Get Your Chocolate Fix with These 13 Eco-Sweets

With Valentine's Day just days away, you're likely to be scrambling for last-minute sweets and treats for your loved ones (or just looking for an indulgent snack for yourself). But scramble no more. We gathered Sierra Club staff members together for a massive taste test of some of the best, most sustainable chocolate bars out there. Our not-so-professional tasters — ranging from the chocoholic to the non-enthusiastic — sampled 13 different eco-chocolates from 4 companies. So now you can relax, find out which sweets had everyone reaching for more, and know that Valentine's Day has been saved.

Endangered Species Chocolate

Dark chocolate with raspberries: 3.4

This natural chocolate bar is full of GMO-free, vegan, 72% dark chocolate and bright surprises of raspberry. Senior front end web developer Jesse Browne loved the "peppery, slightly acidic" taste. Mollie Eldemir, calendar program coordinator and online store manager, noted that the dark, rich flavors were reminiscent of raspberry liqueur. This bar is ideal for the fruit lover in your life. Plus, with 10% of the proceeds of every bar purchase going to support species conservation efforts, who can say no?

The 5 Worst Foods for Environmentalists to Eat

Spoiler alert: Stop reading now if you can't live without Quarter Pounders, packaged pastries, or expensive sushi. —Avital Andrews

 

We'll let Pulitzer Prize–winning food critic Jonathan Gold get on his soapbox for this one: "People need to stop eating BLUEFIN TUNA. Period. It'll be difficult because bluefin is uncommonly delicious and tends to be served at high-end sushi bars, where the fashion is to say 'omakase' and submit to the chef's will. But the numbers of these magnificent fish are dropping fast. If we don't stop eating them now, we'll stop in a few years anyway because there won't be any more." Carl Safina, who founded the Blue Ocean Institute, adds, "Because they're long-lived, bluefin populations don't stand up well to heavy fishing pressure—that's why they're so depleted. It's just too sad to eat them. Plus, big fish are high in mercury." To rein in your share of the overfishing disaster currently unfolding—bluefin stock is down by more than 96 percent from unfished levels—order a vegetarian roll instead.

3 Wild Weather Activities

If you happen to be experiencing inclement weather right now then it's probably hard to see a bright side to the endless rain or snow. Fear not, however, there are still plenty of creative ways to enjoy the winter wonderland that has befallen your area.

In The Wild Weather Book (Frances Lincoln, 2013), by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield, there are a multitude of innovative activities that will get you, and your family, outside and ward off signs of cabin fever.*

1. Snowy days can seem more like a hindrance than anything else, but once the cold winds have died down there’s plenty to enjoy. We’ve all made snowmen and instigated snowball fights, but these authors offer up an idea for the birds. Snow can sometimes prevent our feathery friends from getting the food they need. Lend them a helping hand with this recipe for fun.

4 Ways to Host a Green Super Bowl Party

The Super Bowl, essentially an American holiday, is an excuse to scream at a TV and eat and drink more than the average human should. More than 100 million Americans are expected to tune in Sunday to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos. But like all large sporting events, the Super Bowl, and all the fanfare that goes along with it, carries a rather hefty environmental impact. To its credit, the National Football league has stepped up its efforts to host a greener event, making this year's event the greenest Super Bowl ever. But there are plenty of ways for those of us not privileged enough to watch the game in person to do our part as we watch at home. Here are a few ways to make sure your Super Bowl party is as green as possible.

Recycle

A Pet Fish That Grows Your Herbs

Nikhil Arora (left) and Alejandro Velez of Back to the Roots | Photo courtesy of Back to the Roots

 

Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez didn't know each other when they enrolled in the same business ethics class at UC Berkeley. After their professor, Alan Ross, mentioned during a lecture that mushrooms can grow in coffee grounds, they approached him separately to learn more. Ross didn't have much to add about fungi, but he did introduce the curious students to each other.

"We turned Alex's fraternity into a test kitchen," Arora says, "and couldn't believe that one of the buckets actually started growing oyster mushrooms." After much research—including carting the 'shrooms to legendary Chez Panisse and asking chef-owner Alice Waters to taste them ("It was a good thing we didn't know who she was," Arora says)—they had a grow-it-yourself mushroom kit ready for market.

The Good Food Awards, Office-Style

“Jelly is a very happy product” Texas jelly-maker Donna Collins-Yamini told Sierra in an interview for the March/April 2014 issue.

Her creation is among a handful of jellies, jams, marmalades, and fruit shrubs — all different kinds of preserves, or fruit cooked with sugar — to be featured in next month’s revamped Taste section, where we’ve partnered with the Good Food Awards to learn about foods that can ace a blind tasting and still pass a strict vetting for sustainable practices.

