We think it’s always good to give attention to an important cause, like finding more sustainable ways to help us at prayer. See our story on the sustainable prayer mat that is taking over the internet! And of course something is more sustainable if there is simply fewer or less of the thing, but we […]
In this day and age, with the superpower of Google, you can locate any recipe, and find infinite recipe ideas, online. So what’s the point of owning a cookbook? Aren’t cookbooks a little outdated? The answer, in my opinion, is no. An analogy could be made comparing “real books” to “E-books,” such as those purchased […]
We loved the feedback from the latest gadget for coffee lovers: a hybrid alarm clock that tells you to rise and shine by brewing a fresh cup of joe on your bedside table. I’d like to present you with a spin on that old cup of joe, in the form of a nutrient-rich, energy-boosting coffee smoothie. […]
Wouldn’t it be great if recipes for high-energy, healthy snacks required no cooking or baking? Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: date squares are made with neither a stove nor an oven. The lesson I’ve learned after watching this video demo: Never underestimate the power of a food processor.
Keep your chocolate pure, fair trade and organic: a guide to eating chocolate the green way. Chocolate is alternately portrayed as a sinful delight – damaging to your health and your waistline – or as a food with health benefits. So which is it? According to the Mayo Clinic website, a trusted health authority in […]
I had the pleasure of meeting this enterprising Bedouin woman, Miriam Aborkeek while on a Bedouin home stay and personal tour with Yeela Raanan of Bedouin Experience in Israel. Here’s Aborkeek’s story about her natural cosmetics company Desert Daughter: Once, Bedouin women roamed with the seasons, foraging for plants and helping graze animals where the rains […]
Faiza Hussain, who has started a small online business selling halal and organic skincare products, tells us why she ditched the chemical-laden products she used to love Like most women, Faiza Hussain’s fascination with creams, lotions and potions started at a young age. As a teenager she had a collection of skincare products she adored […]
These days it’s impossible to trust anything. We go to the store or market and buy what we believe is an organic head of lettuce but it’s virtually impossible to know whether that label meets our own standards for healthy food. Which means that we could be consuming nasty chemicals without even realizing it. Unless […]
In Israel the organic food market is still comparatively small and underdeveloped. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz organic food only comprises one and half percent of Israel’s agricultural output. A whopping 90% of it is exported abroad, mainly to European markets. An annual Agriculture Ministry survey in 2011 discovered that 37.4% of the organic […]
Sun bathing in Sinai is like asking for trouble if not adequately screened from the sun’s UV rays. Beach season is now beginning in Middle East countries sharing beach fronts on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Along with problems like beach littering; and increasing and even record high summer temperatures in the Middle East […]
DIY, make your own chemical-free hand and body lotion. At the end of our post on 5 natural ways to keep your skin beautiful, we note how important it is to moisturize. Now, take a good squint at the ingredients on your moisturizer’s label. There’s petroleum in one form or another. Alcohol. One or more […]
A Lebanese man takes on a bucking bull at Lebanon’s very own dude ranch… do you think he made 8 seconds? If you’ve always dreamed about cowboys and Indians, stop. They fought and killed each other and it was grisly. But the southwestern ranch lifestyle is entirely less violent and now it’s possible to taste […]
Hizbollah is going green with an eco-jihad as a tactic of war against Israel. On October 9, 2010, Hizbullah‘s Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, briefly came out of hiding to mark the end of Hizbullah’s campaign to plant million trees in Lebanon to restore the country’s forests. This campaign was organized by Jihad al-Binaa, Hizbullah’s […]
A brilliant new online farming system in Egypt allows city dwellers to become reacquainted with their agrarian roots without leaving their urban comfort zone. Egyptian urbanites who have a desire to grow their own food but lack the farming skills now have access to a brilliant new remote farming system that has both an online […]
Protecting food security in Abu Dhabi. A press release from the United Arab Emirate’s Ministry of Environment and Water states that in the past year, 8000,000 fruit and vegetables were tested for safe levels of pesticide residues. It seems that the scandal in Egypt over illicit pesticides resonates all over the Middle East.
SEKEM, an Egyptian organic farming community has been chosen as one of 16 ‘Sustainability Champions’ in the developing world which are tackling environmental and social problems A recent report by the World Economic Forum has identified 16 successful companies from as far afield as Costa Rica and China which have shown great environmental awareness and […]
Since 2007, land dedicated to organic greenhouse farming across the United Arab Emirates has increased by 15 percent Despite some debate over the carbon-footprint of locally grown food when using desalinated water, it is widely accepted that growing your own food locally is better and greener than shipping it in from all corners of the […]
Telling Mediterraneans not to eat cucumbers is like taking baguettes away from Parisians. At least 10 people have died, and one thousand more expected to be ill from eating tainted organic cucumbers and other fresh produce consumed in Germany. Contaminated with a rare and deadly form of E.coli, a bacteria, the organic cucumbers are causing […]
The Pure Rootz fashion label brings organic cotton to the Lacoste customer. Whereas organic food has been a relatively easy sell to high-end customers, organic clothing has been a little tougher to get going. Organic goat cheese or cherry tomato confit sound delicious to just about anybody, but organic clothing might call to mind tie-dyed […]
MezooMe puts the “zoom” back in organic textile design. Like other designers who have turned their energies towards organic baby product design, Israeli designer Anat Biala’s inspiration for MezooMe Designs – a line of organic linens for babies – was her firstborn son, Jonathan. In 2008, shortly after Jonathan’s birth, Biala had a strong urge […]
The CEO of a Dubai-based company says growing organic food in the UAE is “stupid.” No one would ever expect an organic food distributor to favor importing food to locally-grown produce, except in the Middle East. Despite efforts from people like Baker & Spice’s Yael Mejia, who is working furiously to improve the quality of […]
Ayala Moriel Parums is a world-renowned boutique purveyor of sensual and inspiring natural perfumes, “crafted with passion and integrity,” that rise above the standard read-to-wear fragrances. The concept of wearing au natural scents is gaining traction among consumers around the world, and locally in the Middle East, a region rich in botanicals and natural essences. […]
This guide is a must-read for anyone dating a “green” person. If you want to keep them till next Valentine’s Day, read on. The most recent Valentine’s Day may have reminded you that it’s a harsh dating world out there. Whether you’re lucky enough to meet someone through a chance encounter at the coffee shop, […]
In part 1 of the Eco-hijabs series Green Prophet reporter Zaufishan interviews HijabTrendz founder Mariam Sobh on why and how Muslim fashion blogs are digging the eco-living. Read more on why 'eco-hijabs' are an integral part of the Islamic faith.
What good is a farmer’s market if it only appeals to a small group of people? Beirut’s Souk el Tayeb reaches out to the community. Whereas some farmer’s markets can set an elitist tone – appealing mostly to a yuppy or wealthy clientele instead of delighting in bringing good food and good values to the […]