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.

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Putting the Eco into Easter Fun

Our friends over at Celebrate Green have some great tips on how to add a little eco into your Easter celebrations.

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5 Egg-cellent Eco-Friendly Easter Egg Ideas


1. You may have heard the not-so-great news that dyes used for Easter eggs, even though labeled non-toxic, may not be so healthy. Seems some of the dyes contain coal tar and other petroleum products.

Why purchase these kinds of products in the first place, especially when it's so simple, fun and educational to dye eggs using items from your fridge or pantry?

Dyeing eggs with fruits and veggies is not much more complicated than using store-bought dyes. Choose brightly colored fruits and veggies (though sometimes a not-so-bright item, can yield amazingly vibrant results, onion skins being one example) and give it a try. Here are instructions for both hot and cold methods.

2. Hunting for colorful fruits and vegetables not your style? Check out the brand new eco-frendly tablets in the Eco-Eggs Easter Egg Coloring Kit where the colors come from purple sweet potato, paprika, beta carotene, red cabbage and blueberries. For $10, you get enough dye for two years.

3. If you hurry, you still may be able to pick up some souvenir eco-friendly wooden eggs that commemorate the annual Easter egg roll on the south lawn of the the White House. These commemorative eggs are made in the U.S. from FSC certified hardwood.

4. When it comes to candy eggs to hide or give in a basket, you're in luck. There are more eco-friendly choices available now than ever. Check your local natural food store(s). If you're lucky your local grocery or even big box chain might carry organic or Fair Trade chocolate eggs. If not, further the cause by letting the manager know you'd like this choice and that if she stocks them, you will buy.

5. Avoid buying new plastic eggs. But if you've held on to old ones or find some at a garage sale, give them new life! Cover with paper mache (made with flour and water); or glue on bits of yarn; or cover in glitter made from old piece of silver foil. You get the idea, bring out a box filled with odds and ends and let the kids have fun using eco-friendly glue of course, fill with healthy, green goodies.

(Don't store unwrapped candy in plastic eggs because the eggs may contain chemicals that can leech into the candy, especially if left in the heat. Kids have been known to discover hidden eggs months after Easter and devour the contents.)

For more eco-Easter ideas, visit www.CelebrateGreen.net/blog

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Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

Fill their baskets with good chocolate!


Our seasonal Chocolate-On-A-Sticks come in fun Easter holiday shapes the kids will love. All shapes come in your choice of milk chocolate or 72% dark chocolate.

Made from organic & Fair Trade Certified chocolate, these treats are good for planet & good for people!




Hurry, hurry... Easter is Sunday, April 4th
Get 50% off Priority Mail shipping on orders of $50 or more.* Enter promo code HURRY at checkout.

*per recipient, up to $250 - additional fees apply for shipments upgraded to Express Mail

Quote of the Week - 03.28.10

"Change begins from the moment you muster the courage to act. When you change, the environment will change."
~Daisaku Ikeda

"…and when we buy Fair Trade chocolate, the cocoa industry will change."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Quote of the Week - 03.28.10

"Change begins from the moment you muster the courage to act. When you change, the environment will change."
~Daisaku Ikeda

"…and when we buy Fair Trade chocolate, the cocoa industry will change."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Friday, March 26, 2010

Stuff We Found Today - 03.26.10

Ed Begley Jr. Just Says NO To Bottled Water

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Work & Business Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

Monday, March 22, 2010

VIDEO: The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water



Today, March 22, is World Water Day which was is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. It was started to raise awareness about the world's increasing water quality challenges.

Check out this great educational film created by the folks over at the Surfrider Foundation (it's animated!!)... and pass it along!

The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water from Surfrider Foundation on Vimeo.


Sunday, March 21, 2010

VIDEO: Chocolate Country (documentary)

Can't believe we missed this film...
"In the isolated hill towns of the Dominican Republic, cacao farmers have been fighting a losing battle with the global economy (and hundreds of opportunistic middlemen) for as long as anyone can remember. “Chocolate Country” is the story of a village with a plan to turn the system on its head. Like many poor farmers, the people of Loma Guacanejo have never been able to afford herbicides or pesticides. Shifting demands in the first world are about to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. If the farmers can certify their cocoa beans “organic”, and leverage the benefits of "Fair Trade", their product could instantly double - even triple - in value...

What the Loma Guacanejo cooperative is fighting for amounts to a win-win situation for consumers and growers. For consumers, it provides an alternative to the unsanitary and unappetizing conditions of conventional production, where cacao is dried on roadside tarps and exposed to rain, mold, car exhaust and wandering livestock. For growers, it promises a fairer, more direct relationship with the marketplace, and a better income for households where running water is still a rarity and electricity a far-off dream."
~ ChocolateCountryFilm.com

Quote of the Week - 03.21.10

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book."
~Irish Proverb

"A good laugh and some Fair Trade chocolate are the best cures in our book."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Friday, March 19, 2010

Stuff We Found Today - 03.18.10

"No, This Is Why You're Fat!" ~Treehugger.com

Family, Kids & Health Stuff
Food Stuff

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff
  • Candelight only, chez Gisele Bundchen - (Celebs Gone Good) The supermodel "welcomed the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) into their home to film some up close and personal PSAs to raise awareness about the March 27 energy conservation event." (video in post)

