THE SWAG BLOG

Have you heard about reusable bags for fruit and vegetables? These aren’t the bags you use for your shopping, they are an alternative to the rolls of small plastic bags you see in the fruit and veggie aisles in the supermarket. Just imagine how many of these little plastic bags you get through in a year and they all end up in landfills and waterways. Reusable fruit and vegetable bags are a great option if you want to save the environment! So you’ll be happy to know that The Swag produce bags help you to cut down on all this...

Did you know there is enough food produced globally to feed everyone? Over one third of all food produced is lost or wasted (1.3 billion tonnes) costing the global economy close to $940 billion each year. These 1.3 billion tonnes are enough to feed 870 million hungry people. Approximately 60% of the food wasted is fruit and vegetables however one in nine people around the world do not have enough food to eat, that’s 793 million people who are undernourished. Food waste causes 8% of the greenhouse gases heating the planet. In Australia: Over 5 million tonnes of food end...

Most of us will choose a New Year’s resolution of some description for 2019. For many, it’s related to health and fitness or saving more money in the year ahead. However, while these are great ideas why not also include the health of the world around us in your goals for 2019? Below are 4 ways you can focus on being kinder to the environment in 2019: Use a Re-Usable Coffee Cup and Water Bottle It’s estimated as many as 50 billion disposable coffee cups end up in the landfill every year. While it’s hard to picture just how much...

It’s estimated as few as 4% of Australians have enough fruit and vegetables in their diet. If you do eat enough fruit and veggies you probably know you’re hitting your recommended daily intake and likewise if you don’t get enough fruit and vegetables, you’re probably equally aware and feel somewhat guilty about it. Why not make your resolution for 2019 to eat more of these wonderfully nourishing foods? While it can be easier said than done, we’ve compiled the below tips to help you consume your 5-a-day every day next year: Add Vegetables to Your Favourite Dishes Without Changing the...

There’s plenty of dietary choices depending on your individual health goals, so many in fact the sheer number of options can be overwhelming at times. Popular diets include vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, paleo, pescatarian, flexitarian, raw, Mediterranean and on and on. However, one you may not have heard of is the Pegan diet! The term Pegan was coined by an American doctor, Dr Mark Hyman back in 2015 and refers to combining the best of both ‘paleo’ and ‘vegan’ diets. The Pegan diet is largely plant-based with large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and legumes with...

One of the main reasons we founded The Swag was due to our huge concerns around the effect’s plastic was having on the world we live in. Plastic is, for the most part, non-biodegradable and plays havoc with the environment including the oceans and dry land. As a result, we took Mahatma Gandhi’s advice to ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ and created organic, natural alternatives to plastic food storage bags. Below are tips on how you can go plastic-free for a week, and hopefully beyond! Even if you adopt half of the tips below, you’re...

It’s one thing many of us are guilty of. While we’re educated from a young age that fresh vegetables are one of the most important parts of our diet and should make up a significant portion of it, many of us simply don’t consume as many vegetables as we should. To try and encourage those of you reading this blog of the importance of eating veggies, we’ve outlined some of the health benefits of getting our 5 a day: 1. You get enough vitamins and minerals Fresh vegetables and fruit for that matter contain many vital vitamins and minerals necessary...

It’s no secret that, here at The Swag, we’re big advocates of a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables. However, a question many people ask is about the merits of organic fruit and vegetables in comparison to standard produce. In this article we’ll explore a little more about exactly what makes produce organic and the benefits of it: What makes fruit and vegetables organic? Fruit and vegetables which are labelled organic are considered this way because of how they’re grown. To be classified as organic, no chemical fertilisers are used nor are synthetic pesticides or herbicides. Instead natural fertilisers...

In recent years, there has been massive talk around the Paleo Diet here in Australia. Celebrity chefs including Pete Evans have been huge advocates of this way of living due to the long list of health benefits associated with it. The Paleo or ‘Caveman’ diet involves eating food which our ancestors may have eaten up to 200,000 years ago. It eliminates all processed foods and strips our food intake back to a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, organic grass-fed meat and fish and seafood. Given the nutrient-dense nature of the diet, there are many health improvements which accompany it....

Every day we hear about the effects climate change is having on the world we live in. Carbon pollution is having a serious negative impact on the environment and governments around the world are introducing plans to combat it. It is affecting the weather causing natural disasters and crop failure, amongst other environmental issues. Collectively we all contribute by the decisions we make each day. Below are 5 ways to reduce your individual carbon footprint to minimize your impact on our precious surroundings: Take Public Transport Vehicle emissions are a huge contributor to carbon pollution in Australia and around the...

It’s been highly published in recent years just how big of a negative impact plastic product are having on our environment and the world around us. Here at The Swag, we’re very passionate about sourcing alternatives to plastic and below are 15 quick tips for drastically reducing your individual plastic usage: Use a re-usable cup for your coffee fix preventing plastic lids or cups being needlessly thrown away each time. Buy cardboard boxes instead of plastic bottles where possible, for items such as laundry powder or dishwashing tablets. For your grocery shopping use a reusable cotton bag instead of the...

There are many benefits associated with starting your own vegetable patch here in Australia. It can save you money, help the environment and it also comes with the massive benefit of knowing exactly where your fresh produce is coming from and exactly what it has been treated with. It’s also not as daunting a task as many think - it just takes time, patience and a little trial and error. Below are 5 tips from us here at The Swag HQ to start your very own vegetable-garden right here in Australia: Consider Soil & Location Carefully The location of your...