Take a bite...Ideal Bite.

The past three days have been spent at the annual Leadership Conference.  It was my first and it was a really great experience!  The company has so much knowledge, experience, heritage, and more within so it's great to be able to meet incredible leaders, hear their stories, and be inspired by them.  One of my favorite sessions was with a new internet company we acquired in February 2008.  Ideal Bite was founded by Heather Stephenson and Jennifer Boulden in 2005 and offers email subscribers "bite-sized ideas for light green living."  When I heard this I thought "PERFECT!"  I've felt such a conviction and passion to make my life more Green, but for every small thing I was doing right, I felt guilty for every thing I was doing wrong.  But Ideal Bite does a great job of putting it all into perspective.  It's all about the small changes.  If you can make a small change whether it be buying organic food, using organic hair products, drinking organic beer, recycling, not drinking bottled water...it eventually adds up.  But the thing to remember is that you don't have to dive in and do a 180 with your life to live Green.  Just pick a few that are easy for you and that you feel passionate about.  

As Jen said in her speech today--"Ideal Bite is for the soccer mom who drives her SUV to Whole Foods."  She also went on to say she's a vegetarian but still wears leather.  Everyone can make a small change though to contribute.

Just an incredible business concept and something that was certainly needed in the market.  I'm excited to see Ideal Bite grow!

Check it out:  www.idealbite.com

It's not easy being Green...or is it?

So everyone's heard about it. Going Green. It's the new trend. The new Black, if you will. And to be completely honest, I never thought I'd be one of "those" people. I never thought I'd be one of those environmental, organic crazy people. But lately, I find myself making more and more efforts towards going green and organic.

I think it all started in college when my campus minister/mentor/close friend Austina mentioned to me the idea of not using bottled water. She explained the benefits of using a Nalgen and filtered water instead (better for the environment, more cost efficient, and a statement in the fact that all people deserve access to clean drinking water). I'm certain that this seed she planted in my thoughts has developed into something much more. I feel as though I'm constantly thinking about how my actions and lifestyle are affecting the environment, the people around me, and even myself. For example, I avoid drinking bottled water whenever possible (yes, I still do drink it on occasion, but not nearly in the same capacity that I used to). I purchase "green" cleaning products and laundry detergent. I've replaced many of the light bulbs in my apartment with the cool, long lasting spirally ones (yeah, that's the official name of them). I purchased organic cotton sheets (and let me tell you...these things are seriously liking sleeping on a cloud. Even if I weren't environmentally concerned, I'd still buy these things!). I've begun to limit the amount of materials I print at work. I've started to buy more organic products at te grocery. I know that, for me, it'll be impossible for me to ever be completely organic for many reasons--cost and convienence being two of them, but I think the effort is important.

One of my new favorite environmentall friendly foods is LightLife Smart Menus. LightLife is a vegetarian product (no, I'm not a vegetarian...yet--not sure if I ever will be or not--but I do like a LOT of vegetarian products). At the grocery recently, I picked up one of LightLife's products called Garlic Teriyaki Chick'n (get it...it's not realy chicken. Hence the spelling...). I made it for lunch one afternoon and I was seriously surprised. It was sooooo delicious. And the fake chicken tastes suprisingly similar to regular chicken. I love that the product is good for the environment and good for me too!

Like I said, I know it takes small steps towards becoming more environmentally aware. And to be completely honest, it's expensive sometimes. But I think it's worth it. Whether or not there's global warming (yeah, I know that debate is constantly going on), it's unfair for us to be treating God's creation as some big garbage disposal. We are a society that is wasteful and often thoughtless. Just think about the amount of garbage you throw away in one day. Or the amount of fuel you use in one day. And then mutliply that number--because there are billions of people creating just as much waste as you are each day. From a human rights standpoint, I continue to struggle with how it's fair for me to have every luxury I could possibly think of while people all over the world who don't have clean drinking water and electricity. They live in conditions that in the United States would be condemned and deemed unfit for human life.

I could go on and on and on about this topic (well, I suppose it's many topics all connected) for hours. And I'm sure many of you could debate with me my reasoning, but I know that God has placed this on my heart. I know that as a Christian I need to be aware of my actions, in every aspect of my life, and their impact on the people around me and the world I live in. Like always, the invitation stands...if you're ready for a discussion on this topic, I'd love to chat!

PS--I really just started this post to tell ya'll how much I love LightLife's Smart Menu products, but I got sidetracked. So, really, just go check out their products.