International Stuff

Other Random Cool Stuff

Sunday, March 14, 2010

VIDEO: Stephen Colbert on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

If you didn't catch this on The Colbert Report a while back... hilarious!! Gotta love the sarcasm.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Coal Comfort - Margaret Palmer
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorEconomy

Quote of the Week - 03.14.10

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
~Winston Churchill

"Fair Trade chocolate is a little thing that makes a big difference."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Stuff We Found Today - 03.11.10


Renault's Flying Sailboats

Family, Kids & Health Stuff
  • 'Pesticide Drift' Eluding Efforts To Combat It - (NPR) "The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a petition from farm worker and public health advocates to ban pesticide spraying near schools, hospitals and child care centers..."

Food Stuff
  • NeighborhoodFruit.com - If you've got a fruit tree or two in your backyard and never have time to pick it, check out this website... and share your fruit!

Home Stuff

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

Tech & Science Stuff


School, College & Student Stuff

Nature & Environment Stuff

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

Website Stuff
  • Google adds bike lane with latest mapping feature - (Mother Nature Network) "Now you can find routes that avoid big hills and heavily congested areas, as well as locate bike trails." Perfect for those of us that aren't up to tackling those SF hills!

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

Monday, March 8, 2010

Making St. Patty's Day greener than green!

Our friends over at Celebrate Green have some great ideas about making this "green" holiday really green.

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Celebrate a really, truly green St. Patrick's Day

March can be a drab month--waiting for winter to end and the first signs of spring to emerge. That's why, whether you're Irish or not, celebrating St. Patrick's Day is a cool idea--especially if you make it eco! Here are some simple, fun, affordable ideas for you and the family that will make those not included green with envy!

1. Gather your friends and neighbors for your own St. Patrick's Day walking parade. Whether it's around a cul de sac or down a street or two, you're sure to have a great
time if you dress in green and wish everyone the luck 'o the Irish as you pass by! Encourage participants to make hats out of whatever they have around the house or before the
parade, ask guests to bring an old white/beige t-shirt and meet at your house. Cut shamrock shapes into potatoes and stamp on the shirts with eco-friendly fabric paints.

2. Decorate at least one room in the house with the spirit 'o the green. Gather everything green you have lying around from books to clothing to flower pots etc., even green sheets. Set the timer for ten minutes and let the kids decorate the room. Then have a party there! Put on some Irish music, learn a jig and celebrate.

3. Skip the corned beef. It's not really Irish anyway! (According to the History Chanel, no one in Ireland ate this except for a few royals. But when the Irish immigrated to New York's lower East side, they were looking for a cheaper alternative to bacon and probably learned about corned beef from their Jewish neighbors.) Since one of the most Earth-friendly habits you can get into is eating less (or no) beef, focus on the veggies. Cabbage is great if people like it, but if they don't, potatoes are usually a favorite. How about setting up a potato bar and color the taters green with pureed veggies like kale, spinach, arugula, or pea pods. Add spice with green salsa or more interesting taste with sage.
4. End a party or St. Pat's family dinner with homemade organic oatmeal cookies and pistachio, lime or mint ice cream/sherbert/sorbet.

5. For evening entertainment, borrow or rent A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The story centers on an Irish immigrant family in Brooklyn in the 1900's and their young daughter's struggle to stay positive in the midst of poverty. Better yet, choose to start reading the book of the same name on St. Patrick's Day.

6. If you want to enjoy the occasion with a touch of beer, always a St. Paddy's Day favorite, check out the many organic alternatives.

7. A few quick, easy, no waste games for your gathering:
  • See how many words two teams can make from the longest place name in Ireland: Muckanaghederdauhaulia

  • Have everyone try to guess the meaning of Irish words like: handfasting, sean-nos, or a jaunting car. Answers and more words are here.

  • Here's an Irish children's game: One child is Mr. Fox and the other children line the wall. Mr. Fox stands about 10 feet away with his back turned. The children in the line say, "What time is it Mr. Fox?" He replies, "one o'clock." Then the children walk slowly toward the fox, repeating the question and answer until the Fox says, "Dinner time." The fox chases everyone back to the wall. It anyone is tagged, he/she is now the Fox.


Top picks for St. Patrick's Day celebrations

Organic oatmeal cookies from Home Free.

An emerald green playsilk for Sarah's Silks is just the thing to create a costume or decorate the house for St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a tiny leprechaun to sit in the palm of a child's hand or to use in her imaginary play.

For more clever St. Patrick's Day ideas visit the Celebrate Green blog.

Leprechaun graphic by Tracey Monette.

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Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Quote of the Week - 03.07.10

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."
~Buddha

"There is only ONE mistake one can make along the road to chocolate enlightenment; not buying Fair Trade."
~Coco-Zen
Coco-Zen Fair Trade chocolates

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

VIDEO: Everything is OK...keep shopping!



This is hilarious! Check out this protest in the UK.

"Thinking is boring... Sheeple, not people..." Haha!