If I asked you how often you eat a meat free meal, what would your answer be? If you’re anything like I was just a year ago, your answer will be hardly ever! Maybe just at breakfast?

At The Natural Store you can shop with the knowledge that every item has been specially selected because it’s ethical in some form, be it fair trade, local, natural, organic, recycled, reclaimed, vegan, vegetarian or vintage.

From ladies’ fashion and beauty, gentlemen’s clothing and grooming, a food hall, pets, a baby and children's department, gardening and home interiors and more, there really is something for everyone.

Along with this week’s blog article our gardening starter kit, which includes seeds and basic equipment, will help to get you well on your way to growing your own food.

To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is:

National Gardening Week has finally sprouted with spring slowly letting Mother Nature in, it’s a prime time to sow, deadhead and fork your way to harvesting an array of delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables. By simply bringing together sunlight, soil, water and nutrients you and your family can enjoy the fresh, organic and scrumptious flavours that gardening brings.

Sticking to the basic principles of gardening can have a huge impact on the environment, the community and can help keep finances well and truly tucked in your pocket. As Ben Mann says in his interview – growing our own food is one way we can help to change the food system (and environment) for the better.

“But gardening is easier said than done” I hear you say, looking at your wilted flowers and leaves chewed by Vine Weevils or some other type of pest…..

An article in the metro on April 4th reported that young British people (25-34 year-olds) are consuming as many as 25 takeaways a month and spending as much as £2,620 on fast food every year!

I can remember going to visit friends and being offered a ‘glass of pop’ when pop was the popular name for fizzy drinks (sodas). Those were the days when a fizzy drink was considered an occasional treat. All that’s changed and fizzy drinks have fast become a ‘staple’ of many people’s diets - at great cost to our health – and not just our physical health.

This week the VTV Nutritionist, Surinder Phull, appeared as an expert on the BBC in a programme called Horsemeat Banquet. The programme took a look at what’s really in our food and why we don’t feel comfortable eating horse, offal, bugs and more.

Treat someone, or treat yourself, this Easter with a luxury egg from Booja Booja. Rated the most ethical Easter egg by the Ethical Consumer, Booja Booja chocolate is organic, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, GMO free and absolutely delicious!

And not only that, the handmade, hand painted boxes that they come in are created by artists in Kashmir, who have gained a sustainable and more stable lifestyle through their work with Booja Booja.

So you can enjoy this chocolate completely guilt free!

As I’m writing this the horsemeat scandal continues to roll on. More and more companies are being implicated and whereas at the beginning of the scandal it was confined to just a few meat products from a single producer in Ireland, it now seems to encapsulate a huge and growing percentage of the processed food industry.

This week we are going green. With very little effort, not much money, and a little imagination we can make some real savings. If you think you’ve heard it all before think again - some of these surprised us and we do this for a living!

(The gadgets mentioned in this piece are all available in the UK, but we’re sure you will be able to find alternatives wherever you are).