Join the Innocent Drinks family!

Bebi · Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 4:37 pm Post subject: Join the Innocent Drinks family!

Free to join, and you get a lovely weekly email

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/family/index.html?page=/family/

Edit: I'll add the choiciest bits as posts Smilie_PDT

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It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness

Bebi · Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:07 pm Post subject: Banana Facts!

Banana republic

You may notice what we're up to at the moment. We're telling you about a different fruit every week. This time it's bananas. Yikes. Anyway, bananas are a fine concept - just peel, eat and go, with no pip/stone messiness. Perfect product design. We get our bananas from Costa Rica, and all of them are Rainforest Alliance approved, which is a very good thing (click here to find out a bit more about the good stuff they do). But our favourite banana fact is that we use this special ripening chart. We only use bananas when they get to stage 5 or 6 of ripeness – perfectly yellow and not too green, so they don't have that grassy taste and they have a lower GI score, meaning that they release their energy nice and slowly. Oh bananas.

Above image from email - I'm afraid it doesn't get any larger when you click it, hence the lower image...

_________________
It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness

Bebi · Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:04 pm Post subject:

A rose by any other name

This week's special fruit is the raspberry. Some facts...

Raspberries are a member of the rose family (hence the prickly bushes) and they're made up of little bits called drupelets. Like cats, they're pretty good at keeping themselves clean (something to do with the little hairs) so you shouldn't wash raspberries excessively, as it'll damage the drupelets and you'll be eating something that's more akin to cold jam. But you might like that.

Our final fact is about Raspberry Leaf Tea, made by infusing 1oz of dried leaves (available from all good health food stores) in a pint of boiling water. If you have a sore mouth or need to wash a wound or an ulcer, look no further. And the tea is very good for pregnant ladies who are trying to encourage babies to come out and say hello. Try some today.
_________________
It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness

Bebi · Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:26 am Post subject:

Rubus Fruticosus

Each week here at Fruit Towers we learn a bit more about a new fruit. And we like to share. So here's what we learned about the blackberry this week:

There are over 2,000 varieties of blackberry. We use Black Satin, Thornfree, Cacanska Besterna and lots of wild blackberries as well (they don’t have a posh name).

Blackberries have been around since Neolithic times. So it’s likely that our ancestors may have chewed on a few after a hard day’s chiselling.

It is said that you shouldn’t pick blackberries after a certain date (often Michaelmas - 29 September). Any later than this and you will find that the Devil will have spat or stamped on your berries before you get there. Pesky varmint.
_________________
It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness

Bebi · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:59 am Post subject:

Fruit of the week - rosehips

Rosehips are a renowned source of natural vitamin C, containing 20 times more vitamin C than oranges (by weight), so they're a fairly healthy thing to put in a drink (like our natural vitamin c smoothie).

During World War Two they were picked and turned into rosehip syrup, so that vitamin-starved children could get their daily dose.

Rosehips can also be used as an itching powder substitute. Once the skin and flesh are removed from the hip, the hairy seeds can be pressed down the neck of your poor victim.

The polyphenol spree

Here's something that we posted on our blog last week, but we thought we'd share it again, seeing as it's pretty interesting.

Recent research has shown that drinking juice frequently may significantly cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The bits that are thought to be responsible for this good news are polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant. If you¹re after any more of these polythingies, have the following for your tea: peanuts, green or white tea, red wine, olive oil, dark chocolate and lots of fruit and veg - all of which are rich in said nutrient. Best of health. More here.
_________________
It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness

Bebi · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:08 am Post subject:

Slightly off-topic but I feel this deserves a mention.

Knit's that time again

Yes, time for another few weeks' worth of ill-judged knitting puns. Seems like it's come round a bit quick but there you go. Anyway, it's time to dust off your needles, unravel your wool and get knitting. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Supergran, it's a bit like this: we knit lots of little woolly hats, stick them on the bottles and then sell them in the shops. For every behatted bottle sold, 50p goes towards helping keep older people warm this winter, via the good people at Age Concern.

This year we're aiming to knit 175,000 hats (last year we did nearly 96,000) and whilst we're OK at knitting, it would be great if you fancied helping out. The knitting pattern and all other details are here and this year the Supergran bottles are going to be available in Sainsbury's.

_________________
It is those who are perfectly sane who are driven the maddest by an insane world...

There is method behind my madness