What is Coco-Zen?

Coco-Zen is a state of nirvana achieved by surrendering to the taste and aroma
of luscious, rich chocolate.

It's knowing that you are helping our planet and its people,
because all of our treats are handmade from organic and Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate.

A state of ecstasy, peace and harmony, Coco-Zen is oneness with chocolate.

**************************

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.31.09


LaughFirst cartoon from EarthFirst.com

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff
  • Hanging-ten to save the waves - (Celebs Gone Good) "Project Save Our Surf is putting surfers and non-surfers to the test this weekend to work together to save the wild waters."
  • Pharmaceuticals Now Showing Up In Fish? - (EcoFriendlyDaily.com) "Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants...had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression..."

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

International Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

VIDEO: Extinct Bird Found... Then Eaten - ZapRoot



"A Worcesters buttonquail is caught on film before its eaten. Brazil beefs up its army to protect more than just the Amazon Rainforest. Discover whats new with Green Art."

Coco-Zen Chocolate Soap and Lotion on KATU's AM Northwest

Well..we can't thank Lynn and Corey of Celebrate Green enough for featuring our Chocolate Soap and Chocolate Lotion on KATU's AM Northwest this past weekend. In a segment titled "Gifting Green", the mom-daughter duo of Celebrate Green had our items featured front and center! Watch the segment...


You can also get a recap of all the products they mention on Celebrate Green's website.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.30.09



Family, Kids & Health Stuff


Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff
  • Peace Keeper Cause-Metics - (Eco Child's Play) "...the first cosmetic company to give ALL after tax distributable profits to Women’s Health Advocacy and Human Rights Issues."

Tech & Science Stuff


School, College & Student Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

International Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Stuff We Found This Weekend - 03.29.09


T-Shirt concepts by the Chop Shop

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Work & Business Stuff

School, College & Student Stuff


Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Website Stuff

International Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

Quote of the Week - 03.29.09

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. "
~Buddha

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon,
and the truth about chocolate and Fair Trade."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.26.09



Family, Kids & Health Stuff


Food Stuff
  • Cadbury on the Radio - (Change.org: Fair Trade) "Public Radio International covered the Cadbury's news about going Fair Trade and even posted a slideshow of the report." Video in post.
  • Trading Veggies - (GreenMuze) "Veggie Trader allows gardeners to sell or trade their excess veggies and fruit, or purchase from other people in their community. Brilliant and free." Maybe we can finally find someone who wants all our backyard apples!
  • Trinidad Chocolate: Bean to Bar - (World Cocoa Foundation)

Home Stuff
  • Looking To Eco Bathroom Tissue - (EcoFriendlyDaily.com) Personally, we like the Seventh Generation stuff.
  • Waste Basket Wonder - (GreenMuze) "The world’s first waste-less waste paper basket, constructed of 100% recycled cardboard..." These are great for an office or dorm room!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff
  • Tonight: Spring Has Set-up Shop! - (ecofabulous) "If you’re in the Bay Area make sure to join ecofabulous at Clary Sage Organics tonight for the opening of Edun’s Spring/Summer Pop-Up Shop and a sneak peek of the Fall/Winter Collection!" Edun founder (and wife of Bono) Ali Hewson will be there!

Tech & Science Stuff

  • High Resolution Tesla Model S Gallery - (EcoGeek.org) "Tesla has officially unveiled the Model S..."
  • Top 5 Greenest Laptops - (EcoGeek)
  • Google and the Grid - (ecomii) "Google has teamed up with GE to bring us up-close and personal to the smart grid. They’re developing a personal energy information application called the Google PowerMeter that will show us our energy consumption in near real-time."
  • The F-CELL Roadster - (GreenMuze) "Looking like a cross between a modern Mercedes-Benz and an old fashion roadster, the Daimler AG trainees at the Sindelfingen Mercedes-Benz plant have built a good-looking vehicle using a hydrogen powered fuel cell with zero emissions."

Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

International Stuff

Political & Social Stuff
  • House Votes to Expand Winderness in 9 States - (The Huffington Post) Post includes roll call list of who voted and how.
  • Global Warming Is Bad for You, Says EPA - (EcoSalon) "...the Environmental Protection Agency appears to have designated greenhouse gases (the most infamous being carbon dioxide) as a danger to human health, opening the way to regulating these gases under the Clean Air Act."
  • Egg A Politician - (Divine Chocolate) We came across this from green LA girl - "Aim your egg at one of the five leaders — Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh or Wen Jiabao — attending the G20 summit, then send an email to the politicians asking them to keep fair trade on the G20 agenda."
  • Obama Supports Turkish Mortgage Customers? - (The Art of Obama) Around the world, Obama's cache is so great that they're using his image on mortgage ads!! LOL

Other Random Cool Stuff

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Prissy Green says,"God bless Coco-Zen..."



From Prissy Green:

"yes yes, you heard me right CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES! God bless the folks at Coco-Zen for all their fair trade organic hard work..."

Read the rest of Prissy Green's review...
Coco Zen umm, TRUFFLES! Review and Gift Certificate Giveaway!

About Prissy Green
Prissy Green is a fun and informative blog site about learning how to live a greener life. Blogger Karissa writes about skin care, home care, health care, eco-conscious clothing and decor, and everything relating to a more well rounded eco-friendly lifestyle! Her articles have a little something for everyone - adults, kids and pets!

We were thrilled when Karissa contacted us and asked if she could write a review...even more delighted that our truffles were a hit!

VIDEO: The Truth About Recycling - ZapRoot



"Discover what really happens with your recyclables. Its time for another round of That's Just Weird."

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.24.09


Riding the Cliffs of Mohan, Ireland

Family, Kids & Health Stuff


Food Stuff

Home Stuff
  • It's in the Baggie - (ecofabulous) A couple of options to help you get away from wasteful ziplock baggies in your kiddies lunchboxes.

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Nature & Environment Stuff
Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

Chocolate as Religious Experience



From Feelgood Style:

"Chocolate is a wonderful thing and Coco-Zen has found a way to transform chocolate into a religious experience..."

Read the rest of Feelgood Style's review...
Chocolate Bliss Bath and Body Products from Coco-Zen

About Feelgood Style
Feelgood Style is a part of Green Options, a network of environmentally-focused blogs that has become a leader among green news, providing users a broad spectrum of information for making sustainable choices. Feelgood Style covers green health and beauty topics.

We are extremely excited to have our body treats featured in Feelgood Style...we often post links to Feelgood Style articles in our daily "Stuff We Found" posts.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.23.09


The actual water cost of common foods and beverages - GOOD Magazine

Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff

  • Fiat launches Green EcoDrive challenge - (ecollo) "Anyone who signs up for and takes part in a Fiat test drive will have their driving skills monitored and measured to help devise very unique and personalized tips on how to be a greener driver."
  • First Plug-in Hybrind In America...Is A Scooter? - (Gas 2.0) "Vespa scooter maker, the Piaggio Group, says they will be selling a plug-in hybrid scooter in the United States by early 2010."
  • Kite power potential soars - (Mother Nature Network) "...large kites in the sky to generate electricity; it could just be the Next Big Thing in green energy." Now that's new!
  • Riding the Aptera: Science fiction lives! - (Mother Nature Network) Set to become availabe in California by the end of this year...can't wait to see this thing on the road!

Work & Business Stuff

School, College & Student Stuff


Nature & Environment Stuff
  • Your Chance to Name a New Species! - (EcoWorldly) "The Australian Marine Conservation Society is holding an Ebay auction to name a newly discovered species of deepwater shrimp. Proceeds from the auction will go towards their marine conservation efforts."


Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Website Stuff
  • GoodGuide Now Rates Food Products - (Eco Child's Play) "...online database that determines, ranks, and scores the impacts of the products we purchase..." We love the GoodGuide, and now we love it even more!

International Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

VIDEO: Mother Nature Strikes Back



Why you shouldn't litter...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Quote of the Week - 03.22.09

"If thou tastest a crust of bread,
thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens."
~Robert Browning

"If thou tastest Fair Trade chocolate,
thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Stuff We Found This Weekend - 03.22.09



Family, Kids & Health Stuff
  • Teaching Kids Water Conservation - (Ideal Bite) "Wanna help your kid dip a toe into conserving water?"
  • Teach kids the ABCs of going green - (Mother Nature Network) Book review - An Environmental Guide from A to Z.
  • Domino effect for BPA - (Safer States) "The momentum to ban bisphenol A (BPA) in children’s products continued to grow this week, with one commentator predicting that it would only be 'a matter of a few years at most, babies living in the USA will likely be off the BPA-laced formula.'"

Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Political & Social Stuff
  • The Great AIG Tomato Toss - (MoveOn.org: Democracy in Action) "Don't throw bonus money at AIG, throw tomatoes." Take your anger out by tossing virtual tomatoes at AIG, and then sign the petition to Congress to get our money back.

Other Random Cool Stuff

VIDEO: Waterproof Sand - ZapRoot



"Hydrophobic sand can help turn deserts green. The FDA released guidelines and rules for genetically engineered and cloned food. The Discerning Brute polices unsuspecting people wearing fur."

VIDEO: Extreme Sheep LED Art



This is freakin' amazing...not really a "green" post (except that LED lights were used), but crazy amazing.

Friday, March 20, 2009

VIDEO: Hilarious Eco-Parody of Sarah Silverman Song



*We found this on Mother Nature Network.


In honor of Earth Hour, this eco-themed parody of the song that Sarah Silverman made famous last year is funny and spot on.

Flicking the Lights Off




In case you never came across the Sarah Silverman song/video...here's the link. *WARNING: Adult languange/content - not for kids!
F*@#ing Matt Damon

And...here's the follow up video by her boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel that's just as equally hilarious. *WARNING: Adult languange/content - not for kids!
I'm F****ing Ben Affleck

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.19.09


The first lady had a roundtable discussion with students at Anacostia High School in DC to mark the Women's History Month.

Family, Kids & Health Stuff


Food Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff

Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

From Joyce's Recipe Box: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Your kids will never know they're eating veggies!


This started out as a typical zucchini bread recipe I found on an "Easy Everyday Cooking™" recipe card. However, believing that everything tastes better with a little organic Fair Trade chocolate, I put my own "eco-healthy" spin on this, and...well, let's just say that in my house, a loaf of this stuff never lasts more than a couple days!


If you can, try to use organic ingredients. I also use Fair Trade/organic chocolate chips (Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates) and Fair Trade/organic raw sugar (Whole Foods).

Makes 1 loaf (4" x 8" loaf pan).

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)
1 cup wheat flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 4 x8-inch loaf pan.

  2. Beat egg, oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl win an electric mixer set at medium speed until foamy. I just used a hand-held mixer...works fine.

  3. Add zucchini to egg mixture and stir.

  4. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl.

  5. Gradually add flour mixture to zucchini mixture, beating continually until well mixed. I usually just pour in a quarter of the flour mixture at a time, and stir with a rubber spatula in between - no need to use the mixer.

  6. Stir chocolate chips and chopped pecans into batter.

  7. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. To test, I stick a tooth pick in and see if it comes out clean.
*NOTE: This recipe calls for a 1/4 of the sugar (original recipe uses 1 cup sugar to 1 cup flour) and twice as much zucchini as in the original recipe. In addition, I substituted wheat flour for the original white flour. With the chocolate chips added in, I think this bread is more than sweet enough. However, you may want to experiment with more sugar and/or mixing half wheat and half white flour.

Mommies Love Chocolate!

From The Mommy-Files:

"Anybody who knows me knows I LOVE chocolate! I was excited to try a few products from Coco-Zen. At Coco-Zen, you will find edible treats (truffles), as well as body treats (for lips, hands, and body)..."

Read the rest of The Mommy-File's review...
REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - Coco-Zen

VIDEO: How Much Water is in Your Latte?



*Found on The Vibe

Check out this video out and see that A LOT more water than you think goes into that morning latte. Simple things like buying organic coffee or bringing a reusable mug can help reduce the amount of water consumed.

WWF Change the way you think

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Stuff We Found Today - 03.18.09


"Hundreds of snowmen exercised their constitutional rights to gather publicly and protest against global warming." - Consumer Energy Report

Family, Kids & Health Stuff


Food Stuff

Home Stuff
  • Super cool kiddie rocking chairs - (Ideal Bite) These are some NICE looking rocking chairs sized just for the little ones, made from sustainable woods and eco finishes. Although a bit pricey, the Iglooplay Mod Rocker will look pretty darn nice in any mod home!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

International Stuff

Political & Social Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff