Tag Archives: Food

Change How You Eat, Accept Your Body & Transform Your Life – Bite Sized Peace a NEW BOOK by Clinical Psychologist Dr Romi Ran

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Like everyone I have had a complicated with food in my life. I grew up with Bridget Jones and Jessica Simpson both being called fat. The toxic body culture of the 90s and 00s has a lot to answer for. I like to think this has all gone away, but it hasn’t. Women’s bodies are still judged and constantly up for discussion. Is it any wonder so many women, and men, have eating disorders or an unhealthy attitude to food?

Bite Sized Peace is a fantastic book by Clinical Psychologist Dr Romi Ran. Full of information, help and logic. Dr Ran has her own methods which are proven to help people love their bodies and develop a healthy attitude to food. There are many gems to find in this book, and while I have managed to love my body enough and finally have my weight in control, this book is an essential resource for anyone struggling with any food-related issue. Just brilliant.

Why this book matters 

  • A MUST-READ book for anyone finding themselves in a negative relationship with food and body image
  • Over 1 million Brits have an eating disorder, such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. (NHS, 2021)
  • A study shows 30% of adolescents report that they restrict their eating or engage in binge eating. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2021; International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2020)
  • Author Dr Romi Ran is a Clinical Psychologist and has worked with countless clients to help them obtain complete freedom from the constraints of disordered eating and body obsession
  • The way we see and eat food starts in the mind and is centred in self-worth – Dr Ran offers mindfulness eating techniques including helping people understand their hunger signals

In her brand new book Clinical Psychologist, Dr Romi Ran, shares techniques she has used and developed working with people challenged with food, eating and body image. Bite Sized Peace is a groundbreaking guide designed to help readers nurture a healthier relationship with their body and food and teaches how to then apply these transformative concepts to all aspects of your life.

Dr Ran has helped countless individuals to obtain complete freedom from the constraints of disordered eating and body obsession and her book is a culmination of her work helping clients challenge societal views and myths relating to diets, eating and weight. She supports clients to be their own expert and not rely on the advice (or rules) of others to nourish themselves, beginning with the acknowledgement that you are inherently worthy. Dr Ran’s methods include teaching people how to eat when they are hungry; choose foods that nourish their bodies; stop when they are full; and to eat mindfully. 

Bite Sized Peace – Change How You Eat, Accept Your Body, Transform Your Life by Dr Romi Ran is out now.

To find out more about Romi and her work and book visit: https://www.drromiran.com/

A new wave in nutrition: Meet the company behind the rise of ‘Smart Foods’

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A new wave in nutrition: Meet the company behind the rise of ‘Smart Foods‘

In a country where 40% of people resort to junk foods when hungry, Smart Foods are set to revolutionize our relationship with nutrition

Noel Bollman, CEO of food-tech innovators, yfood, discuss the importance of Smart Foods as an alternative to junk foods 

‘Smart Foods‘ are the forward-facing answer to our national nutrient deficit. Their popularity has seen a stratospheric rise in both Europe and the UK. With the smart food market in Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands alone is estimated to be worth around €10-20 billion in the medium- to long-term, with annual growth rates of up to 50 percent. Having tripled their revenue in 2020 and doubled the figures in 2021, yfood recently announced their run-rate of €100 million in just four and a half years of trading.

A future facing concept being ushered into the mainstream – Smart Foods are nutritionally complete ‘meal alternatives’ that supplement 26 key minerals and nutrients. Having all of the caloric and nutritional benefit of a full meal, but in the form of a shake, powder or protein bar. Instead of feasting over a soggy midday sandwich or snacking on crisps to keep satiated, ‘Smart Foods‘ provide a viable alternative for those of us who are on-the-go. If we are to stick to the age-old adage that food is fuel – why not choose foods that actually fuel us as opposed to sugar-laden snacks and sodium-saturated sandwiches.

