Waxies Firelighters
Kerosene Free & Odorless.  100% recycled wax and sawdust firefighters that burn for over 20 minutes, leaving no odour and creating a clean environment.

These are definitely the best eco-firelighters I have used, better even than the smelly conventional ones! My stove is lit and warm in about 15 minutes with no hassle or mess. I would highly recommend them! Review by Catherine

These are quick and easy to light Never failed me yet. Highly recommend them. Review by Richard

They are a fantastic product. Easy to light and burn for ages ensuring your fire starts with ease. Review by Nigel
 
Let us know which of our products are your favourites and why
Email Geraldine [email protected]

​This Halloween, swap the spooky waste for eco-friendly fun!

• Swap, Make, or Thrift Your Costumes: Instead of buying a brand-new costume each year, swap with friends or family, get creative by making your own from items around the house, or pick one up from a second-hand shop. 
• Choose Long-Lasting Decorations: Invest in durable, reusable decorations that you can bring out year after year. Fabric banners and ceramic pumpkins are great options that won’t end up in the bin after one use.
• Stick to Carving Pumpkins: While painted or decorated pumpkins may look fun, they can’t be composted or added to your food waste bin. Stick to carving, and once Halloween is over, you can compost the pumpkin or even roast the seeds for a snack.
• Homemade Halloween Treats: Instead of buying plastic-wrapped sweets, why not bake your own Halloween-themed treats? You could also ask guests to bring along a homemade dish. This not only cuts down on packaging waste but adds a personal touch to your party.
• Borrow or Rent Crockery and Cutlery: If you’re hosting a Halloween party but don’t have enough reusable plates or cutlery, don’t rush to buy disposables. Ask friends and family to lend what you need, or rent some online. This keeps single-use items out of landfills and ensures you can host without the guilt!
  
  

​​Geraldine Fitzpatrick

Eating to beat type 2 Diabetes
by Sarah Flower

Of course this book is timely with Dr. Unwin visiting in October however it is just one of many offerings out there to help with developing a food strategy for healing. Sarah offers many easy recipes that make low carb a straightforward lifestyle choice. No pictures though but a good start! 

Anne Maher

Here is one that has exorcised me lately. I was looking through some strategy documents in some research rabbit hole for ourselves and came across an interesting (yet unsettling) point.

The Autism Innovation Strategy 2024 launched recently obviously has taken a few years of work and included a public consultation process. While the emphasis is more towards acceptance of autism and neurodivergence I was curious about how policy would feature the role of food in this document. I must admit to expecting the standard mantra… ensure a healthy diet etc.. but when I put the word “food” into a search I found nothing. I then decided to check another broader document  to check the same detail. Action Plan for Disability Services 2024 – 2026. Again? Nothing. What does this mean? Have we forgotten the basics of health? Are our most vulnerable in society being actively and passively denied the opportunity to be nourished? Is it assumed it is all ok? Are we being distanced from the role food plays in our health? Actually that is a daft question because I think I know the answer.
​
It is time to bring food back into policy and make a conscious commitment to nourish our community. We are working on it from a bottom up approach. The top down approach had better catch up…!  

Anne Maher

I had an awful realization recently. What happens when you no longer have control over what you want to eat? Now this is not as simple as it sounds. Ok, as a child I might be arguing for all day cornflakes if I could go back to that place but hear me out. There are so many factors at play when it comes to being able to access the food you want or need. An ideal scenario is local nourishing food. This seems straightforward and logical. The issue though is what is nourishing? What is local? What is food? Things we took for granted have been eroded so profoundly by the multinational food industry we no longer know what is what. Ultra processed food has seduced us with the convenience and diluted our appreciation for the value of real nourishing food. The problem being that policy makers also loose this knowledge and make decisions about my future diet based on business as usual. Hospital food for example is not noted for its healing properties any more…

Working at The Urban Co-op is like living in an oasis. I have choice. What happens as I age and I am hostage to being fed the standard fare complete meal plans recommended by my local pharmaceutical company… doesn’t bear thinking about. 

Anne Maher

I was feeling like a bit of desert, you know that feeling? Sometimes a biscuit will do but I had more time and there is nothing like homemade.
 
We had all these apples from the garden and the bushes were full of raspberries.
 
I peeled and chopped up the apples, threw in the raspberries and made a crumble mixture. No recipe, just a thought and when it came out of the oven, it was perfect. Fresh fruit in season and from the garden, cannot be beat!
 
INGREDIENTS
For 4 people or more 

• 7 to 10 medium apples
• 10 to 20 raspberries
•  A few tbsps. of sugar ( 3 or 4 )
• ½ cup or so of flour
• ¼ cup of vegan butter or margarine ( softened )… even oil will do.
• A pinch of baking powder
• And a ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts

 
 METHOD 

1. Set the oven to 180C
2. Peel and chop up the apples into small cubes. Add one good tablespoon of sugar and mix the apples well to coat them.
3. Toss in the raspberries with the apples and fill the bottom of a baking dish.
4. To the flour add the 2 or 3 tbsp of sugar, the chopped nuts, the baking powder and the softened vegan butter. Mix together with your hands to create a crumbly texture.
5. Evenly sprinkle the mixture over the fruit and put into the oven for approx. 30 to 40 minutes.

The top should be lightly browned and the apples cooked. Use a knife and if they are soft, perfect.
 
Serve alone or with a dollop of dairy free cream or soya yogurt. And if you so wish, you can even dilute some Natural cream cheese from Hungry Soul with water or oat milk ( ½ and ½ ) and drizzle over the fruit… it will be very good!
 
Jacques
 
Bon appétit !  
@HungrySoulVegan - Changing the Culture