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All right, I’m on a bit of a local kick this week. I’m just feeling really inspired by the whole movement, which is not only about what you eat, but what you wear. When I found out about jeans company Raleigh Denim, I had to blog about them. They’re a North Carolina company whose jeans are 98 percent local, including of course, the thread and denim, which is produced within 200 miles of its workshop.

To produce the denim, the company uses the Cone Mills’ White Oak Plant, a 100-year-old local mill that weaves the fabric on the only original shuttle looms still working in the U.S. today. Pretty cool. All of Raleigh Denim’s design, pattern-making, cutting, sewing, washing and finishing are done by hand in the company’s Raleigh workshop (the designer prefers to incorporate traditional construction methods and vintage sewing machines).

Raleigh Denim jeans are now carried in major retail stores across the US, including Barneys New York and Steven Alan, and are becoming really popular. They’re priced from roughly $215 to $285. On the expensive side? Yes. But in my opinion, its worth investing in companies with positive and ethical business practices.

Check out Raleigh Denim’s site to find stores in your area that carry them: http://www.raleighdenim.com/

Remember when everyone started using the word organic? When it went from something reserved for the faux-hippies and the wealthy, to mainstream, main-street America? (e.g., you can buy organic anywhere, from Costco to your local chain grocery store). The movement that’s going to be mainstream pretty soon is the local movement, with “Locavores” springing up everywhere. As a follow-up to the post on Organic versus Local foods, and as I become more knowledgeable about this stuff from the book: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food for Life, I wanted to chat more about it.

The local food movement is all about eating foods that come from your regional area to support the local economy and businesses (e.g., family farms), reduce environmental side effects from food that travels far, and of course, enjoy fresher, seasonal and better tasting-food (tomatos that actually taste like…tomatos!)

I’m a big fan of the Local movement. Here are some tips to start integrating this movement into your life. I’m all about small, reasonable changes – so even making one small change will be great.

Visit a farmers’ market. Farmers’ markets keep small farms in business through direct sales.

Choose 5 foods in your house that you can buy locally. This is definitely more reasonable for people that don’t live near Farmers Markets. Rather than trying to source everything locally all at once, try swapping out just 5 local foods. Fruits and vegetables that can be grown throughout the continental U.S. include apples, root vegetables, lettuce, herbs and greens. In most areas, it’s also possible to find meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and cheese—all grown, harvested and produced close to your home.

Find out what restaurants in your area support local farmers. You can do this by asking the restaurants about their ingredients directly. Frequent the businesses that support your farmers.

Ask questions and read labels. Ask your supermarket manager where your meat, produce and dairy is coming from. Also, check the labels to see where your food is coming from. If you can’t get local, the next best thing is to support a family-owned business. For example, if it’s Kraft cheese (corporate conglomerate) versus Cabot cheese (a family-owned farm in Vermont), then go with Cabot.

Buy from local vendors. Can’t find locally grown? How about locally produced? Many areas have locally produced jams, jellies and breads as well as locally roasted coffee and locally created confections. While these businesses may not always use strictly local ingredients in their products, by purchasing them you are supporting the local economy.

For more tips, here’s a great blog about the local movement: http://www.lifebeginsat30.com/jen/

For my LA readers who are looking for another great lunch place to add to their repertoire, I recommend Café Flourish on Wilshire Blvd along the Miracle Mile. They serve amazing organic plant-based (e.g., vegan) cuisine. Some people hear ‘vegan’ and they get scared away. Well, this place has got it down right — (and I’m not even a vegan).

I had the‘Hooray for burritos’ dish there (meat/dairy free burrito) – and honestly, you could have swapped it with something from a taco place and have not known the difference…except this burrito is actually good for you! This place would turn meat-eaters into believers. An added bonus? A locally-owned business with really cool people who work there.

Check it out: www.cafeflourish.com

While it’s not feeling like fall here in Southern California (it hit 90 degrees today!) I love the sights and smells of autumn. Here’s a recipe for a great pumpkin mask I found in Self Magazine that will give your skin a healthy dose of antioxidants like vitamins A and C…perfect for recovering your skin from all the sun it was exposed to over the Summer (in my case, every day!) and to help keep your skin looking young.

Mix together:

• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• ¼ cup bentonite clay (available at health food stores)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp almond oil
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Apply evenly to your face or anywhere else you’d like to smooth. Leave on 10 minutes before rinsing with cool water.  Why does it work? Almond oil moisturizes, clay draws out impurities, honey replaces collagen and cinnamon improves circulation. Enjoy this mask while saving some $ on a store bought one!

I first learned about Zipcar when I was a college student in Boston. I always spotted Zipcar spaces with a cool little Mini Cooper or VW in it. I’m sure you’ve heard about this company, but in case you haven’t, Zipcar started ‘community cars’ for people living in urban areas that don’t own a car. Sign up for a membership, and with a wave of your ‘zipcard,’ you’ve got access to Zipcars around the world. So cool. And now they’re all over the place: they’ve now grown to 325,000 members and 6,500 vehicles in the United States and Britain

Zipcar’s latest smart idea? Last week, the company announced that two dozen Subaru Imprezas and Outbacks in Seattle and Portland have been fitted with complimentary bike racks for autumn. Several dozen other Zipcars now include free passes to state and national parks –  perfect for urban areas that are within close proximity to nature.

Also, Apple now has a new iphone app that will allow users of Zipcar’s car-sharing service to use their iPhones to find, reserve and unlock vehicles. I love companies that are doing smart things.

Check them out: http://www.zipcar.com/

There was this quote from a Grateful Dead song, “One man gathers what another man spills” (which I, um, had as a bumper sticker on my car in High School during my faux-hippie days). When referring to men, Charlotte from Sex and The City once said, “One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.”  But can real trash be turned into treasure? 

TerraCycle is this cool company that believes it can.

I learned that 99% of what you buy will be in the garbage in 1 year. Most stuff can’t be recycled. So TerraCycle recycles garbage and turns it into cool products you can buy (using little to no energy, btw).  Oh, and they’ll donate money to your favorite charity in exchange for you sending in your trash…seriously. Brilliant!

Check out their site and start saving wrappers: http://www.terracycle.net/

There are so many benefits to buying products at Farmer’s Markets. One of the biggest advantages that I see is that I can support local farmers and buy organic produce at a very reasonable cost. But there are those weekends that are really busy when I can’t make it to the Farmer’s Market. And I know there are a lot of people out there in other parts of the U.S. that can’t access Farmers Markets at all.

Which brings me to the produce section of the grocery story, scratching my head with confusion. The latest buzz words in the supermarkets (from Whole Foods to Conventional Grocery stores) is “Local.” But what’s better, organic or local? I wanted to boil the pros and cons down in an easy way.

Organic pros: nutritionally and environmentally sound (no pesticides are better for everyone involved – from the farmers to you, the consumer). The biggest weakness? Trucking products around the world to meet the demand.

‘Local’ pros: eating locally often means you’re eating a more nutritionally dense food since produce is most nutritious within 3 days of harvest. The biggest weakness? Synthetic fertilizers and chemicals.

So, what’s a shopper to do, especially those of us that don’t have that much time to think about it with crazy-busy schedules? Just do your best. That’s what I try to do, and I’m by no means perfect when it comes to this stuff. I strive to buy produce in this order…

1. Local Organic Produce
2. Organic (from anywhere)
3. Local Produce
4. Produce (from anywhere)

Hope this helps! More to come on this subject as I learn more. Currently reading the book: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year Of Food For Life by Barbara Kingsolver.

My dog Teo is, without a doubt, a major source of happiness and stress-release for me. All he wants to do is hang out with me, run around and eat. Such a nice, simple canine life. I’ve dedicated a ‘pet’ section to my blog – like many pet owners, I believe that Teo is a part of a healthy lifestyle because he makes me so happy (and chilled-out).

I’m so passionate about travel. My favorite thing to do is to go someplace new, soak in its unique culture, and enjoy the sense of unfamiliarity (which is exactly what I plan to do when I get to Maui in a few weeks). If you offered to give me a ton of cash or travel the world, I’d take the travel (unless, of course, I could take the cash and then travel). My favorite quote: “When in Rome.”

Allright, enough with the philosophical stuff. I’m here to write about a book I discovered by my favorite Travel organization, Lonely Planet, called Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime.

Here’s the summary in their own words:

“Code Green is all about travel experiences that will challenge, change and inspire you. It’s about making a connection with people who lead very different lives to you, and connecting in a sustainable way, so that the same opportunities will be there for the future. Code Green draws together almost 100 responsible travel experiences from across the planet, all linked by three defining principles; tread lightly on the environment, immerse yourself in the culture and have a positive economic benefit for the local community.”

I already own Lonely Planet’s The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World, this one is next on my list.

Okay, I’m not a big drinker, but I am a fan of do-it-yourself (DIY) stuff, things that are organic, and hostessing. As a follow-up to my “Green-up your bar” post, I found this recipe for creating your own organic “Tea cocktail,” which involves infusing vodka with tea.  This are a new spin on classic cocktails…I can’t wait to serve these to my friends next time I have people over.  And while I believe in eating as clean as possible, I also believe in moderation and having fun…you’ve gotta have a drink every now and again.

So, here’s what you’ll need to create organic tea cocktails:

• Organic vodka (Square One makes organic vodka. If you can’t find it or don’t feel like looking, just use a high-quality convential kind like Kettle One or Grey Goose).
• Organic limes
• 6 tea bags (the kind called for in the recipe below calls for “Moroccan Mint.” Stash makes an excellent Moroccan Mint tea, although it’s not organic. You might want to try Trader Joe’s as well – they have a ton of reasonably priced organic teas)

Infusing instructions:

1. Infuse an entire 750ml bottle of vodka with 6 teabags, by steeping the tea bags for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. You might want to pour the vodka into a jar or container that will allow you to easily remove the teabags after steeping. (If you want to use a lesser amount of vodka, pour 1/3 of the bottle of vodka into in a jar or with two teabags. )

2. Swirl the jar occasionally: You will see the infusion happening (If you want to use loose tea, the equivalent is one teaspoon of tea for each teabag).

Moroccan Mint-tea Cocktail

For a very light and refreshing cocktail, try this Cuban mojito style drink, using vodka instead of rum and Moroccan mint flavors instead of traditional mint.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces vodka infused with Moroccan Mint Tea
• 2 oz. Trader Joe’s Organic Limeade
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ ounce organic agave nectar (just bought a 12 oz bottle at Trader Joe’s for only $2.99, it’s in the honey section)
• 3 mint leaves, minced
• Club soda

Directions

1. Infuse vodka with 6 teabags per instructions above.

2. Put all ingredients except club soda in a shaker with crushed ice.  Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. 

3. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Fill to top with club soda, stir and garnish with a mint sprig.

Enjoy your homemade tea cocktail!