To celebrate rice, here are some interesting facts all about rice:

* The Chinese Word for Rice is the same as their word for food

* Rice is the main food for half the people in the world.

* There are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice.

* Of the 40,000 varieties more than 100 grow world-wide, but only around 10% are marketed and sold.

* Rice is a symbol of life and fertility, which is why it was a tradition to throw it at weddings, confetti has now replaced rice.

* To see how many a children a newlywed couple will have the Finns count the number of grains of rice in the brides hair.

* Grains of rice in a salt cellar will help to keep the salt free flowing.

* Rice is cultivated in over 100 countries and on every continent except Antarctica.

* There are over 29,000 grains of rice in one pound of long grain rice.

* The average person in the UK eats approximately 4.4kg of rice each year.

* On cooking rice swells to give at least three times its original weight.

* 96% of the worlds rice is eaten in the area in which it is grown.

To stock up some high quality organic rice and save some money in the process, click here to buy online at www.buybigorganic.co.uk

Infinity Chia Seeds are grown in Argentina, Bolivia, Equador and Chile. Once prized by the Aztecs, Chia seeds have great nutritional benefits:

- One of the richest plant sources of Omega-3

- More antioxidants than blueberries

- High in fibre

- Good source of protein

- Can apparently aid weight loss for two reasons. The first reason is that they are so filling that you will eat less of other foods. The second reason is that they actually bulk up and cleanse your body of old “junk” in your intestines.

- Easily digestible

Chia seeds can eaten raw, ground and used in baking/cooking/shakes or sprouted.

To buy them in bulk online at www.buybigorganic.co.uk,  click here

You can even make your own nut butter – click here for a collection of great nut recipes, from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, that I stumbled upon recently including cashew nut butter, a delicious satay-style sauce and more.

1) How did Clearspring come about, in particular the focus on Japanese/Oriental foods?

Christopher Dawson, Clearspring chairman, came to the UK from New Zealand in 1974 to further his studies of organic agriculture. As a vegetarian, he was looking for good delicious foods, to complement Western vegetarian foods. One bowl of  miso soup changed his life.
Between 1979 and 1998 he lived and worked in Japan,  choosing good foods to introduce to the West and getting certified organic status for the producers and their products. Clearspring was established in 1993, to put these good foods into distribution.

2) Where do you source your organic ingredients?

We have over 150 organic foods  produced in 10 countries.

3) None of your foods contain MSG clearly, but this is a very popular ingredient in the Far East – what is your view on MSG?

We decide a product firstly by the “nature” of the ingredients. Absolutely no chemical or unnatural flavourings of any kind are permitted in Clearspring products.

4) Which product has produced the biggest challenge?

Organic Italian pasta

We believe/know our pasta is one of the best in the world and have priced it according to the ingredients and production techniques.

However it is hard to get customers to buy it, as the market is flooded with cheap average quality organic pasta.

5) What’s the best thing about working for Clearspring?

Working with a good team and a good network of suppliers and customers

6) If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things could you not be without?
Organic Miso, drinking water and a man Friday

7) What is your favourite Clearspring product and how do you like to eat it?

Japanese cuisine made simple. I love the new, quick and easy ramen products Clearspring have just launched. They are very simple to prepare and provide an excellent introduction to oriental flavours. Ready to serve in just 4 minutes: our version of a healthy & organic pot noodle!!!

7) What’s the best compliment you’ve received for any of your products?

Any customer going back to buy another Clearspring product.  It means that they have chosen to spend their hard earned money on one of our products!

Thank you Margreet for all your answers! To order a fantastic range of Clearspring products in bulk at www.buybigorganic.co.uk,  click here.

Instead, the study claimed that mothers could increase their baby’s protection from allergies and increase their chances of eating a healthier diet later by introducing solid food at the age of four months.

While maintaining its six-month advice, the Department of Health said a scientific study already investigating infant feeding would look into the research.

If you have a breast-fed baby and are noticing increasing signs of hunger and less satisfaction past the four and five month mark, as we did with both of our children, a great range to consider (after your own cooking,  pureeing and freezing!) is  Ella’s Kitchen Organic Baby Food.

The founder set up the company to provide children with better food and to show that healthy food can be ‘fun, tasty and cool’ and we think he’s achieved his objective.

Made  with organic ingredients, the range caters from stage 1 to stage 3 with a whole range of exciting snacks to boot, plus handy pouches that are perfect when you’re on the move, on holiday or just don’t have the time to prepare something yourself.

