Fruit Jerky - Snact.

We hate waste at The Amazing Blog, which is why we love the concept behind Snact. The Snact founders wanted to create a delicious alternative to chocolate and crisps that would also contribute to sustainability. Buying fruit that would otherwise have been thrown away and making their packaging 100% compostoble, Snact has created these delicious, healthy and environmentally friendly treatsthat we were lucky enough to try.

Snacts are a chewy and flavoursome fruit jerky made from 100% blended and dried fruit.  They are also vegan and gluten free! Snact's are available in a variety of fruit bursting flavours, our favourite was the Apple, Blueberry and Banana! Not only do they make the best late afternoon pick me up, but we love that with every 65 calorie packet we're also helping the environment and sticking to our diets.

Snacts are everything we love, delicious, healthy and good for the environment! So if you are looking for some 'snactivism' to get behind, you can purchase a pack fo five sachet's a here for £4.50.

Edible Insects - Grub

Here at The Amazing Blog, we like to believe that we’re adventurous people. So, when we came across Grub, a unique UK food company offering edible insects, we decided to give them a try.

Now, this snack is definitely not for the squeamish or faint of heart, so we apologise if the title startled you a little bit—but it’s actually not as bad as it seems! In fact, it’s actually pretty tasty. Admittedly, we did hesitate for a moment when we opened the package, but as soon as you try one, you might even find yourself going back for more (we certainly did).

So far we’ve only tried the flavoured roasted crickets, but Grub also offers fudge with crickets for snacking as well. And if you’re more interested in the culinary side of things, Grub provides unflavoured mealworms, grasshoppers, bull worms, and crickets along with a variety of tasty recipes for each of them. If you’re unsure of where to begin, there’s also a starter pack for your convenience. So why even bother eating insects, you might ask? Well it’s not as strange as you might think. Roasted insects are a staple in people’s diets all over the world. They’re incredibly high in nutrition and they’re sustainable too! Some even say that it’s the food of the future.

If you’d like to pick up some new snacks or experiment in the kitchen, take a look at the entire Grub line here.

EcoForce - Cleaning Products

When it comes to buying everyday household items, we at The Amazing Blog always lean towards those that are ‘green’ and eco-friendly. So when we received several cleaning products from EcoForce, we were really chauffed.

EcoForce is a unique brand that aims to reduce their carbon footprint at every possible level of production. All of their products are made from at least 90% recycled material, which reduces landfill waste, conserves precious fossil fuels and uses 70% less energy than new plastics. And with all their designing and manufacturing taking place here in the UK, EcoForce provides a ‘greener’ and more sustainable alternative to traditional cleaning items. From the wide array of products they offer, we were fortunate enough to receive their Scourers, Sponges, Cloths and Dusters. The scourers and sponges worked great around the sink and kitchen: mopping up messes and cleaning dishes with ease. While the cloths and dusters were useful around the office: cleanin up spilled tea and wipping off dirty fingerprints. Each item was perfect for some light household cleaning.

If the environmental benefits aren’t convincing enough, the price of all these products are extremely affordable. Ranging from £1 to £5, any of these products (and more) can be purchased on their website and in most supermarkets here in the UK - including Whole Foods. EcoForce makes it easy to be green while you clean.

Chocolate Creative

Having lived in the same bedroom for the last five years with the same furniture and decoration, give or take a few pictures on the wall and decorative candles, I’ve decided it’s time to update my boudoir and give it a fresh new look. With neither the budget to invest in a complete set of new furniture nor the skills to fashion my own DIY crafts for the home, I have been on the hunt for easy, simple and affordable ways to update my furnishings and hopefully add a stylish edge touch to my existing belongings. As always, I knew I wouldn’t be searching long thanks to my colleagues here at the Amazing Blog and sure enough they came up trumps by introducing me to Chocolate Creative. Chocolate Creative is a London based boutique homewares and accessories brand focused on sustainable, hand-made products, combining traditional skills such as cross stitch and embroidery with silkscreen printing. Inspired by traditional crafts, antiques, vintage textiles and images Chocolate Creative have created a range of products ranging from handmade natural linen cushions to bone china mugs. Here at the Amazing Blog we love the new range of wooden wall hooks and furniture knobs which are handmade in Chocolate Creative’s studios and guaranteed to transform the plainest furniture or wall space with their bright colours and vintage glamour inspired designs. Adorned with old fashioned landscapes and vintage embroidery and available in a range of colours to suit any colour scheme, the hooks and knobs can be used to decorate walls and furniture in an instant. We love the hooks for adding a touch of glamour (and are always handy for hanging coats, scarves, bags and hats) and the knobs which are great for adding a personal touch to newly bought cabinets or chest of drawers or for giving old furniture a new lease of life.

Chocolate Creative is available to buy online here.

Dress the halls!

There I was, innocently watching Saturday night TV when it happened. As soon as the beloved jingle of ‘Holidays are coming’ sounded, and the Coca-Cola truck danced across my screen, it became official – ‘tis the season to be jolly! And while there are lists a-plenty to be ticking off to make the festive season one to remember, where better to start, than with the tree. With December just over a week away, the time is nigh to be buying one’s tree, and Amazing PR has come across a fantastic company who sell everything you need to really deck the halls this year.

Scottish Christmas Trees is an online emporium selling a fantastic selection of real Christmas trees, decorations and lighting, and there’ll be no more struggling to get the tree onto the roof of the car this year, as they deliver direct to their customers all over the UK.

At Amazing PR we love championing small set-ups, and Scottish Christmas Trees is a friendly, family run business, growing over a whopping 25,000 trees on its Dumfries farm. The family’s concept is to grow high-grade, excellent quality trees which are only cut when ordered and are delivered fresh to festive families nationwide. In addition they pride themselves on their sustainability credentials and for every tree cut for sale, another one is planted in its place. They also offer decorations and a comprehensive range of lighting and accessories including tree stands and beautiful, handmade wreaths.

So this year, save yourself a trip to the local garden centre, pour yourself a glass of hot mulled wine and wait for the sleigh bells to ring… and the tree to arrive!