a varied and eclectic mix of recipes, from Hungarian to Indian, which are listed by cuisine or menu rather than course or the main ingredients used. I initially found this a little strange and confusing, when I was looking for particular recipes to try out, but it does fit in with the narrative aspect of the book.

The recipes use easy-to-find ingredients and are all simple to follow with straight forward instructions in metric and imperial/cup measurements. Due to the organic nature of the book, all of the ingredients used are fresh, so some of the recipes might take a little longer than normal to prepare, if you're used to using convenience products. I would recommend the book to existing Moosewood and whole-food fans, plus anyone who receives an organic fruit and vegetable box or grows their own fruit and veg. 

Visit The Living Kitchen Blog for more recipes from the book. You can buy the book from Floris or n Amazon. I also have a copy of the book to give away, so if you like the sound of it, be sure to enter the competition below.

Here's one of the recipes I tried (and the whole family enjoyed):  Peppers stuffed with feta and ricotta*...

© Peppers stuffed with feta and ricotta

Preheat the oven to 150C (300F)

• 2 medium onions, chopped or 2 leeks, finely sliced
• 100g/3oz mushrooms sliced
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 1 large courgette, grated
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Fry the onions or leeks for 5 minutes. Add the other ingredients and keep frying for 5 more minutes.

• 200g/7oz feta cheese, grated
• 300g/10½ oz ricotta or labane
• 2 eggs, beaten
• half a bunch of dill, finely chopped
• 6 red or yellow peppers

Mix [above ingredients] in a bowl. Add the fried vegetables to the mixed cheese and eggs.

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and take the seeds out. Fill the two halves with the cheese vegetable mix and place on an oiled baking pan or tray.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling turns golden brown.

*This recipe is from The Living Kitchen by Jutka Harstein, published by Floris Books.

ONE lucky reader will win a copy of The Living Kitchen by Jutka Harstein. To enter, fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below and remember to leave a blog comment to make your entry count.(UK ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Integrity Statement
I received a copy of The Living Kitchen to review and 1 copy to give away on my blog. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

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My very veggie blogoversary give-away

A year ago, I published my very first blog post. It wasn't a very interesting one, but nonetheless it was an exciting moment for me. I wondered if anyone would read it and the subsequent posts I would add. I initially started my blog as I love writing, cooking and creating new recipes. I also thought it would be a nice way of preserving some family favourite recipes for my kids (who I named Miss Ony and Miss Kahonie for blogging purposes, as unlike many other bloggers, I prefer to hide behind an alias!)

At first I didn't publicise my blog at all, but after I found out about Britmums (or British Mummy Bloggers as it was then) and then the
UKFBA (UK Food Bloggers Association), I started to dip my toe into the mysterious ways of the blogging community... I had no idea that there were so many other people out there blogging away about so many different things! I then set up a twitter account and a Facebook page and slowly my numbers of page views and followers crept up. People were actually reading what I was writing, and cooking my recipes! 

I've 'met' some wonderfully creative, funny and inspirational bloggers along the way. Some who have made me laugh out loud, and some who have brought a tear to me eye; I'm not naming any names as I don't want anyone to feel left out. I feel proud to have joined up with other bloggers who are campaigning for various good causes - I certainly didn't start blogging with that intention.

I've been lucky enough to get some freebies along the way, and have thoroughly enjoyed reviewing some of the yummy vegetarian products I've been sent from some lovely companies.

My blogoversary giveaway might not be quite as grand as others I've seen, but I hope you like the prizes on offer well enough to join in and have a go at winning one...

So, onto the give-away:

Prize 1: A gift pack full of yummy vegetarian sweets from Goody Good Stuff. 

Goody Good Stuff sweets contain natural fruit juices and extracts and no artificial nasties. All varieties are vegetarian (some are vegan), fat-free, dairy-free, nut-free, Halal and Kosher certified.

Find them on Facebook or drop them a tweet @goodygoodstuff.




Prize 2: 3 vouchers for tasty Innocent veg pots (one prize).

Choose from 8 different varieties (most are vegan and all are vegetarian). All contain 3 portions of veg, wholegrains, or pulses and tasty sauce, with herbs and spices and they're ready to eat in just 4 minutes.

Find them on Facebook or drop them a tweet @innocentdrinks.



Prize 3: A delicious selection of vegetarian products from Linda McCartney Foods.

Includes the following: 1 x Vegetarian Roast, 1 x Mini Snack Vegetarian Sausages, 1 x Rosemary & Red Onion Sausages, 1 x Cranberry & Camembert Burgers (one prize).

Find them on Facebook or Youtube, or drop them a tweet  @meatfreetweets .


How to enter: COMPETITION NOW CLOSED
Winners are @msetoonie wins the Goody Good Stuff sweets, @Veggie_4_Life wins the Innocent vouchers and @mum2alesha wins the Linda McCartney products - please contact me with your address details.

• Follow my blog and leave me a comment below to say you've done this, along with your contact details. Let me know which prize you want to try and win (one comment per prize draw entry please).
• For another chance to win, follow me on Twitter @FacelessFood and tweet I've entered the Very Veggie Giveaway with @Facelessfood @Bookhams @Goodygoodstuff @Innocentdrinks & @Meatfreetweets
http://wedonteatanythingwithaface.blogspot.com and leave your twitter ID and details of your preferred prize in a comment below.
• For another extra entry per prize, just follow the appropriate twitter ID for the prize you hope to win (@goodygoodstuff, @innocentdrinks or @meatfreetweets) and add an extra comment below - with contact details - to say you've done this.
• Remember I need some way of contacting you in case you win, so make sure you put this in your comments! If you leave your twitter ID as means of contact, then please follow me @facelessfood so that I can message you if you win. Alternatively email me onykahonie1 at rocketmail dot com.

Terms and conditions
Entries only from the UK please.
A maximum of 3 entries for each prize are allowed per person.
Competition closes at midnight on 28th October 2011
The winner of each prize will be drawn at random.
I will contact winners within 48 hours of the prize draw. If winners have not replied within 7 days, I reserve the right to re-draw and offer the prize to another entrant.

Many thanks to Innocent, Goody Good Stuff, Bookhams and Linda McCartney Foods for kindly supplying the prizes and images provided. Pin It