Buying in bulk saves time and money and means you shouldn’t run out of the flavour du jour (and trust me, there is almost always a favourite fail-safe flavour!).  Click here to see our range and order at www.buybigorganic.co.uk.

Louise Collins, from the Booja-Booja marketing team, took some time to answer some of our questions:

1)      How did Booja Booja products come about and where did the name come from?

The Booja-Booja Company was founded 11 years ago by Colin Mace, who is still the Managing Director of the business.  Booja-Booja products are designed to be absolutely delicious while having as positive an impact as possible on our world and the health and well being of the people and animals in it.  Everything we make is dairy free and vegan. The name is made up, it suggests the feeling we hope you get when you eat any of our products!

2)      Where do you source your organic ingredients?

We work with a variety of suppliers across the world, buying direct from the people we believe offer us the best products and forging long-lasting relationships, even friendships, along the way.

3)      Which product has produced the biggest challenge?

By their innovative nature all our products are challenging, especially in the development stages and we’re continually reviewing and evolving all our processes and techniques as we believe we can always improve what we do. Creating dairy-free ice cream that is not only as good but better than the conventional dairy offerings was a big challenge but one we were determined to overcome. We’re delighted with the results and our customers seem to be to, which is what really matters.
4) What is the most popular Booja Booja product?

Probably our delicious Hazelnut Crunch Truffles

4)      What’s the best thing about working for Booja Booja?

Being part of an organisation that’s trying to do something really different and really good and that brings so much pleasure to so many people, oh yes and being surrounded by chocolate!

5)      If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things could you not be without?

Apart from a supply of Booja-Booja to keep me smiling, a radio to bring me music to dance to and my 20-month old son to give me cuddles and make me laugh

6)      What’s the best compliment you’ve received for any of your products?

We’ve had so many it’s impossible to single out just one. But every time I read that we’ve changed someone’s life by giving them the chance to enjoy delicious chocolates and ice cream despite being lactose intolerant or something similar, it makes me feel really happy and sure that all the hard work is worth it!

Thank you Louise for answering our questions! With Christmas coming up, you can choose some chocolates to really  impress and order online here at www.buybigorganic.co.uk.

Apple Cider Vinegar has been used in cuisine and medicine since ancient times. Ancient Assyrian writings (some of the worlds oldest known texts) refer to apple cider vinegar being used to treat earache. Hippocrates, often dubbed the father of modern medicine, is known to have prescribed vinegar during the C4th BC.

Apples are well known to be extremely good for us, containing all manner of beneficial nutrients, including pectin, vitamins, fibre and minerals, hence the expression “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Many consider Apple Cider Vinegar to be the ultimate form of the apple, with many more benefits unlocked during the fermentation process.
It is believed that Cider Vinegar can help to:

* Fight Infection
* Regulate Blood pressure
* Relieve Arthritis Pain
* Promote Digestion
* Improve Metabolism
* Relieve Chronic Fatigue
* Purify your Cells
* Relieve Headaches
* Relieve Insect Stings and bites
* Relieve Constipation
* Relieve Body Stiffness
* Control Blood Pressure
* Relieve Muscle Cramp
* Help flush out the Gall Bladder
* Control Weight
* Fight Osteoporosis
* Maintain Healthy Skin
* Relieve sore throats, laryngitis
* Soothe Sunburn, Shingles and bites
* Help prevent dandruff, baldness and itching scalp
* Helps relieve Prostrate problems

Many of the Apple Cider Vinegars that you will find in the health food shops and supermarkets have been pasteurised and filtered. This destroys and removes the ‘Mother’ (a ball of living enzymes that floats in the apple cider vinegar vinegar), and other nutrients and the majority of the health benefits in the process. Also many of these vinegars are made from conventionally-farmed apples grown using harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticide, unlike organic cider vinegar.

Biona Organic Cider Vinegar with the Mother is produced from pressed organic apple juice naturally fermented with vinegar ‘Mother’ and aged in wooden casks. Raw and unfiltered-this premium live vinegar is packed in green glass to protect from the light.

Click here to buy in bulk  at www.buybigorganic.co.uk and save money!

Choose from rye bread with:  Gold linseeds or amaranth and quinoa or sunflower seeds. Or there’s pumpernickel bread – and this week we received an order for thirty loaves – a special request from the European team in this year’s Ryder Cup! And apparently this particular loaf is hard to find online.

To see the full collection of organic rye, rice, millet and pumpernickel breads and buy on online click here to see our selection at www.buybigorganic.co.uk.