#wonderbag

[fuckyeahilike]

Use heat retention to cook without spending money on gas or electricity

If you’re trying to save on gas or electricity, one thing you can do is to use heat  retention to cook your meals. 

The basic idea is that you kick things off by cooking your food in a lided pot for a short amount of time. Then you quickly stick the lided pot inside a box lined with towels or clothes or hay, something that functions as insulation, you cover the pot with some more towels, and leave it there for a few hours. The heat it retained will do the rest of the cooking without the need to actively apply any more heat to it.

It’s a similar principle to a slow cooker/crock pot... only for free. 

These videos explain how, and provide you with a few recipes that you can try to test this method for yourself.

Frugalgreengirl - All About Heat Retention Cooking!

COOKING IN A COOLER?!?  Yep!  Heat retention cooking is an important skill that I think everyone should have.  It can drastically help save on electric or propane, help with disaster preparedness or even just help keep heat out of the house.  Plus it's easy and does not require any special items to buy!  Most everyone has everything they need right now!  Plus it is super eco friendly!

FGG Survival Stew Recipe: 1 Pound dry green lentils 1 Cup Augason Farms Vegetable stew blend 1 Can Diced Tomatoes 2 Tsp. Parsley 1 Teaspoons EACH: Garlic Powder, Coriander and Cumin 1/2 Tsp. Salt (or to taste) 1/4 Tsp. Black Pepper About 10-11 Cups Water (or stock/ broth, if you prefer) Add all ingredients to large heavy pot, cover and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 2-4 minutes. Place in HRC and leave there for about 1 1/2 (or up to 2) hours. Do not open to stir or check on it, as this will allow valuable heat to be lost. Enjoy!

emmymade - Save $ Cooking in a CARDBOARD BOX | 1909 Fireless Cookery Recipe

This old method of cooking conserves fuel by using insulation to trap in heat which slowly cooks your meal. So, let's build a haybox, cook a meal, and see how it tastes.

Sorted Food - 2 Chefs Test THE WONDERBAG: A Non-Electric Slow Cooker!

Every now and then, we come across a gadget that really catches our eye. Whether it’s a stylish design, a functional purpose, amazing craftsmanship, sustainably made or has life changing benefits. And in today’s episode, we’re reviewing a gadget which ticks all of these boxes... Behold, the WONDERBAG!

This handy gadget has helped to improve the lives of many communities, particularly those in developing countries who spend endless hours collecting firewood and charcoal. We’ve decided to use our platform to raise some money so that more wonderbags can be made for those who really need it.

RoseRed Homestead - Make a Wonder Bag and Bake Bread

Need to bake bread when the power is out?  Here's your answer--a Wonder Bag!  Make a Wonder Bag from pillow cases, an old sheet, or any fabric you wish.  Then use your favorite bread recipe to make  tasty loaves of crustless bread.  You will need an off-grid burner of some kind to boil water for 10 minutes and that is all the power required.  The rest is just wait time.  Be prepared!

[equitymatch]

10 Startups in Africa that are making a difference

The African region has typically been associated with conditions that have been below average for normal livelihoods in terms of education, access to clean water, and more. Despite this, it is home to the fastest-growing economy in the world which is an environment that benefits both the entrepreneur and investor and is a hub of innovation.

The startup ecosystem has expanded and is unique in all forms including attracting the startup funding (www.equitymatch.co) that they seek due to the societal challenges these startups usually aim to resolve. The innovation of these startups has even caught the attention of international organisations including the world economic forum.

So, which startups are spearheading the difference in the African region?

The continents solutions

The societal development that the startups wish to achieve has brought about an increase in startups with a wide variety as well as from multiple sectors. These are a few of them that are already making their mark.

Sokowatch: This is a startup that is based in Nairobi, Kenya and it helps retailers source certain goods which ultimately leads to a reduction in waste and an increase in monetary profit.

Access Afya: This is another startup based in Kenya that is involved with the health tech industry as it is built on blockchain technology. The solution is intended to allow patients to have rights over their data and offers services to their customers to have their portal, access to their electronic health record systems, disease management control for pandemics, and medical lab diagnostics.

BioMec: A startup that reuses and repurposes what is found or thrown away that ends up in the sea. Their solution creates bionic prosthetics through a 3D printer out of material such as PET bottles and ghost fish nets that are acquired from the ocean.

Eversend: This is an e-wallet FinTech startup that is based in Uganda where they are involved in currency exchange, mobile and merchant payments, and cryptocurrency and provides the people of Africa access to stocks.

Wonderbag: This is a startup based in South Africa that has found a solution to overcoming the challenge of cooking without electricity thereby increasing female entrepreneurship, reducing the breakout of fires, and allowing more time for women in their day. Their solution involves a heat-retention non-electric cooker that has already been distributed to over 50+ countries and has women selling cooked products in their vicinities.

Zydii: This is a digital learning platform that is based in Kenya that is catered to SMEs and employees in the African region. The solution allows businesses and organisations to have the ability to upskill their workforce at an affordable rate as well as incorporate an offline learning concept.

NFTfi: This is a startup based in South Africa that is a peer-based cryptocurrency loan platform that allows access to liquidity without the sale of the NFT. It works as a bid to loan money in cryptocurrency with altering terms of repayment and interest rates.

Craydel: This is an EdTech startup from Kenya that provides a digital portal for students who seek guidance in making decisions regarding their tertiary education, module choices, and career prospects. In addition, visa support is also provided for those that wish to study overseas.

Bypa-ss: This is a startup based in Egypt that is a platform for physicians being offered a solution that is cloud-based which is called HealthTag. It is a Health Information Exchange platform that is secure and stores medical records while providing access to only the owner.

Sun King: This is a startup from Kenya that addresses the energy issue of providing clean and reliable energy to the African continent and Asia. They offer the sale of solar power products and a payment model to those that are not able to afford a one-time payment.

Rounding it up!

The startup owners in the African region are spearheaded by individuals that wish to make a difference and this is what sets them apart from most. They enter startups intending to challenge the sources of existing problems and work through the environment and obstacles to bring their innovation to light as it benefits all communities whether they are rural or urban. 

These startups are redefining the role of startups and the capabilities that they can achieve in society.

If you want to read more articles that address startups from different angles and perspectives then head on over to EquityMatch (www.equitymatch.co).

[merch-girls]

Our Wonderbag, crafted from 100% recycled plastic for CM Style Squad! By transforming waste into stylish re-usable bags, we're proud to make sustainability a top priority.

[jozigist]

How load shedding is affecting SA's eating habits

LOAD SHEDDING AFFECTS SA HEALTHY LIFESTYLES February 2023 Load shedding dishes up a wide range of inconveniences and frustrations, but it may well be having far more serious effects when it comes to our eating habits. There are increasing concerns that extensive and sustained power cuts are leading to a rise in fast food consumption as South Africans experience fewer undisrupted opportunities to prepare fresh meals at home. It's our health, and the health of our loved ones that will take a toll from this pivot to takeaway and convenience meals.

A man grilling pork and barbecue in dinner party. Food, people and family time concept. Registered Dietitian, Zitandile Mfono, who is also a spokesperson for ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa), says, "It's a pity that the positive home cooking trend we saw during Covid lockdowns is now being reversed due to the frequency of load shedding during meal preparation times. It's already a challenge for working parents to put healthy, home-cooked meals on the table due to their busy lives, and now they must contend with power outages just as they get home from work and start to focus on making dinner. It's not surprising that people are opting for more convenience foods in these difficult circumstances. However, this means an increase in high fat, high salt and high sugar foods in the family diet. With the country's high rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, these are the kind of dietary changes our nation cannot afford. In addition, at a household-level, increased consumption of takeaway foods leads to higher monthly food costs." Zitandile recommends investing in, or even making your own, 'wonder cooker' which uses heat-retaining technology to slow-cook food without the need for electricity or gas. The wonder cooker, also known as a wonderbag works like a slow cooker but requires no electricity or gas. It can be used to prepare any recipe that involves boiling, roasting, simmering or steaming food. It can also be used to keep food warm for hours, like a thermos flask. Zitandile says, "You can prepare and bring a pot of soup or pap to the boil in the morning before work, take it off the stove and tuck it into wonder cooker for the day. The heavily insulated bag will keep it at a low safe temperature for hours, and when your return from work in the evening, you will have warm, fully cooked food waiting for you. Wonderbags are hand-made, and you can find patterns and tutorials online, which makes it an economical solution for families." According to Chanelle Retief, also a Registered Dietitian and ADSA spokesperson, there are some hacks that can help you to keep your focus on your family's healthy lifestyle despite the hardships of load shedding. She says, "We need to adapt to load shedding as best we can, and while ordering in takeaways can be a quick fix for a hungry family, the longer-term impacts on our health and our pockets mean this is not a sustainable solution." Chanelle recommends: - Invest in an inexpensive gas stove back-up – "You don't have to go out and replace your oven with a gas alternative. Rather invest in a small two-plate gas stove to use when you need to cook while there is load shedding. The added benefit of gas is that it heats up much quicker than an electric stove, so you should save on cooking time as well as energy costs." - Focus more on salad-based meals – "Add a few more tasty salad recipes to your repertoire so that you can put together delicious and filling meals when the power is off. When making a salad for lunch or dinner, always try to add a protein source to it by including leftover cooked chicken or meats, lentils or beans, eggs or cheeses. Tinned tuna is also a great load shedding alternative as it does not need any cooking or heating. - Plan ahead and in more detail – "The old saying 'failing to plan, is planning to fail' is so true when it comes to power outages. It makes it easier to manage the impact of load shedding on meals if you plan meal preparation, and the details of each of the upcoming week's meals. Integrate your schedule and the load shedding schedule, so that when you shop for food, you buy only what you know you need and can prepare." - Make healthier choices if you are ordering in – "If you really have no choice and you need to buy takeaways – keep the plate model in mind. 50% of your plate should be veggies, 25% should be healthy carbs and 25% should be lean protein. Try and stay away from anything that is fried or 'creamy'. Never opt for the 'upsize' or 'buy one get one free' options." - Be aware of increased food waste – "If your cooking gets interrupted frequently, or load shedding often kicks in before you get started, you may find that you are throwing away greater quantities of food. Remember that food waste is a preventable expense. Being conscious of avoiding food waste will help you to use up what you have in your fridge before it spoils. If you don't think it's likely you will consume the food you have in time, then rather donate it." While we have to live with load shedding, we can look to mitigate the potential harms. As we adapt to meal disruptions, it may be time to try new ways of maintaining the family's healthy lifestyle. Chanelle concludes, "Despite the hardships of load shedding, we must keep our focus on the family making healthy eating choices daily. This may mean that we need to try out some new recipes and dishes, such as nutrient-dense smoothies, salads that include protein and grain bowls." Read the full article

[lynnyline123]

@papierfischer sells these marvelous Wonderbags for only 10 Euro at the Karlsruhe Location today. The best thing is, that the money gets donated to Ukraine. If you can make sure to get your hands on one of them. I was there before Opening myself and luckily got even two. #surprise #wonderbag #mysterybag (hier: PapierFischer) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb15mjisNV0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[noctomania]

Watch "2 Chefs Test THE WONDERBAG: A Non-Electric Slow Cooker!" on YouTube

This is for a good cause!

Wonderbag was an invention developed by a woman named Sarah who has spent time in South Africa & has developed this cooking tool to help those who are in need of a safer & healthier cooking option. So many are living in conditions that requires they inevitably spend many hours collecting firewood to cook over & spend several more hours a day inhaling the smoke from cooking with the fuel.

The Wonderbag ultimate works as a unpowered insulted bag that retains heat well enough to cut cooking time significantly while nonetheless continuing the cooking process for hours. Not quite a crock pot, not quite a heater bag.

Sarah is going to be donating 1000 Wonderbags & several masks to many in most need & Sorted is attempting to match that. Visit the video & check out the description for more info!

[teenkidsnews]

In some parts of the world, women spend many hours, traveling 5, 10 miles away from home simply to collect enough firewood too cook food for their family. During these walks, they are susceptible to violence and it is also time not spent on other things, such as school. Trees are cut down, which contributes to deforestation and ecosystem destruction, thus widening the distances people have to travel to forage. These wood and charcoal fires give off carbon emissions, contributing to climate change, but also cause health problems at home due to smoke inhalation. This simple, electricity-free slow cooker called The Wonderbag addresses all of these problems. Click the link in our bio 👆or visit teenkidsnews.com to learn more about the #Wonderbag #womenempowerement #Climatechange #Greenplanet #ecofriendly #Slowcooker https://www.instagram.com/p/BynxpxFFZqn/?igshid=1ry119q61u8u1

[thegirlinthetealbikini]

Day 3 &4 - Awesomely crossing the Atlantic

10th/11th May 2017 - Today was the day of prepping to sail to sint maarten to haul the boat out for a little TLC. My tasks where to prepare food for the crossing, so I decided to use my wonderbag for the first time to free up my day. I prepared a beef stew it took 30mins to prep and 3-4 hours in the wonderbag, fast forward time a little it was awesome and just what we needed when we hit the cold part of the night! So we set sail at 5pm, sailed through the night 2hours on 2 hours off, luka did have nearly three hours but ill let him off ! 😝 Relatively smooth for the first few hours then the wind picked up and seas got a little confused so we had to reduce our speed slightly. It was a busy night lots of boats out and about. A few down pours through the night but thankfully this time we had a radar so we had an idea when it was gonna hit. Plenty time to put on our foul weather gear and keep nice and dry, money well spent id say. So after 15 hours we made it to Simpson bay at 8am plenty time to anchor put out the fenders and have a well deserved coffee, before the bridge opens at 9.30. We get the green light and off we go ! We find an anchorage for the night take a shower while Luka clears immigration. Weather is horrendous, netflix and chill!!! Haul out day tomorrow, pamper day our girl getting us safely to St Martin 😍😍

[clicksleeprepeat]

Oct 10, 2017.  The wonderbag. This is so cool. It keeps food warm all day. I took some food to work, and it worked splendidly. The wonderbag company does good too, so I’m all about this.

[patsfood]

Wonderbags Wunder bags or Wundabags

Energy prices worrying you? This will help.

[petermorwood]

Haybox cooking, yet again...

The first post about it is here, with a sort-of recipe; we were pleased to find that our new-version haybox is FAR more efficient than the one described there, since its stew was in the box for hours longer yet came out much hotter.

So where did we get the parts? Besides online shopping from local supermarkets, we also buy meat from craft butcher James Whelan, which is delivered in insulated boxes.

I re-sized the styrofoam insulation sheets from one so I could double-line another, then added a couple of old soft pillows for extra wrapping and to shield the styrofoam from direct contact with hot metal.

(ETA: the most recent deliveries confirm that Whelan’s have gone over to recyclable honeycomb cardboard insulation – fine for delivery duration but no good for this – so we’ll be keeping our now-discontinued styro-lined haybox very safe between uses.)

I started the stew on the stovetop: beef, onions, garlic, tomatoes, carrots etc. Haybox / insulated-box cooking will work with any one-pot stew or casserole dish, whether it’s goulash, chilli, curry, lentils, whatever.

Once everything was up to a nice simmer, the still-bubbling pot was carefully lowered into the box where it rested on one pillow, was topped with the other and well tucked in, then closed up. This was at about 9 PM on Friday night.

At about 6 (7?) PM on Saturday I unwrapped it - and despite being off the stove for 21-22 hours, with no more than its own insulated heat, the stew was still hot - not “piping hot” but certainly hot enough to eat right then.

It smelled wonderful, the meat was fork-tender, and it went back on a very low stove-ring for the 15 minutes or so needed while I cooked up something for the side - in this case home-made ribbon noodles finished with butter and a grind of black pepper.

You’ll have to imagine the plated product; by the time @dduane​ suggested taking a photo it wasn’t very photogenic any more, but wow, it tasted great!

We’re having a bit more for Sunday lunch with a bit of crusty bread-and-butter to chase the gravy with, and then the remainder - still about half of what’s in the pic - will be divvied into serving sizes (plastic takeaway boxes are very handy for this) and frozen.

This whole business didn’t need even the small trickle of power used by a crock-pot / slow-cooker; we still don’t have one, though we might one day even though it’s one more large-ish gadget for a fairly small kitchen. By comparison, the box arrangement can be folded flat, the pillows squashed flat, and the whole thing tucked away until next time.

(ETA: @gwenifaere​ posted a reply which mentioned the Wonderbag; if hayboxing interests you, this is something well worth checking out; their Women4Women bundle is also worth attention.)

[wolfnowl]

A catalyst for social change — wonderbagworld.com

A brilliant idea!! 🥘

[henbaa]

What's in the wonderbag? Picnicking at tesselaarsdal #wonderbag (at Teslaarsdal, Western Cape, South Africa)

[dailyserv-in]

Top eco gadgets

There’s no shortage of merchandise on the market that boast concerning their environmentally-friendly properties. However, only too typically these thus known as eco gadgets don’t live up to expectation. With this in mind, this short guide helps you to spot inexperienced merchandise that basically do deliver.

LEDs

It’s value investigation a variety of latest technology LED lights that have…