Welcome to the August 2018 issue of the Stirling Health Food Store newsletter!
In this issue: Scotland Weeks, Josine's chicken and TV - extra blog, all topped off with another seasonal recipe...
|
|
|
Our News: Scotland Weeks 23rd July – 12th August
 Yes folks, it’s that time of year again! Our Scottish Weeks promotion is upon us once again - a 3 week celebration of all the wonderful Scottish food and skincare products we stock in our store - all with a saving of 10%!
It’s also a perfect time to come along to the store and meet some of our ‘Local Heroes’ - Scottish suppliers whose products you can try out for free!
The promotion is still a few weeks away, but I already have a few confirmed dates and I think you’ll agree - they are pretty amazing!
Confirmed guests include:
Saturday 28th July Strathallan Porridge
You don’t get more local than this! This porridge is grown right on our doorstep at the carse of Stirling. Alison from Strathallan will be with us to tell you all about growing and milling oats and how to make the best porridge... ever!
Saturday 28th July Wheesth Facial Masks
Wheesth skincare products are handmade in Stirling by Kelly. All her masks are completely natural, vegan and cruelty free and contain no nasty chemicals!
Saturday 4th August Candle Kisses
A new addition to our expanding gift range (is it too early to mention they would make excellent Christmas gifts?). Handmade by Isabel, these scented candles are paraffin free and come in a range of different scents. I’ve tried them at home and they smell absolutely gorgeous!
As well as the above brands, we’ll also be holding more FREE tastings of Bute Island sheeses (dairy free alternatives to hard and cream cheese) every Saturday outside our shop on Dumbarton Road throughout the Scotland Weeks promotion. There’s a lot happening - so why not pop along and experience a real taste of Scotland!
|
|
Special Offer: Faith in Nature Hair Care – 25% Discount
We once again have a special offer on award winning brand Faith in Nature natural hair care products!
Throughout August and September you will receive a 25% discount on all Faith in Nature Shampoos and Conditioners.
 Faith in Nature began life not long after Rivka Rose moved from New York to Scotland. After first coming to terms with the change in weather, she developed a moisturiser, ideal for use against the harsher Scottish winds. Her vision was to create an affordable beauty and skincare range for everyone to use made from natural, vegetable sources, which were also animal-cruelty free and environmentally friendly. This was a unique vision in the UK at the time - even the most ‘natural’ ranges available back then used mineral oil as a base ingredient with the addition of synthetic perfumes.
All Faith in Nature products are made without the harsh chemicals you find in many high street brands. Their products have never been tested on animals; neither have the ingredients they use in their products. All of their products are paraben-free and do not contain SLS, SLES or GMO ingredients. Their bottles are made from recycled plastic and they follow strict green practises in their office and factory.
Why not try this ethical, green, British brand and see for yourself? Or why not take the opportunity to stock up? With a saving on average of £1.35 per 400ml bottle of shampoo or conditioner, it might be worth considering!
|
|
New Product: Findhorn Flower Essences + Free consultations!
Just in... an exciting new range of flower essences and spray mists in stock!
Some of you might be familiar with Findhorn, they are an ecovillage and wwoof host (just like me, but on a much larger scale) based in the north of Scotland.
 What you may not know know is that they also produce a fantastic range of flower essences.
Findhorn Flower Essences is a small and award-winning business with over 20 years experience in the production of self-help flower remedies. Their flower essences are lovingly made by hand using the Dr. Bach method with only the finest natural and organic ingredients.
Flower essences are made from infusions of flowers in water preserved with organic brandy.
They work on the subtle levels of the mind and emotions, giving support in times of stress and anxiety by helping balancing your emotional state of mind. By taking the appropriate flower essence you seek to balance the body's electrical system and rid the mind of negative emotions - helping you to heal yourself.
Flower essences can help soothe emotional stress, find peace of mind, increase self-confidence and transform negativity and enhance positive attitudes.
We’ve got three new products in this line:
Flower essence sprays are taken internally to balance emotional patterns, attitudes and behaviours that negatively impact health and wellbeing.
Feel good duo packs combine one flower essence spray with a complementary aromatherapy mist to positively transform your mood.
Sacred mists are sprayed around the room or yourself to bring a moment of sanctity to your day - they make a great wee gift, too...
By way of introduction to this exciting new range of self help remedies, we have invited Shona from Findhorn to come along to our store to tell you a bit more about them.
And because they are made in Findhorn, Scotland, the whole range has 10% off during the Scotland Weeks, too!
|
|
Our News: Free water top up in our shop!
In our bid to help reduce plastic even more, we as a shop are now offering everyone free tap water refills for 500ml (or thereabouts) size bottles. Simply bring in your own bottle and we’ll refill it with refreshing Scottish tap water on the spot! Not only will this save millions of water bottles ending up in landfill (or worse), but it will also save you money in the process.
Just present your empty bottle to a member of staff and they’ll fill it from the tap!
Please note this is entirely at your own risk. We will be using Scottish tap water, but cannot be held responsible for possible contaminants in the bottles supplied to us.
|
|
Our News: Online and Click & Collect Service
D id you know you can also buy all your health products via our online shop and get them delivered to your door (from £2.90 for orders up to 2kg)? Or use our new click & collect service and pick your order up in the store (at no extra charge).
Not only is shopping online with a real, proper, well established shop much safer and more personal, we also pay our taxes, too!
|
|
Dates to put in your diary
- 13th August - 19th August
National Allotment Week - go on... get growing! Even on a small scale you can grow some of your own fruit and vegetables!
- 23rd July - 12th August
Scotland Weeks - Free tastings plus special guests plus... 10% off ALL Scottish products
|
|
Did you know.....?
In 1999 scientists discovered a new hormone called ‘ghrelin’, which sends signals to the brain to let you know that you need food. That’s why it’s also called the ‘hunger hormone’. You know, even thinking about it makes me peckish...
|
|
Josine’s Garden, TV and Chicken Blog
Let’s start with the big news first: Tufty, our poorly hen is still with us!!
 When I sent last month’s newsletter out on the Saturday, we let her out for a final day in the fields, thinking if - by a miracle - she did manage to make it through the day we would still have to end her suffering on the Sunday. When we came home that night, there was no sign of Tufty - she had vanished. So, we assumed she hadn’t made it and had wandered off somewhere and died peacefully. That is until the neighbour came to our door to say she was creating havoc in their garden! We were gobsmacked! My husband went to pick her up and when we examined her, there hardly seemed to be anything wrong with her neck at all! It’s still ever so slightly bent over, but nothing like it was weeks and indeed, the day, before! We couldn’t believe it! Now that she seems to be back to her normal (sweet) self - she’s back outside with the rest of the flock again creating havoc in our garden. Apparently the vitamins we gave her had a positive effect and we’ve continued feeding her the special mash once a week, just to be on the safe side.
They never fail to surprise you, don’t they?!
 So does the Scottish weather by the way; what is happening to the climate?? It has been incredibly dry and really warm too, by Scottish standards that is. One of the (many) reasons I moved to Scotland, is the slightly cooler climate, I don’t really like anything over 23C, but this year there have been plenty of times when temperatures have risen above that. Mind you, in the Netherlands it’s currently over 30C, so it’s still cooler over here. But for the first time, our garden is not 4 weeks behind everywhere else! In contrast, because of the extremely hot weather in Holland, my parents’  strawberries are behind ours! But what a harvest we’ve had so far; the strawberries never seemed to stop (11kg), the cherries are the best we’ve ever had (7kg), the onions are that big, they are ready to lift now (something we normally do at the end of August) and it looks like we’ll be making sauerkraut by the end of August too instead of September!
You normally start storing vegetables from the end of September, which ideally should last you until February/March. But because we have to harvest everything before September, we might not have enough stored vegetables by the time March comes round! I try to overcome that by sowing lots of greens (like kale, purslane and endive) in the greenhouse over winter and they should be ready in March/April. Keep an eye on our Facebook page, because if I have a glut of something, I will sell it in the shop. The hot weather is also a cause for concern - we can manage to water our garden with watering cans, but large farms can’t, so reading how the drought is affecting farmers in the news is commonplace.
 Oh, by the way, did you see River City on 11th July? Or were you watching the footie? Anyway, if you did tune into the best (and let’s face it only) Scottish soap, you couldn’t have missed me - I was spectacularly in that episode! I was a guest at the Murdoch’s birthday party and feature in a couple of key scenes. You can even hear me converse in the background! It’s still available to watch at BBC iPlayer, and the party scene is featured around the 20 minute mark. Here is a still from the scene:
|
|
Seasonal Recipe 1
this recipe is dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, egg free, gluten free
Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
300g gluten free fusilli
115g Mheat bacon rashers
½ tbsp olive oil
2 large tomatoes, quartered
3 spring onions, sliced
100g mature cheddar sheese, cubed
6 tbsp Bonsan dressing
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
Preparation:
Cook the pasta following the instructions on the packet (note that gluten free pasta requires a shorter cooking time).
Heat the olive oil and fry the Mheat rashers until nice and crisp.
Combine the tomatoes, spring onions, sheese and peppers. Add the pasta and the dressing and mix well. Top with the crispy meat free alternative to bacon. Et voila! A super-simple, summer pasta salad. You can enjoy this salad cold or lukewarm.
|
|
Seasonal Recipe 2
this recipe is dairy free, vegan, egg free, vegetarian, gluten free
Vegan Panna Cotta with mixed berries
Ingredients:
 250ml soya milk
250ml soya cream
1 vanilla pod
30 g sugar
1 heaped tsp Vegeset
100g mixed summer berries: like strawberries, currants, brambles, cherries or raspberries
1 lime
1 tbsp icing sugar
Preparation:
Place milk, cream, vanilla and sugar into a pan. Sprinkle VegeSet evenly on the top, whisk immediately whilst bringing the mixture almost to the boil. Remove the vanilla pod, pour into ramekins and leave in the fridge to set.
Make the coulis by whizzing 100g mixed berries, the juice from 1 lime and 1 tbsp of icing sugar in a blender. Chill and serve with the panna cotta.
That’s what I call a great dessert!
Both recipes can be found in the August section of our online recipe book
|
|
|
|
