I’m always open minded about exploring new products, but one of the things that is important to me is that products be organic. Organic products mean you know there are less pesticides, manufactured herbicides or artificial fertilizers. It means better animal welfare, better wildlife management and sustainable land-use. It’s better for the environment, for the workers, and for the consumer. Although organic can be a bit more expensive, in every single situation I’ve used organic goods I’ve felt it was worth it. I’ve recently discovered Indigo Herbs, who offer a wide range of health foods and organic products and based in Glastonbury, so you know you’re supporting a local business and browsing their products has made me realize you can buy organic and have good value too. Indigo herbs sent me two products to try out and review, one which I use very regularly – coconut oil, and another which is a new product to me but has been gaining popularity in the last few years so I was excited to try – matcha green tea powder.
Indigo Herbs Organic Coconut Oil
When my son was born last year he suffered dreadfully from dry skin, which is very common with newborns. Whilst I was frantically searching online for baby safe skin creams, I asked the health visitor for advice, and that’s how I found out how healthy coconut oil is for the skin – and completely safe to use from a day old. I used it every day for the first 3 months of William’s life, and since then still use it after bathing as he’s prone to dry skin. This jar came in very useful with the current heatwave, which has dried both his and my skin out dreadfully so we’ve been using it every day.
Simply scoop out a small finger tip or half a spoon of it and use it liberally on any part of your body that you feel could use a really intense moisturiser. It rubs into the skin really easily and smells fantastic too. When reading about coconut oil I found out it was a natural antibacterial and anti-fungal and really offers health benefits a cut above a packaged moisturizer – which will be full of chemicals and ingredients. Of course it can also be used in cooking as well, but I primarily use it for skincare and as a deep conditioner when my hair feels like it needs a boost.
Indigo Herbs offers pure (virgin) organic certified coconut oil that comes in a recyclable glass jar. It smells fantastic and feels great and I’m impressed with the value, as it’s actually about the same price for a 500ml jar as I buy a 300ml jar for!
Indigo Herbs Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder
Powdered match tea is something I’ve been hearing a lot about but hadn’t had chance to try yet. It’s got a lot of hype over the last few years for how high it is in vitamins and nutrients with a great deal of antioxidants, and even containing EGCg (which has cancer fighting properties). It’s 100% natural and organic, with absolutely nothing added, yet is high in protein and fibre and contains Vitamins A, K, C, B1, B2, B6 as well as a good mix of the important minerals such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and zinc. In short, it’s really good for you!
But how do you use it?
It comes as a very fine powder which can be mixed with water to make a tea and drunk pure, or used in a wide variety of recipes. You can add it to smoothies for a natural energy drink, or mix it in with your cakes, biscuits and energy bars. It goes really well with coconut and makes a delicious ice cream as well. I found it has quite a distinctive flavour, quite complex, earthy and hard to describe, but delicious and naturally sweet which makes it ideal for baking. It gives some energy, but it’s not the instant boost that you’d expect with a high caffeine drink, it’s a mellow and gradual boost. So far I’ve used it as a tea, and adding it to my morning smoothie and I hope to bake with it soon.
I’m really happy with the Matcha I received from Indigo Herbs and will be buying another pouch when this one is used up. It’s resealable in an airtight bag which has kept it completely fresh.
So hopefully this has given you some (organic) food for thought, if you use either coconut oil or matcha green tea, let me know how you use yours in the comments!
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