For weeks, four jars of fruit that are among the Awards’ crop of 24 preserves finalists have sat on an editorial office shelf, enticing us. . .

So in a nod to the annual Good Food Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception, which takes place from 6:15 to 10 p.m. today at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, we carved a 20-minute sanctuary amid our scramble to wrap up the March/April issue to pop the jars open and conduct a very unofficial taste test.

The scores on a stack of sticky sheets were tallied and averaged — with ratings on a scale of 1 to 5, from discreetly spitting into a napkin to going back for fourths — and the results are in.

High Tea, Low Impact: Throw a Green Tea Party

The return of Downton Abbey to the states has sparked a trend for all-things British. While not everyone can visit Highclere Castle, the setting for the ITV/PBS series, holding a high tea is the next best way to bring a little bit of Britain into your home. (If you aren't a fan of the hit drama then keep in mind that January is National Hot Tea Month and there's no better way to celebrate your favorite beverage.)

Adding a green touch to your next tea party is an enterprising idea that even the Dowager would approve of. Here are some ways you can do it: 

The Tea  

To party in true Grantham style, be selective about what tea you serve. Look for organic and fair trade labels when choosing a blend. See if there is a tea maker near you or make your own mix. 

There are a multitude of other ways to green your tea choices, like buying loose-leaf and composting used tea leaves. 

The Sandwiches

Tea sandwiches don't have to be so last season. Spice up the classic cucumber with local greens that are in season, like arugula, watercress, or dandelion greens. A simple egg-salad can be made with free-range eggs, or for a vegan option, try tofu and Vegenaise. 

Make your plate even more special by using gluten-free bread or making it yourself (but don't let Mrs. Patmore know you were in the kitchen). 

8 Transformative Staycation Ideas

Traveling takes time and money, not to mention the waste it produces. Staycations have grown increasingly popular in the past few years, and it’s no secret that staying at home is a greener option than increasing congestion on roads or hopping on a plane. Plus, when you’re vacationing at home, you can go anywhere you’d like. So whether you’re held captive inside your home due to a snow monster rampage (hi, polar vortex) or simply opting for a greener vacation, here are eight different worlds to transform your living room.

1. Island paradise

Break out leftover ribbon to make these DIY leis and infuse the room with native music from your favorite islands, or simply the sound of crashing waves. Turn a room into a cabana by bringing lawn chairs inside and placing them on tarps. Keep the island fusion going through dinner with a warm bowl of asopao de pollo and Caribbean spice cake.

2. The big blue

Whether you live on the coast or 100 miles from water, it’s easy to bring the ocean into your home. Make a faux-aquarium in your sink with underwater-inspired toys and save broken or leftover paperware from the recycling bin by decorating with hanging paper bowl jellyfish and paper plate fish. For a laugh-filled evening, make portraits of one another in fish form and hang them on the walls. Later, go with the flow and hold a viewing of Finding Nemo (2003) while chowing down on starfish-shaped sandwiches and seaweed salad.

3. Camping country

7 Gluten-Free Bread Bowl Alternatives

During winter, you may find you have less motivation to add zing to your usual recipes, leading to a terrible food rut. But this winter will be different! Whether you partake in a gluten-free diet or not, these creative bread bowl alternatives will bring any dish to the next level. Use these different foods as bowls for soup, eggs, or salads, and kick off 2014 on a particularly gastronomic note.

Bell pepper: Bell peppers are a great way to add some color and flavor to any meal, and now you can use one as a bowl. One of the more popular ideas in the blogosphere is a red pepper egg-in-a-hole, but if that doesn't immediately strike your fancy, try using it as a vibrant container for egg or chicken salad. This delicious vegetable is a perfect match for a flavorful veggie stir fry as well.

Coconut: Half a coconut is a wonderful option for an easy, sturdy bowl. Try filling it with this coconut curry turkey rice soup for a harmonious meal. For those of you with a particularly prominent sweet tooth, use the coconut as a bowl for ice cream or sorbet. In the morning, you'll find this is also a great flavor-infuser for granola with yogurt or milk.

Squash: Any kind of squash is an ideal bowl for soup on a cold night. If you're really squash-crazed, pick out a butternut squash or pumpkin soup to accompany your vegetable bowl.

3 Hot Recipes for National Soup Month

This month, soup lovers will rejoice in the one time of year when their passion is finally regarded nationwide. January is National Soup Month, and we plan to celebrate to the fullest. Not only is soup relatively easy to make, it is also extremely versatile, making it a great way to break out of a winter food rut. We’ve searched the web to find three tantalizing soup recipes that will bring your taste buds out of hibernation.

 

 

Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili