March Madness Giveaway - Week 2!

It's time for another giveaway! Get a head start and spring clean your body by winning a copy of "Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole" By holistic doctors Pulde & Lederman. Check out their site for more info!

How to enter:  Follow this blog and leave your comment as to why you want to win and/or gift this book. Be sure to leave your email as well so that I may contact  the winner. Winners will be chosen next Wednesday, March 17th by random.org.

Good Luck!!

Great Finds at Go Green Expo 2010!

I really enjoy attending all sorts of expos from health to adventure, fashion to food, as there is so much to learn, try & see! I was excited to be in town for the Go Green Expo, 1 of many they have year round in major cities around the U.S. The one here in LA is the largest green expo in the area so I did my very best to squeeze in all it had to offer in 1 day.  I've decided to share my top finds from this year's expo, so with no further a due, here they are!:

• Eco Panda Swim Suits - Not only are these swimsuits stylish, cute & comfy, they are 100% eco! Made from recycled nylon from fish nets, these suits for all shapes & sizes are sure to please the wearers as well as the lookers ; ) They also carry cute cover-ups, bags that tuen into your beach towel and other cute beachy accessories. Visit them & shop at www.eco-panda.com.
• Sovereign Earth Water Bottles - Weather you're an adventure seeker or just a concerned mom, don't let the quality of you water keep you awake at night. Not when you have a Sovereign Earth Water Bottle! Each bottle is produced using only 100% recyclable, food grade materials - non-leaching and BPA-free. The Sovereign Earth water filter removes up to 99.99% of common contaminants like chlorine, heavy metals, industrial and agricultural pollutants, and pharmaceuticals, leaving you with only the healthy vitamins and minerals naturally found in the water. Not your average water bottle and soon, medical grade filters will be available for those of you who are big time adventurers ; ) Buy 1 for everyone you know at www.sovereignearth.com.
• ReGreet Cards - Ever get a card that is so cute but you can't find it anywhere to gift it to someone on your list? Not in the mood to spend $4 for something that might just end up in the trash after the cake is all but gone? Well ReGreet has found a way to help both scenarios while also helping the environment!  Greeting card kits are sold so that you are able to re-use greeting cards while offering the same choice to your giftee if they choose to "ReGreet".  Check out their innovative, eco & money saving kits at www.regreet.com.
• People Towels - How frustrating when you've washed your hands in a public restroom and there are no paper towels or even so much as a hand dryer? Fret no more with People Towels? These colorful hand towels fold up nicely and come with their own little case that can fit snug in your pocket or purse so that you are drippy no more ; ) Clean & green! Pick out your People Towel today at www.peopletowels.com.
• OrganicKidz Bottles - I don't have kids yet but I loved this product line. These bottles are not only eco-friendl and super healthy (BPA free, etc), but they grow with your baby! Use a baby bottle nipple, a sippy cup top and then on to sports bottle top - all with the same bottle.  And if you need to measure anything like formula, cut juice with water, etc, the top is a measuring cup as well. I thought this was really innovative and I know what will be at the top of my registry once I'm preggers ; ) See what I'm raving about at www.organickidz.ca.
• Bayes Waterless Car Wash Soap - Not only will you save time with this product, you will save money & conserve water! No more rinsing, soaping, rinsing again & toweling off your 4-wheeled baby. Nope! Just 1 step saves you gallons of water & oodles of time. Keep your car sparkling clean and your conscience green with Bayes Waterless. Find this and other Bayes natural cleaning products at www.bayescleaners.com.
• Glee Gum - I grew up with Chiclets, Bubble Yum, Chewels, Big League Chew & the fruity one with the zebra ; ) By far, Chiclets were my fave and Glee Gum brings that back in an all natural way. No chemicals, artificial flavors or sweeteners, Glee is the best way to chew. Check out their flavors and other products at www.gleegum.com.
• Froobi Non-Stick Pan -Yep, a healthy & eco non-stick pan!! It's not Teflon or some other toxic material. The secret is that it's ceramic!  Healthy, even cooking without the headaches of scrubbin' off stuck on food.  Yay!! Lots to check out at www.froobi.com
• Harnessed Humidity - Ok, so it might be a little pricey but I like the idea. This water dispenser doesn't need a jug or a hook up to a tap. It just needs a little air! Taking the humidity from the air, this device harnesses water, filters it and dispenses great tasting H2O in minutes! Cold, hot or room temp, I was razzle dazzled. See how neat this machine is at www.harnessedhumidity.com.
• Fresh Snack Pack - I really like this next product for its simplicity. Wrap up your sandwiches in this reusable, BPA-free, non-leaching pouch and use it as a mat to enjoy your food on when it's chow time. Easy to wrap up, simple to eat on and a cinch to clean, save money & the environment with www.freshsnackpack.com.
• Go Green Oil Filter - Besides computer and cell phone trouble, car trouble takes the cake. Save money and frustration while saving the earth with the Go Green Oil Filter. GoGreen oil filters are reusable and have zero landfill impact. The earth-friendly GoGreen oil filter reclaims 100% of the oil in the filter, allowing you to recycle all the waste oil. Get one asap at www.gogreenoilfilter.com.
• SorbentGreen - Oil spill? No problem. Hazardous waste? No problem. Blood? Yep, no problem. GreenSorb is a phenomenal product for medical offices, mechanic shops, and even your home.  The patented materials are 100% eco friendly and toxin free. So much so that no matter what it absorbs, it renders it non-toxic. Oh yeah, that makes it much easier to dispose of as well ; ) See the demo at www.sorbentgreen.com.
• OmGym - Fun, portable fitness, all in one cool pouch. Work out, stretch or just have some healthy fun withe the OmGym. Use it at home or on the go! View all the ways you can use your OmGym at www.omgym.com.

