Stuff We Found Today - 11.06.11

FLOTUS at the White House Autumn Harvest 2011

Food Stuff

• How to roast pumpkin seeds - (Mother Nature Network) In case you still have those seeds from your jack-o-lantern.
• Iron: Dark Chocolate Contains More than Beef? - (Care2) Get our iron from chocolate...we like that idea! OK - not really advocating that, but still...
• Recipe: Kale with Lemon Sauce - (Celebrate Green!) Mmmm...always on the lookout for yummy kale recipes to get more green into dinner.

Home Stuff

• Recycled Skateboard Bench - (EcoSalon) These would be super cool in a hip office...wishful thinking on our part??
• Don't get slimed: Skip the fabric softener - (Enviroblog) "Fabric softeners contain toxic ingredients that are bad for your health and the environment."

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Triumph Japan Recycles Old Bras Into Power-Generating Fuel - (Ecouterre) Sounds like a pretty good idea to us.
• Is Synthetic Clothing Causing "Microplastic" Pollution in Our Oceans? - (Ecouterre) Great...another way we're polluting with plastic.
• 6 DIY Pumpkin-Skincare Products You Can Make at Home - (Ecouterre) These are really easy... and good enough to eat right off your skin!
• 18 Vegan Shoe Brands That Are Eco-Friendly and Ethical, to Boot - (Ecouterre)
• 7 Beauty Ingredients To Avoid - (EcoSalon) Read the labels ladies!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Power the economy and grid with local solar [Infographic] - (Grist)
• Northeast States Teaming Up to Build EV Charging Network - (EcoGeek.org)
• Dow Solar Shingles Finally Hitting U.S. Markets - (EcoGeek.org) Can replace regular roof shingles.

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Up to 20 million tons of debris from Japan's tsunami moving toward Hawaii - (Yahoo! News) Yikes!
• The Simpsons Called It; Three Eyed Fish Caught Outside a Nuclear Power Plant - (Gizimodo) No joke...caught in a resevoir in Argentina. Check it out.
• Carbon Emissions Rise By Six Percent In 2010; Largest Rise Ever Recorded Concerns Scientists - (AboutMyPlanet.com) Not good!
• 12 Incredible Long Exposure Waterfall Photos - (Environmental Graffiti) Seriously beautiful pics.
• 6 Bizarre Alien-Looking Life Forms - (Environmental Graffiti) Nature...both beautiful and bizarre.

Website Stuff

• Vegan Cuts - A deal site just for vegans...check it out!

International Stuff

• Ikea to Build Massive 26-Acre Suburb in East London - (Inhabitat) Wow...welcome to IKEAland! Hey, at least it's planned to be eco-friendly.
• Saudi Arabia Begins Operations At First Solar Plant - (AboutMyPlanet.com) Hey...when oil rich nations start going solar...

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

• An Urban Garden Prepares Inmates for Green-Collar Jobs - (NYTimes.com) Like!!
• White House Autumn Harvest 2011 - (Obama Pics Daily) Love seeing FLOTUS in the veggie garden with all the kids!
• Guerilla Gardening at Occupy Wall Street - (350.org) "...a beautiful film from the crew at Seismologik.com on a unique way to connect food, direct action, and a fundamental new way of looking at the world around us..."
• Big News on the Keystone pipeline: Obama Steps Up and takes ownership of decision - (350.org) Question is... what will he decide?

Other Random Cool Stuff

• How many people have ever lived on Earth? - (Mother Nature Network) "As humanity welcomes its 7 billionth member this month, the Population Reference Bureau calculates our net population from 50,000 BC to today." Kind of interesting...
• Olly - An air freshener that works when you get pinged - OK...we know this isn't a "green" post, but thought it was so outrageous that we had to share. For reals people...c'mon!
• Too Many Halloween Treats? 10 good ways to get rid of the haul! - (Celebrate Green)