European food tech innovator, yfood, has recently hit supermarket shelves – introducing its range of protein bars, powders and shakes to the British diet. Aiming to reform the country’s relationship to unhealthy eating, yfood has launched their Classic Choco and Smooth Vanilla with Co-Op, with the drinks retailed at £3.50. The meal alternatives offered by the smart food innovators comes complete with 26 key nutrients and is available in a variety of flavours and plant-based options, with one serving (500 ml) of yfood providing consumers with around 34 g of protein, 68% of your daily protein needs.

yfood, smart eating

Why ‘meal alternatives’? 

yfood‘s nationwide launch leverages the benefits of having a nutritionally complete, yet delicious, product that is not meant to replace all your meals – but compliment a healthy and varied diet. The concept of the ‘meal alternative’ slots in with our faced-paced lives – in between work, school and personal responsibilities it is unrealistic to have perfectly planned meals for every occasion. yfood‘s modern approach to nutritional nirvana aims to work around speedy lifestyles that lend themselves to poor eating habits. A survey conducted by yfood revealed that 40% of Brits only resort to junk food when on-the-go, indicating a huge gap in the market for a product that not only comes in delicious flavours like Classic Choco and Smooth Vanilla, but contains essential nutrients and vitamins to keep us going throughout the day.

Noel Bollmann, CEO and co-founder of yfood comments:

“Smart food is not intended to replace classic eating with fresh and high-quality foods – on the contrary: a varied and diverse diet is and remains essential. Nevertheless, the reality is that many people do not always manage to eat a balanced diet due to lack of time or availability problems. In these situations, Smart Food helps people to eat better in the long term. Thus, Smart Food is a completely new category of food that competes with junk food and bad eating habits, but not with conventional food.”

I tried Smart Food on a busy week working while also taking care of my toddler. They are filling, delicious and made me feel healthy. Highly recommended.

SAUCE IT is a new and truly exciting way to buy restaurant-quality ingredients at home

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BBC’s Matt Tebbutt opens the chef larder
for the real foodie with the launch of SAUCE IT

Just think of it as the food and drink concierge for those in the know, giving you access to the chef’s personal larder – essentially their first choice of ingredients – so you too can finally shop like a chef!

Just open our exclusive ‘little black book’ of suppliers, producers, cooking professionals and sommeliers who can offer you chef designed boxes, filled with incredible ingredients discovered over years of working in the trade. SAUCE IT gives you access so you can discover for yourself how these rigorously sourced ingredients can ultimately change the way you cook and create.
The result of years of research and tasting, every item on SAUCE IT has been trialled and tested extensively by the expert who puts their name to each recommended ingredient or product. If you are looking for the wow factor, look no further, as SAUCE IT source the impossible to find; the ingredients you won’t find in Waitrose or even famous food halls.

sauce it box sauce it box

The SAUCE IT boxes
To celebrate the launch of this exciting new concept, TV favourite Matt Tebbutt has created a new box The Weekend Collection by Matt Tebbutt. To coincide with the launch of Matt’s new book ‘Weekend’, this box contains a selection of ingredients, handpicked by Matt, and featuring in his new recipes such as the Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar used in Matt’s Anchoiade dip or the beautifully packaged ‘Las Hermanas’ hot smoked paprika made using age old methods, ideal for Matt’s Smokey chicken with sweet corn and mango salsa.
Matt commented ‘SAUCE IT is an exciting new way to shop like an award winning chef does, giving you access to all the very best produce that was once only available to the restaurant world’.

If you are a shellfish fan, you’ll love Salcombe’s finest shellfish box which includes the finest Salcombe crab and lobster from a small day boat, packed on the quayside and sent direct to you, straight from Chris the fisherman. Is there anything finer than a simply boiled fresh crab with lemon, mayo and crusty bread? For the lobster, the king of crustaceans, the BBQ is perfect! Salcombe is famous for its crab and lobster, in fact it reaches nearly every corner of the globe, and if you’re looking for fresh seafood for that family feast, our shellfish is landed by one small boat and delivered straight to your door.

For the Spanish food lover, the El Gordo box has the most amazing Spanish products; ones that you will only find in restaurants such as Barrafina or Pizarro. SAUCE IT have brought together the absolute best of the best small Spanish producers of outstanding quality. Sit back, relax, imagine you are taking in the sights and sounds of San Sebastian, and indulge in some the worlds finest ingredients, enjoyed with a glass of Manzanilla sherry, naturally!

There are also boxes from well-known chefs such as Ben Tish, Sabrina Ghayour and Jane Baxter. A selection of wine boxes are available, handpicked by the team at SAUCE IT and their black book of wine experts.

Those involved in SAUCE IT, and we suspect, our customers, are pioneers in a world of discovery, fans of independent travel and favour self-selection rather than the package choice. When you purchase a box with SAUCE IT, an order is then placed with our suppliers. For example, your Salcombe crab is in the sea right up to the time it’s sent to you, your vegetables are picked to order and the ingredients for your box are collated on the day of dispatch. We supply our chef-collated boxes direct to your door in our eco friendly packaging, avoiding singular product or environmentally damaging deliveries. You will not find expensive and unnecessary packaging with SAUCE IT, we let the ingredients themselves do the talking!

All the boxes are compiled by the country’s finest restaurant suppliers. Buying from SAUCE IT supports fabulous fishermen, awesome organic vegetable growers, higher welfare meat producers and farmers, and some amazing but small artisan food heroes. Matt and the team at SAUCE IT will also give you fantastic hints, top tips and fabulous recipes to go with your outstanding ingredients. This is undoubtedly the concept epicureans have been waiting for!

We love it!

The UK’s first plant-based recipe box. We Review Grubby.

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I find cooking stressful. I also have no time. But I want to eat healthy and I do not want to damage the planet while doing so. Grubby attracted my attention for many reasons. It is plant-based and sustainable. I got sent two kits in impressive recyclable packaging. I hate how some recipe boxes have so much plastic.

The recipe card is so easy to follow. I made a superb mushroom stroganoff in 35 minutes. I think Grubby is fantastic and I cannot recommend it enough. The food is delicious and so easy to make.

Meet Grubby – the UK’s first plant-based recipe kit

Grubby are the UK’s first 100% plant-based recipe box subscription service on a mission to make plant-based cooking more accessible and convenient without costing the earth.

Championing British produce and suppliers, Grubby deliver delicious meals nationwide (excluding Northern Ireland and islands), with all London meals delivered via bicycle in partnership with PedalMe. Available from grubby.co.uk from £26 (£6.50 per meal) for two recipes.

Launched in 2019, Grubby has over 50 flavour packed recipes to choose from. In the box, customers can expect fresh, pre-measured ingredients needed to cook up two or three healthy and delicious, plant-based recipes with, on average, a variety of six or more fresh veggies in each box. Accompanying recipe cards make meat-free cooking simple, with easy to follow steps, cooking times and nutritional information, as well as QR codes to curated Spotify playlists to cook along to whilst prepping. Customers can also expect the occasional freebie, from drinks, desserts and more.

Founder Martin Holden-White comments: “When I first started adventuring into plant-based cooking, I found it really hard to approach. Mainly because I found ingredients hard to source, dishes weren’t filling enough, they lacked flavour and online recipes were hard to follow and full of ads. So with Grubby, I wanted to alleviate the uncertainty and stigmas around vegan cooking and eating and make our recipes accessible, simple, hearty, healthy and most importantly tasty! Grubby is for anyone looking for a little more adventure when it comes to plant-based cooking.”

With sustainability at its core, the packaging is 100% recyclable, compostable, ethically sourced, and produced in the UK in 95% of cases, with intentions to be completely plastic-free by 2023, in line with their efforts to reach B-Corp status. Determined to use ‘pedal power’ wherever possible, all London deliveries are made by bike and they have ambitions for bike deliveries in all major cities across the UK. Their food waste is offset through food waste partners and local food banks to ensure that no grub goes unused.

Passionate about giving back, Grubby donate a meal to a child in poverty for every box delivered through Uganda based charity 1moreChild. In 2020, Grubby also provided over 1,000 meals to London NHS hospitals.

Whilst solely plant-based recipes, Grubby do not see themselves as a ‘just-for-vegans’ box. “We are not preachy about eating solely plant-based. I’m a plant-based part-timer myself, and many of our team and customers do not define themselves as vegan.” says Martin.  “Instead, we want to invite plant curious individuals to give veggie-based cooking a chance with our tasty, quick to prepare meals, which are not only healthy but produced and delivered with sustainability at the core of everything we do.”

How it works:

  1. Choose your recipes & delivery date.

  2. Grubby delivers everything you need.

  3. You cook up delicious plant-based meals. No stress. Skip or cancel anytime.

To see what’s on the menu this week, visit grubby.co.uk

How To Wean Your Baby by Charlotte Stirling-Reed Book Review

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The easy weaning plan to ensure your baby becomes a happy and adventurous little eater.
How to Wean Your Baby, The step-by-step plan to help your baby love their broccoli as much as their cake ,Hardcover , Charlotte Stirling-Reed , (AuthorWeaning a baby, especially if it is your first, can be hard and scary. You are so worried about getting it right. I wish I had this wonderful book from Charlotte Stirling-Reed years ago. It would have made my life so much easier. It is a step-by-step guide and it starts with vegetables. Not the cliché baby rice.

It has key principles, the basics, milestones and everything else. When it comes to weaning, what is not in this book is not worth knowing. It also has plenty of recipes. Joe Wicks and Ella Mills are fans and so am I. I also love Charlotte’s feeding webinars. Watch one if you can. Essential reading for parents. 

In this beautiful, full-colour book, expert nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed reveals her renowned method that has helped thousands of parents wean their babies confidently.

Based on a vegetable first approach, the perfect way to develop healthy eating habits and to tackle fussy eating before it begins, you’ll be hand-held through the first 30 days of weaning as well as given lots of delicious recipes all the family can enjoy.

Packed with tried and tested tips, as well as the latest evidence-based guidance, How to Wean Your Baby will fully equip and empower you to take this exciting next step.

How to Wean Your Baby is available here. 

What a Nutritionist Feeds Her Kids

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It is not uncommon for parents to worry about the nutritional value of the food they are serving their children and little ones. The food children and babies eat when they are younger can really make a difference on how they eat as they get older. However, it’s important for parents to keep the pressure off for everyone, including themselves. Think about what’s eaten over a week, not day to day and avoid coaxing little ones to eat or ensuring kids stay at the table until they’ve finished the meal. All of this can impose negative associations around foods which is ultimately what we want to avoid if we’re trying to create little foodies. According to research recently conducted by Stokke 53% of parents struggle to prepare a meal that the entire family will enjoy.

feeding children good food, food ideas, ideas, food, feeding, weaning.

Make choice part of your mealtime routine. Kids are more likely to eat something they feel they’ve had a say in, so instead of just plating up their food, ask them first “do you want X or Y with your dinner” or “Would you like spaghetti or rice for dinner today?” for example. You could also try offering multiple sides and giving them autonomy to choose what they want. You’ll probably be surprised how much more gets eaten when it’s them calling the shots. Younger babies don’t often have much choice in their meal options but try offering them a variety & following their lead. At mealtimes have conversations about the meals and foods on offer, allow honest opinions and maybe even make a game of rating the meals for the week. This can help children and toddlers to really think about their foods and their likes and dislikes a little more as well as being mindful about the foods they are eating.

Three fifths (60%) of families will always eat their families will always eat their family meals together at the dinner table. Sitting together and being present at mealtimes helps, but actually eating similar things can also help children to accept a wider variety. Some research shows that families eating together is a big factor in positively influencing the diets of their children, so as much as you can try to ROLEMODEL what a balanced diet looks like, and it’s likely your little ones will follow suit. Remember babies also learn the WHAT and the HOW of eating from copying their parents and those around them too, which is why I love the Stokke Tripp Trapp as a great way to bring baby right to the table with you at mealtimes. Research, conducted by premium children’s brand, Stokke, explored the importance of eating meals together as a family, found that 49% of participants believe eating together as a family creates a happier child and 34% believe it creates a more confident child.

With 82% of parents worrying about the nutritional value of the food they are serving their children and want to ensure they get the balance right – here is what I try to give my children for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner:
Breakfast 

Breakfast is often porridge, or pancakes – mainly because it’s SO easy to add extras to these – extra flavours such as cinnamon, or ginger, extra nutrients from peanut butter or milled seeds stirred in or extra portions of your 5 a day with some berries thrown into the batter/with the oats or even just sticks on the side.

 

Lunch 

I like a picky finger food lunch for those busy days. Trying to make this balanced is often easy too so things such as

Wraps with hummus and pepper

Cucumber fingers with yogurt dip and leftover curries

Tuna, yogurt and sweetcorn spread on toast

Omelettes with potato, mixed veg and cheese

 

Dinner  

Tends to be something hot, but it does vary.

I love potato tots for babies as they are just so simple and easy to vary.

Otherwise, it’s whatever we’re having for dinner

Pasta with chickpea and tomato sauce 

Chilli with potatoes and some grated cheese

I’m all about trying to make the most of meals and balance the food groups on offer where possible so that you know babies AND kids are getting all the nutrients they need. This means I’m always thinking about what I can sprinkle on top, what I can use as a dip or how I can add extras like lentils, fish or beans to pasta sauces.

Stokke are hosting a FREE weaning webinar – How to raise a confident foodie and help your baby love their broccoli as much as their cake! Charlotte Stirling-Reed Nutritionist and Author will be on Zoom 28th April at 8pm. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-wean-your-baby-mini-masterclass-tickets-143331352935?aff=Media10 

 

Expert nutritional advice from Charlotte Stirling-Reed, author of new book “How to wean your baby”, that publishes on 29th April but available for pre-order. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785043242 @sr_nutrition

 

Stokke is a leading high end baby brand in Scandinavia whose ethos is to nurture family bonding, having your baby closer to you and the importance of eye contact. The iconic Tripp Trapp® highchair was launched in 1972 and has since sold more than 12 million worldwide. www.stokke.com @stokkebaby

 

Tips for Starting a Food Delivery Service

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coronavirus, is food safe, is coronavirus on food, can I catch coronavirus from food? takeaways.Starting a food delivery service in this climate is quite a savvy move. 

After all, food delivery was always incredibly popular, but the pandemic has sent things surging to brand new heights. The Guardian highlighted that even dry cleaning services have turned to dropping off groceries for a profit due to a lower than usual demand in their own trade. There’s a lot of stiff competition, but there’s plenty of room for success and innovation too. 

Keep reading after the jump to learn some tips for starting your very own food delivery service. 

Understand the Legal Procedures

You can’t get started until your plans to begin or resume a food business are on official record. 

For all your licencing and registration needs, you should consult gov.uk, registering at least 28 days before your opening. 

Food hygiene procedures also need to be followed to the letter. There is no cutting corners here, so proper cooking practices, cleaning methods, and temperature control all need to be properly maintained and regulated. When you tick all these essential boxes and have a plan to action, you can then put your best entrepreneurial foot forward. 

Consider Insurance

Food delivery will obviously require a great deal of time spent transporting goods, so a suitable car or van will be needed to make the trips. 

However, a standard insurance policy won’t cover you for these trips – you’ll need courier van insurance or courier car insurance instead. In fact, if you deliver food and you only have a standard insurance policy in place there’s a good chance that policy could be invalidated because you’d be breaching the terms of that policy, so the right courier insurance really is a must.

Define and Tailor Your Service 

The broader your objectives are, the more you will struggle to keep up with supply and demand at the very start of things. 

Everyone wants food, and that’s a universal truth. However, if you don’t steadily pace the growth of your operations, you will find yourself tripping over your own feet incredibly soon. Customer guarantees fall through, reputations are whittled away, and ultimately you will receive more work than you know what to do with. 

To kick things off, start by more acutely defining the following: 

  • Who you serve: Will you specialise in delivering food to the disabled or elderly, who need your service is a lifeline? 
  • What you serve: Do you provide people with their groceries in the morning, or provide takeaway quality foods in the evening? What markets are oversaturated in your area?
  • Price points: Is the service a cheap and affordable alternative to patrolling the local supermarket, or are you offering the finest quality foods in town? What are your profit margins?
  • Where will you deliver: What is the maximum distance you are willing to travel with the food? Are you serving in an affluent area, or a smaller and humbler town? 

It’s important to be specific with what you are offering from the outset. Humble origins enable you to build things up slowly, well within the confines of your capabilities, finances, and resources. By starting locally, you can also steadily build up a loyal customer base and community, becoming a homegrown business with a loyal following instead of being a faceless, vague entity.  

Flourish Your Appeal

Once the broad strokes of your food delivery service are well-defined, it’s time to flourish the broader appeal of your venture. 

There are many ways to add value to this particular sphere of your operation. You can contemplate lines of enquiry like: 

  • Fair trade: Does your business practice ethical trading methods? Do you source homegrown, local supplies?
  • Public eating habits: Last year, the BBC reported that vegan diets were steadily rising among the masses, which could yield interesting business opportunities. Could the trend towards healthier eating be worth tapping into?
  • Customer service details: Are potential employees friendly and personable? 
  • Marketing signatures: Is your brand sufficiently recognisable? Will you pay for advertising privileges in shop windows, or develop SEO marketing strategies online?

There’s a great deal to cover here, but for many businesses, each one of the points above adds depth to a dynamic service. There are many food delivery services out there, but yours needs to be a cut above the rest to be truly worthwhile. Examine all the areas of your operation where you can add some finer touches to make your offerings more niche and unique, and more customers will gravitate to your services. 

 

Collaborative Post.

 

Pale Green Dot Fruit & Veg Box Review | Win A Fantastic Food Box

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pale green dot, fruit and veg box, fruit, veg, vegetables, box, food, London, We reviewed a fruit and veg box from Pale Green Dot and we loved it so much that we are now running a competition for one lucky reader to win one of their own. All you have do is follow us on Twitter and then tweet at us, or follow us on Facebook and leave a message to let you know you have entered the competition. The closing date is the end of June and you have to live in London, Surrey, Sussex or Kent.

The fruit and veg box is definitely the best fruit and veg box I have tried. The spring onion is sublime: so unlike the ones you get in a supermarket. It has lettuce still attached to its roots and Sussex chard. The tomatoes are ripe and juicy. It even has asparagus and delicious aubergine. The box is filled to the brim with healthy deliciousness. We love. Pale Green Dot have more food boxes now including a BBQ one. Have a look below.

pale green dot – even more food boxes now available for home delivery across London and the South East

 

Pale green dot, sustainable suppliers of home delivered fine quality fresh, seasonal and local produce, dairy basics, meat and cheese, are now launching an even more extensive range of boxes.  Becoming quite the ‘one stop shop’ the pale green dot home delivery website features a new premium vegetable box, a fruit box, beer box, wine box, Italian box, and coming soon, a curry box.

 

Previously operating in the hospitality sector, pale green dot has managed an incredible turnaround in order to ensure that those living in London and the South East are able order online and enjoy fresh produce delivered to their homes.

 

Response to the boxes has been so positive, the company will be delivering to homes post lockdown to customers who have come to enjoy the quality, convenience and variety of what they are receiving.

The new premium vegetable box at £25.00 contains a greater choice and twice the amount of seasonal fresh produce than the company’s standard box, including ingredients such as new season Cornish mid potatoes, Sussex chard and Bobby beans from Jersey.

The fruit box at £15.00 is full of fresh and colourful fruits. Perfect to eat, drink and preserve it usually includes mango, pineapple, pomegranate, melon and kiwis as well as apples, grapes, oranges and blueberries.

The BBQ box contains meat and poultry sourced predominantly from small farms rearing free-range native breeds. All items are vac packed and can be frozen. The box includes steaks, burgers, sausages, marinated chicken legs and lamb koftas.

 

The Italian box  has everything you need to make flavour-packed pasta without having to leave the house. It includes pasta (wholemeal and white), pesto, fresh garlic, herbs, olive oil, parmesan cheese and passata and tomatoes at £25.00.

 

Two Tribes have partnered with pale green dot to supply their beers for beer boxes from £13.50.

 

There are three wine boxes, red, white and mixed, the boxes contain a curated selection of six bottles, familiar and new, old world and new world from £56.00 each.

 

All the boxes are available to order online at https://www.palegreendot.co.uk/home-deliveries and can be set up for regular deliveries, or one-off orders. Pale green dot aims to deliver boxes by the next working day.

 

To keep minds at ease, pale green dot are implementing the highest safety and hygiene standards across the board when it comes to both packaging and delivering in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

 

Orders can be made via this link –  https://www.palegreendot.co.uk/home-deliveries

 

www.palegreendot.co.uk