My next Expo coverage will be from The Natural Product Expo West so be sure to check back for a ton of great healthy & eco food, health, beauty, home, lifestyle products & more in just a few weeks!!

March Madness Giveaway!

Spring cleaning isn't just for your closets & junk drawers anymore ; )  Spring time is a great time to get your diet on par with the season and get you healthy & vibrant in time for swim suit season.  One great way to get started is by cooking healthy meals with healthy cookware. It's time to get rid of that toxic, non-stick stuff and move toward ceramic or stainless steel.  And to get things started, I'm going to be giving away a brand new Emerilware Pro-Clad 8" Frying/Saute Pan to one very lucky reader!

Between today and next Wednesday, March 10th at 5pm PST, you can enter for your chance to start Spring Cleaning your kitchen and your diet!  How can I win this awesome pan, you ask? It's easy! Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post with the first thing you would cook with this pan ; ). Please include an email address, so I can reach you if you win.  A random winner will be chosen by www.random.org and notified shortly after the contest has been closed. Be sure to also check out what else www.cookware.com has to offer while you're there!! In addition, if you're looking to spruce & eco up your kids bedding, their sister site offers some great eco bedding, toys, furniture & lamps ; )

Good luck!!

Get Ready for Redding, CA!

One more stop before we headed once more through San Fran to visit friends and then home again. We were told that the Sun Dial Bridge was pretty neat so that was enough to get us of the 5 South and into Redding. This small northern California town had a neat bridge, a cute nature park & gardens as well as some tasty treats to satisfy my healthy appetite!

Since we were only there for 24 hours, I knew I had to fin some quick eats. Greengo's was just the place and they offer tons of vegan, gluten free and other special diet dishes. I went right for their rice & bean salada and a cup of their vegan soup of the day, tomato basil, mmmm ; )  Super cute, super quick, super healthy, it's Greengo's!

For din din, we grabbed a seat at The Downtown Eatery.  Along with our meal we got some great local live music. I devoured my portobello mushroom sandwich with cashew cheese along with my sweet potato fries and vegan garlic aioli dip.  It was really nice to chill out, listen to some fun tunes, take in the local scene and grub!

