THE SWAG BLOG

Over 5 million tonnes of food waste ends up in landfill every year, at a cost of $20 billion to the Australian economy. Zero waste cooking is not only great for the environment, but it can also save you a huge amount of money.

There is nothing quite like warm summer days and fresh fruit cobbler to make everything in the world seem just right. Winter works too, snuggled under the covers on the couch with a generous helping! But how do you make an American classic without the starchy, sugary unhealthy ingredients? Enjoy on a patio with a nice glass of red wine or your favorite evening brew. Serves 4-5. Ingredients: Blueberry filling 3 x cups of cleaned blueberries 3 x tablespoons pure maple syrup 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract 2 x teaspoons of corn or tapioca starch ½ teaspoon of cinnamon...

It's everywhere right? So why should we hate plastic so much?   1. The Great Pacific "Garbage Patch" Discarded cheap plastic 'stuff' has contributed to the creation of a million-square-mile garbage vortex in the Pacific Ocean called the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch'. Some estimates say this plastic pollution as big as 5,000,000 square miles, 8% of the Pacific Ocean’s surface. Carried by the currents. Slowly breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, washing up by the ton on nearby islands. The fish and marine life are eating these particles and this toxic waste is moving it's way up the food...

In Australia, more than 5 million tonnes of food ends up in landfills every year, which is why we created The Swag range of reusable, plastic free, fully compostable, vegetable storage bags. There are lots of great ways to reduce your food wastage using our Swag bags. Here are three strategies that are simple and easy to use at home. 1. Only buy what you need If you plan your meals a week ahead, you will reduce food waste as you won't need to buy food that ends up in the bin, because it was unused, expired or became inedible. A good...

During the Aussie summer, storing fruit and veggies isn’t always easy, as they can deteriorate very quickly in the heat and humidity. The solution is to use The Swag fruit & vegetable bags, which are ideal for keeping your produce healthy and fresher for longer in the crisper of the fridge or pantry. Let’s take a look at some of these options. Using The Swag fruit & vegetable bags in the fridge Made from  multi-layers of 100% biodegradable, unseeded and unbleached cotton, The Swag bags are perfect for keeping your produce fresh for two weeks or more. Simply dampen down...

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...