Stuff We Found Today - 02.24.11

OAT's biodegradable sneaker

Food Stuff

• Recipe: Tartlettes Au Citron (Little Lemon Tarts) - (GirlieGirlArmy.com) Mmmmm... these look delish and they just happed to be vegan!
• Disney World replaces McDonald's with BabyCakes vegan cupcakes - (Examiner.com) Wow!!
• Seasonal recipe: Twice Baked Irish Potatoes with Stout Onions and Kale - (Mother Nature Network) Who doesn't love a twice baked potato in the winter...and adding kale is a nice way to work some green into this.
• Former McDonald's executives to start healthy fast-food chain - (Mother Nature Network) "Celebrity chefs to create menu that includes low-fat, healthy, vegan and vegetarian options." Now, this will be interesting...
• Chocolate's Startling Health Benefits - (The Huffington Post) Make it organic & Fair Trade... even better!
• 5 sustainable seafood recipes - (Mother Nature Network) Mmmm... the mussels and winter potato dish looks yummy!
• Researcher: Roundup or Roundup-Ready Crops May Be Causing Animal Miscarriages and Infertility - (Organic Consumers Association) "One of the nation’s senior soil scientists alerted the federal government to a newly discovered organism that may have the potential to cause infertility and spontaneous abortion in farm animals, raising significant concerns about human health..."

Home Stuff

• DIY home winterizing in 4 easy steps - (Mother Nature Network) Great little checklist!
• Hill House: A modern green cabin in the not-so-wild West - (Mother Nature Network) Pretty home!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Plant OAT's Biodegradable Sneaker, Watch It Bloom into Flowers - (Ecouterre) Such a cool idea... can't wait to see if they make more styles in the future.
• Benetton Gets Greener With Biodegradable Hangers, Organic Cotton - (Ecouterre) Now if all clothing retailers would do this... imagine that!!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Porsche Unveils Brand New Boxster-E Electric Car - (Inhabitat) Oooohhh...sexy green car!

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Pygmy Seahorses: The Ocean's Prettiest Camouflage Artists - (Environmental Graffiti) Awww... love seahorses!
• Moloch Horridus: The Thorny Mountain Devil - (Environmental Graffiti) Now here's an interesting looking little fellow...
• 13 Snapshots of the World's Rarest Birds - (Environmental Graffiti) Just some pretty birdie pics.

International Stuff

• Spain's Largest Vertical Garden Cleans Air Inside Office Building - (Inhabitat) Cool!

My what big truffles you have!...

Lately we've been hearing from customers who want our large dessert truffles to bring to a party or to serve after dinner, but who don't need the fancy packaging of our Truffles-To-Give or the large quantities of our Bulk Truffles.

Introducing Truffles-To-Share...

Our large dessert truffles weigh a massive 1.7oz each (think golf ball size) and always make quite an impression. Now available in a simple recyclable and biodegradable carton, Coco-Zen Truffles-To-Share are perfect for when all you need are delicious truffles without the fancy packaging.

As always, are chocolate treats are handmade from organic and Fair Trade ingredients.

Share Coco-Zen and share good chocolate... good for planet & good for people!

Psst... we've got vegan truffles!
Did you know that our large dessert truffles are now available in vegan

flavors? Check out what people have to say about them...

"Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing whether it's eating your vegetables as a kid or staying away from fried foods as an adult. But, Coco-Zen makes it easy for you to do the right thing..."

Read more

"Ever gobbled down a chocolate truffle - then wished that truffle had been bigger? If size matters, try Coco-Zen's large dessert truffles - giant choco-orbs of organic, fair trade goodness..."
Read more

Recycle Your Day logo"Chocolate that will have you opening up your cupboards wishing for more. Really! It's that good..."
Read more

Do the right thing... eat your Fair Trade chocolate!

Check out the recent review of Coco-Zen's new vegan truffles on the Chocolate Grail...

"Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing whether it's eating your vegetables as a kid or staying away from fried foods as an adult. But, Coco-Zen makes it easy for you to do the right thing: their chocolates areFair Trade Certified and use only organic ingredients. And as a reward for your virtue, these chocolates are also rich, luscious, flavorful and creamy..." Read more

green LA girl gives Coco-Zen's new vegan truffles a thumbs up!

We recently set our new vegan truffles to super cool "green LA girl", Siel Ju, to try out. Although she found our large truffles to be a bit too large (too much chocolate...no!), she gave them the thumbs up.

We'll admit... these dessert size truffles are definitely NOT for the faint of heart!

Siel writes not only for her own blog, but is a featured writer on Mother Nature Network. Check out her reviews...

green LA girl

Coco-Zen fair trade organic vegan truffles

Mother Nature Network

Coco-Zen chocolate truffles make size matter