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We give thanks on Shabbat, we dedicate time to family and friends and we reflect on our week. Shabbat is a time to lessen our impact on our earth, and to let it rest as well. Shabbat Shalom!
Content, product testing and layout by Borden Communications + Design
A Real Shabbat
Make sure that youre buying and serving a pesticide, GMO, chemical and hormone-free Shabbat dinner. Its easy to do when you get into the habit of shopping responsibly. Know your food, and know your farmer. Better (and yummier) food on the table makes for happier guests - and you may have even inspired others to shop more responsibly too once they taste and savour your local, organic goodness.
Join a CSA or shop your farmers market www.shoresh.ca/csa www.youngurbanfarmers.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Hands Off!
Is it worth wearing gloves and feeling like you might pass out just to have shiny happy silver? Commercial (read: toxic) silver polish has danger warnings about inhaling it or touching your skin. Do you want that hazard on your soup spoon? Try cleaning your silver with natural toothpaste or put it in a sink with aluminum foil on the bottom - just add warm water and salt. Same sparkly results but fume and residue-free. For other safe tips for a clean and green home, buy a great reference book, or search online.
Planet Home www.alexandrazissu.com
Table Toppers
When you pull out the good stufffor Shabbat, make sure its actually, truly good for you. Napkins and tablecloths that are vinyl, backed with plastic or even cotton or poly, treated with chemicals (you know the ones that claim they are stainproof or wrinkleresistant?), should absolutely be avoided. Of all the insecticides used globally each year, 25% of them are used for conventional cotton crops. Choose natural linens like organic cotton, but regardless of your choice, please make sure they are reusable.
EcoGear Table Napkins www.sears.ca
Pure + Fresh
Did you know that most cut flowers are grown in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia in large controlled environments? They are heavily sprayed with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides (with toxins that are banned in fields in Canada!) After being shipped 1,000s of miles, they are wrapped in plastic & sold with a packet of chems to make them last longer. We thought flowers were supposed to signify beauty and purity?! Dont fret, source local - youll be surprised whats growing in your own backyard.
eco|stems www.ecostems.ca
www.lisabordenworks.com
Back to Earth
Taking the time to compost your scraps instead of throwing them in the garbage diverts huge amounts of waste from our landfills and also helps make our gardens grow by giving it soil rich nutrients. Composting also reduces methane production, a very potent greenhouse gas that is released into our air from landfills. Stainless steel composters wont take on the smell (or colour) of your food scraps and its nice enough to sit on your countertop. Hows that for accessorizing?
Lee Valley Veritas Composter www.leevalley.com
Get Together
Shabbat is about making a concerted effort to spend quality time together. It doesnt need to be complicated, in fact some of the best meals are really easy and can be fun to prepare as a group. By cooking with your family and friends, as opposed to cooking for them, you gain the opportunity to be creative, share tips and recipes between each other, and enjoy great company (cooking is a lot more fun when youre not the only one alone in the kitchen). Pot luck dinners are also great - give everyone the opportunity to contribute to the Shabbat meal.
www.lisabordenworks.com
Pure Brilliance
You may think conventional candles are beautiful, serve a purpose, and provide a sense of warmth and comfort to your home, but you could be endangering yourself. When we burn paraffin candles, carcinogens fill the room with toxins that coat your walls and lungs (think second hand tobacco smoke). Bring pure brilliance to your Shabbat table and bless candles made from 100% Organic Manuka Beeswax (the purest and most natural of all waxes.
Orb Shabbat Candles www.orbcandles.com
Breaking Bread
Although we like to traditionally celebrate Shabbat with the colour white, keep it out of our Challah! Ask your local bakery to see if they can make you a loaf without any white stuff (sugar, flour, salt, etc). The more we demand of our suppliers, the more well see change. If youre taking on the task of baking your own, its much easier to sub in healthier ingredients, or you can follow Aviva Allens recipe from her Organic Kosher Cookbook.
The Organic Kosher Cookbook www.avivaallen.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Keep it Kosher
Whether you keep strictly kosher or not, we all want clean food that is ethically made. If you arent making and baking on your own (we cant do everything!), look for certifications and symbols that reflect your values. Support ethical companies that are serving us better food and drinks and fully disclosing their practices and ingredients in all labels. Our easy shopping rule for buying packaged goods is If you cant pronounce it, and you dont know what it is, (or its not labelled at all), its not for consuming!
Sinfully Delicious
On Shabbat, we are supposed to minimize our activities and give up a lot of what we take for granted on a daily basis, but sacrificing taste does not have to be one of them. Sweets from the Earth cakes are kosher, pareve pas yisroel, organic, wheat-free, glutenfree, dairy-free, vegan and dont have a n y G M O s . Y o u l l b e s u re t o accommodate any dietary or nut allergy with any of their desserts - plus, they really are sinfully delicious!
Sweets from the Earth www.sweetsfromtheearth.com
Gone Crackers
Crispy, tasty and always satisfying, these bite-sized crackers can be served on their own as a side dish, or paired with your favourite toppings or dips. Mary's Crackers are available in a variety of delicious flavours, so you can buy a few boxes and mix them all together, or just go with a fan favourite. No matter the flavour, they are all kosher, organic, vegan, nut free, dairy free, wheat free, and gluten free, with no GMO's and no transfats.
Mary's Gone Crackers www.marysgonecrackers.com
True Bliss
You might just find your inner bliss from a tub (or 4) of your favourite flavour of kosher, organic, vegan, soyfree and gluten-free Coconut Bliss. Finally, a non-dairy frozen dessert that is creamier, richer and healthier than anything you will have ever stuck your silver spoon into! Indulge with pareve pleasure and feel great afterwards. And, if you use Sweets From The Earth Cookies, the combo makes an exceptional ice cream sandwich!
Luna and Larrys Coconut Bliss www.coconutbliss.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Clean it Up
Now for the Dirty Talk...Whether you are tidying before Shabbat or on cleaning duty afterwards, you want your home to be truly clean. The average Canadian family consumes anywhere from 20 to 40 litres of toxic cleaning products (that contain known carcinogens) each year (oy!). Replace every conventional cleaner under the kitchen sink and in the laundry room with NOTHING (well, maybe not nothing, but as close to it as possible!). You do NOT have to sacrifice the cleanliness of your home. And who knows, maybe without those nasty chems you can convince your family and friends to even help you out with the cleaning!
M.I.Y.
Thats right - M.I.Y. means Make It Yourself! Most of the cleaners that you might think are making your home truly clean, are actually dangerously polluting them (and our water, air, and soil...where do you think it goes once it goes down the drain?). Microfibre cloths and water do a remarkable job, but you can easily make safe and smart cleaning products using ingredients you can find in your own kitchen - and you wont have to sacrifice cleanliness (or your health!).
Full Circle Cleaning Set www.fullcirclehome.com
Dirty Laundry
You've spent the time purchasing organic cotton linens for your Shabbat table, so it doesn't make sense to toss them in the wash with conventional detergent where they would swim in chemicals. Stop overdosing on the bad stuff. One microdose of Berryplus will get your clothes whiter, brighter, and cleaner than your mom's goo and effectively clean a full load of laundry. Being 95% berry based and 100% plant based, you'll become a hero just by doing laundry.
Berryplus www.berryplus.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
orb
It doesn't get better than fundraising with safe and smart products that benefit your health and our world. The Orb Shabbat Candle Fundraiser is a great way to get beautiful and eco-friendly candles into everyone's hands and home. They are the perfect addition to every Shabbat Table, and make for an original and thoughtful hostess gift. Orb Candles are made from 100% Organic Manuka Beeswax and are free of the toxic chemicals that are found in many conventional candles. Each package contains 10 safe, healthy, and beautiful candles. Raise funds and shine a light on your health, on our planet, and on your Shabbat table. Pure Brilliance.
We are here to support you and get your fundraiser sparked! Please be in touch with Borden Communications + Design Inc., creator of Orb Candles to discuss your fundraiser further via orbcandles@bordencom.com or by phone at 416 484 6489.
www.orbcandles.com
twitter.com/orbcandles Orb Candles