Tag: sustainable

Small Business Spotlight: Heirloom

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How many people miss going out to eat besides me? I miss going to a cafe on Saturday, getting an oat milk latte in my to-go mug, and being productive. I miss trying new restaurants. I miss meeting people for lunch. I basically just miss pre-COVID life!

Even though it’s harder to do some of those things, I am trying hard to support some of my favorite small restaurants when I can. I am eating out less but when I do eat out, I’m thinking small.

Last year, before COVID shut everything down, I had planned to highlight small businesses that were practicing low-waste, sustainable and/or eco-friendly practices. As vaccines start rolling out and the world *fingers crossed* is getting closer to opening up, I wanted to return to this series in hopes of encouraging you to try small businesses near you and to shop small when you can.

This week, I’m featuring Heirloom Cafe in Danielson, Connecticut. Moving away from Boston and all their vegan/vegetarian eateries definitely had me worried but Heirloom has been my go to place when I want to treat myself.

The Buddha Bowl- Brown rice, chickpea salad, avocado, carrots, cabbage, vegan curry “mock chick” salad, and sesame seeds drizzled with our almond maple sauce

Heirloom is a cafe with a small menu that includes an excellent selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. Currently, they offer sandwiches, salads/bowls and smoothies. They also have a decent variety of homemade gluten-free and vegan treats like cupcakes, oatmeal cream pies and samoa bars. They have paired down their menu a bit during COVID times, eliminating coffee/cafe options and breakfasts, but their menu still contains some favorites and offers a selection. They also have specials each week which are always amazing. Valentines week they offered a vegan, gluten free cheesecake with fresh strawberry puree swirled in it and it was so yummy!

In addition to serving a wide range of foods that I can actually eat (anyone with a dietary restriction know the feeling of only having one thing to eat on a menu), Heirloom also does it’s best to source organic ingredients (between 85-90% of their ingredients are organic) and to source local ingredients. They have tofu from Middletown, CT, maple syrup and honey from Woodstock, CT, cheese from Vermont and more.

Our savory vegan curry “mock chick” salad with all our fresh veggies on a whole wheat wrap

So far, I have tried their vegan breakfast sandwich, the Miso Roasted Beet and Kale bowl (which I may try and replicate as one of my meal preps one of these days), the Buddha bowl, the curry mock chicken wrap, as well as a few sweet treats like the samoa bar, the oatmeal cream pie and a cupcake. The curry mock chicken, which is found on both the wrap and the Buddha Bowl, is one of my favorite things on the menu. All the desserts have been delicious, though the oatmeal cream pie is VERY sweet so heads up if you aren’t a big sweets eater. Everything has been really fresh and loaded with flavor. The bread on the vegan sandwich was out of this world. No matter what you order, I don’t think you can go wrong.

When I ate here pre-COVID, I always received real plates and utensils and they filled my reusable coffee mug. Currently, they offer curbside pickup where you order everything on line and it is brought to your car. They serve the food with no additional plastic utensils, in a plastic, recyclable container and a recyclable, brown paper bag. Obviously, these options are less sustainable but, to me, continuing to support a small vegan restaurant that does their part to support local produce and local companies is very important to me. I’ll create a little trash in this moment to keep this restaurant going, knowing I’m doing my best to reduce waste in other areas.

What are some small businesses that you know about who are showing love for the planet. Leave suggestions here for me to checkout.

Product Review: Meow Meow Tweet Face Soap

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Switching to a clean, sustainably packaged face routine has been a struggle in my 30s. I’ve talked a little about this on my IG but I swear, the moment I turned 30, I went from having oily, acne prone skin to dry, combination skin over night (at least that’s what it felt like!). My prior face wash which I loved and had been using for years, Lush’s Aqua Marina, was now way too drying. I tried a few Lush cleansers after but never really loved them like I did Aqua Marina.

With that in mind, I decided to try Meow Meow Tweets Tea Tree Charcoal face bar rather reluctantly. My first introduction with Meow Meow Tweet was their Rosemary and Avocado shampoo bar and I didn’t like it at all. The smell was too strong for me (the only other option from them was lavender and coconut bar and there’s no way I could walk around with lavender in my hair all day. That’s a 24 hour headache is what that is). Though my hair looked clean, it left my scalp and hair feeling dirty somehow. Honestly, if I hadn’t been placing an order already on Package Free and just run out of face wash that day, I probably wouldn’t have tried this cleansing bar.

Thankfully, this product worked MUCH better than the shampoo bar. The tea tree and the charcoal balance my skin really well, keeping any random acne spots at bay without leaving my face feeling dry. It lathers nicely in my hands and it doesn’t smell too strong.

The ingredients are all clean and natural:

aqua (water), *olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, *+cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, *+theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, *helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, ∞sodium hydroxide, *avena sativa (oats), *ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, charcoal powder (from wood), *melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil, *eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus) leaf oil

*certified organic / +fair trade / ∞none remains after saponifying oils

The product packaging was super sustainable since it arrived naked! No box here. As for shipping, it shipped from Package Free Shop, which ships with no plastic in recyclable cardboard. Even the packing tape is plastic free so super sustainable!

As for the company, Meow Meow Tweet was founded in Brooklyn in 2009 by Tara Pelletier (she/they) and Jeff Kurosaki (they/them). The team started by making soap and have now expanded to deodorants, face care including oils, cleansers and toners, shampoos and conditioner, sunscreen, bug repellent, etc. All their products list out the ingredients and almost every ingredient is natural and clean. Every product also details what to do with the packaging after you are done, including sending the pumps from their bottles back to them so they can recycle them with terracycle. They do offer bulk in some items. For those items, Meow Meow Tweet takes back the entire bulk containers, sanitizes and reuses it. So, if you try a smaller size and realize you love it, you can keep your regular container, order a bulk products and refill your container a few times before sending the empty bulk container back. When purchased in bulk, the product tends to be 15% less per oz. I haven’t tried this system yet but I love how thoughtful this company is with their packaging and looking to keep as much as they can out of landfills.

My Meow Meow Face Bar after 7 months. I cut it in half and keep half by my sink and half in my shower

I think the biggest seller for me on the Tea Tree Charcoal Face wash is that it lasts forever. I received this bar in July and it’s still going strong! I started using it twice a day and am down to just the morning with it. In the evening, I use the Beautycounter Cleansing Balm as it’s more moisturizing for the winter months. The comments on the website range from 6 months for those that use it religiously twice a day, to about a year for those that use it once a day. I’m at 7 months and, if I’m honest, probably have another 2 or 3 months left. That’s $12 for 9 months of a product! Any product that doesn’t make me have to replace it every month is a win in my book.

Lets Talk About Low Waste and Budgeting

ErinLeave a comment

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought toward budgeting and eco-friendly products and going zero-waste. I’ve recently switched my skincare over to Beautycounter, a company that advocates for cleaner beauty standards by banning 1800 potentially harmful ingredients from their products and fighting for updated legislation. They are also working on switching over their packaging to become more sustainable, offering refills for products starting this year and switching many of their packaging over from plastic to glass. Their products completely saved my skin from dryness which I had been suffering with for over a year straight. But, they are also pricier. Which is how I started looking at my spending. Can moving toward a low-waste life style be earth-friendly AND budget-friendly?

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Bite Toothpaste Bits

ErinLeave a comment

Let’s talk oral care, shall we??

I few weeks back, I shared with you the Bite mouthwash tabs which I really love. I use them everyday and they are such a great addition to my evening routine.

But, I was holding back on sharing the toothpaste bits with you. I know that’s kind of weird but I guess I see mouthwash as sort of a bonus point to your oral care routine. Your dentist never asks “So, how often do you use mouthwash?” They always ask about how often you brush your teeth and floss.

So, before I shared with you the toothpaste bits, I really wanted to make sure they checked out. I wanted to see my dentist first and see if they could tell I had made any switches. And guess what? They couldn’t tell and I was completely cavity free! Thank the Lord because I have had far too many cavities in my life!

Let’s get into it then! Bite is a female-owned small business created by Lindsay McCormick who was looking to reduce the plastic and harsh chemicals that come with traditional toothpaste. You might have seen her on Shark Tank, where she DIDN’T take the offers presented to her. Turns out she didn’t seem to need the offers because it seems like Bite is kind of killing it now!

You know when I review a product, I always like to start with packaging and true to their word, Bite arrived in plastic-free packaging- a recyclable cardboard box, paper tape and brown paper wrapping. The container is glass with an aluminum lid- both which are recyclable, if needed. The appeal of Bite, though, is instead of having to continuously purchase and ship glass containers, you can order refills. The refill pouches are also plastic-free, home compostable, and made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) managed forests.

To further help the environment, they do NOT offer overnight or rush shipping as that increased their carbon footprint, which I found super interesting. More about that here.

The 62 Bit bottle works great for traveling. Shown with the Bite toothbrush, the Bite travel container with mouthwash, and the Last Swab earswab.

I chose to start with the small bottle of 62 bits to try them out first. If you do that, you will get a second glass jar that holds the full 248 bits when you upgrade your order. Keep the smaller bottle, it’s great for traveling!

I use the Mint bits. They are made without fluoride but Bite has recently introduced nHAp, which is a fluoride alternative that is supposed to be less toxic, reduce sensitivity and help build back enamel. As someone who had been using Sensodyne for years per a recommendation from my dentist, I can say for certainty that this does help with teeth sensitivity. I haven’t had any problems since switching to these bits, which I’ll be honest, I was worried about.

In terms of taste and texture, I like the flavor of the mint bits. I think it’s quite similar to traditional toothpaste. If you don’t like mint, they do offer a berry flavor, as well as seasonal flavors. So far, I have seen them release watermelon and champagne. You do have to order those separately as opposed to the subscription, though.

Texture-wise, this is bit different from traditional toothpaste. I use an electric toothbrush and that does mean the bits don’t foam up as much as traditional toothpaste. I know that electric toothbrushes aren’t common in the low-waste community, though. As someone who has had more than her fair share of cavities, it’s the one oral care item I haven’t been able to quit. Despite foam reduction, my teeth do still feel clean after use. If you use a traditional toothbrush like the Bite Bamboo toothbrush (which I use when I travel and I do like!), the bits do foam up better and it is similar to traditional toothpaste.

With that all said, I actually really like the Bite bits. Previous to these, the only solid toothpaste I had tried was the Lush Miles of Smiles which I hated. I can’t remember why but I didn’t even make it through my sample. I think they tasted weird, if I remember correctly, but don’t quote me on that cause it has been a while. The Bite bits are easy to use (just bite, wet your toothbrush and brush), they taste good and they really seem to practice what they preach in term of sustainability.

I like to follow the toothpaste bits with the Bite mouthwash to really leave my mouth fresh. Review of that can be found here.