1st of September marks the beginning of the Organic month of September.

Organic September celebrates all that the organic sector does for climate, nature and health. While many still remain sceptical of the organic concept, I’m excited that the number of organic enthusiasts is slowly growing.

Personally, I have been an organic devotee for over ten years now and I wouldn’t go back. In addition to organic farming being kinder to the environment and producing more nutritious products. Many products actually do taste better when they are organic.

I’ve personally been through many blind tests with my friends and family and can confidently say there is a difference. This is especially prominent in meat and dairy, such as organic free range or grass fed.

And for all those poor bees I find lying around in my garden every summer from pesticide poisoning I also try to stick to organic veggies and fruit. I live in close proximity to a few non organic crop fields so the bee dilemma is not alien to me.

If you’re tempted to try organic lifestyle or even to just dip your toe here are a few great brands to seek.

Clearspring

Clearspring is a family run business, founded in 1993. Originally focusing on Japanese organic ingredients it quickly expanded its range to many more. Clearspring prides itself in supporting organic and sustainable farming practices.

They offer a huge variety of products from miso pastes, cold pressed oils, grains to pastas, teas and snacks. Many of their products such as silken tofu also won awards.

The tofu is a winner of the Great Taste award and BOOM (The Best of the Organic Market). The tofu is also certified by the Soil Association.

One of my favourite snacks is made by Clearspring. They do scrumptious organic brown rice crackers with nori and tamari, which also won a Great Taste Award. I’m also a fan of the slightly spiced version with black pepper and tamari brown rice crackers.

Riverford

A handy brand to keep in mind especially when doing your weekly online food shopping is Riverford.

Riverford does great veggie boxes, meat and essentials and recipe boxes. Everything they sell is organic, slow grown for extra flavour and packed in planet friendly packaging.

Riverford is also passionate about supplying locally produced products. About 80% of their veggies are grown in the UK. They also believe in seasonal produce.

Riverford works with small scale farmers and growers and believe in paying a fair price to farmers. Riverford is also certified by the Soil Association.

Like Clearspring they also won a number of the BOOM awards in 2023 including Best of Organic Online Retailing, Best of Organic Box Schemes.

The Groovy Food Company

For more healthy everyday organic essentials as well as ingredients for cooking and baking, consider The Groovy Food Company.

The brand has an array of organic products such as sweet and subtle acai honey and single origin strong and floral Mexican wildflower honey from the subtropical rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The honeys come in squeezy 340g format.

The Groovy Food Company also offers a choice of natural alternatives to refined sugar such as dark and tempting organic agave nectar that’s 100% fat free and naturally low in GI. And a new addition to the family – organic date syrup exclusively available to Tesco.

The Groovy Food Company also makes tempting organic coconut oils with intriguing flavours including chilli & garlic infused coconut oil and ginger infused coconut oil.

The coconut oil is gluten, artificial colours, flavours and preservatives free. It’s also certified organic from the Soil Association, verified by The Vegan Society and Kosher.

The Groovy Food Company offers a wide range of oils, honeys, syrups, nectars, flours and more, for a full range of products check out here.

Bio Maison Lanson

To celebrate the Organic September one can also do it in style with one of the first organic champagnes on the market. Meet Le Green Bio-Organic by Maison Lanson.

Maison Lanson is one of the first Champagne Houses to offer an organic champagne in its permanent range. Le Green Bio-Organic comes with a very stylish extra informative label for transparency and traceability.

The label highlights specific terroir from which this cuvee comes from The Malmaison Estate, 16-hectare pilot vineyard of the House in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne.

The Estate is one of the largest biodynamically- farmed estates in Champagne. The label also specifies the blend, dosage, harvest, the reserve wines and the disgorgement date.

The blend is mostly Pinot Noir (46%), Chardonnay (36%) and Pinot Meunier (18%).

With ripe fruit flavours such as pear and Mirabelle plum, it has lingering spicy notes and hints of exotic fruit making it perfect to enjoy it as it is or with food pairing. Suggested food paring are blue-veined cheese(like Fourme d’Ambert) or an oysters platter.

Wonderland Soho

Being an organic devotee doesn’t mean only eating at home and shopping at specialised stores. Many restaurants are now focusing on sustainable and organic ingredients. One of them I recently visited, is Wonderland.

I specifically selected Wonderland Soho for this article because it breaks the idea that organic is always something fancy or super healthy. Wonderland Soho (full review here) specialises in fast food but with quality ingredients, many of which are organic.

They use organic chicken, make Simpson’s inspired pink doughnuts organic and prepare the best milkshakes I’ve tried using organic jersey cream and organic ice cream. The hazelnut and chocolate paste they add to the Dr Marvel’s Milkshake comes from Piedmont in Italy and is palm oil free.

They also offer equal amount of meat based and vegetarian / vegan alternatives to suit all tastes.