Sue's Java Cafe was a nice departure from my usual on the road Starbucks (they always have soymilk so it's just a no brainer). Their soy chai was delightful as was their freshly baked bread & the vegan chili I took with me for the ride home. Really cute and really yum, who could ask for a better way to start the day!

Redding was quick but I had enough time to enjoy the local vibe.  If you're passin' through to see the Sun Dial bridge, now you know where to eat too!

Eureka! in NorCal

I was charmed by this little seaside town in Northern California. It somehow has kept a lot of its history, making you feel like you've stepped into the early years of the state. You can just picture horse drawn carriages and ladies in big Victorian dresses. But I will say that the food and folks are very much modern and forward thinking ; ) I was excited to see how many options there where but maybe that's because they are in Humboldt county, heehee ; )

We pulled in after a long day of driving and lunched at Hurricane Kate's. I was famished so I shared the delicious portobello sate and then chowed on their awesome nut burger. They've got all kinds of healthy fare and it was a nice place to eat on our first venture in town.

Later that night we wanted to get a taste of the night life in town in headed over to the Lost Coast Brewery. Not only do they feature a bunch of local brews, but this watering hole dished out some pretty yummalicious food! Lots of healthy fare that included tofu tacos, Humboldt green party veggie burger or even a  tofu burger. There's nothing like being able to order up a healthy meal to go with your organic beer ; )

The next day we breakfasted at the eco & healthy diner, Golden Harvest. I started my day right with the Popeye Scramble made with tofu and sans the cheese. Everything at Golden Harvest is made  with the best local ingredients and a lot of it is made from scratch.  Definitely a must for the first meal of the day and their lunch menu looks great too!

For our last meal in town we decided to splurge and go fancy shmancy so we dined at Avalon. Very pretty and suiting for downtown, Avalon serves up nothing but organic and local fare.  I was able to find a deleicious veggie item in their home made gnocchi (with no cheese) that followed my fresh field green salad. It really was a nice meal and a treat from our usual road trip meals ; )

We were in and out of Eureka but I would recommend that if you ever drive up the western coast to add it to your stop and dine list!

You need to dine in Eugene!

Not far from Portland is another healthy town, one that Jack Kerouac once hailed from (his statue is reading me a story in that photo). And that town is called Eugene! On our Pacific North West road trip, we were told to stop in Eugene on our way back home.  Good thing we listened as there was much to grub on and I'm going to share all the info with you now!

The main reason we stopped was to be sure we visited the Pizza Research Institute. It was more then well worth it, I wish we had one in LA!  A converted mechanic shop, the PRI has an ever changing menu but always scrumptious regardless of what's on it. It is completely vegetarian and veganizing items is not hard at all. They really do have some wonderfully experimental dishes but each is a hit.  The day we popped in I had a killer spinach soup with their ridiculous spiral garlic rolls and a slice a spicy tofu vegan pizza. I was in heaven!  Check them out and even if it's your only stop in Eugene, you must dine at the Pizza Research Institute!

I'm sure I've said this a thousand times and I'm glad to say it again, you can always find a healthy dish with Asian cuisine. Sweet Basil Thai is just that kind of place.  All kinds of authentic Thai dishes, it wasn't difficult to fin something that suited any special diet. I went straight for the I Love Veggies Stir Fry and requested the vegan sauce that went with it. They offer tofu, tempeh or veggies with any dish and are very helpful with all sorts of food allergies. If it's Thai you're craving, let Sweet Basil scratch the itch ; )

Just because I'm The "Healthy" Voyager, doesn't mean that I don't let myself indulge in a sweet or 2 every now and again.  And I chose to indulge at Sweet Life!  Organic and many vegan desserts, you can anything here from a pie to a custom wedding cake - yummmmm! I went for their Vegan Chocolate Silk Torte and savored it for most of my trip home.

An awesome lunch spot I stumbled into was the Laughing Planet Cafe. I went to town with all the healthy, low fat, veggie options that I had to take some on the road with me in our cooler to enjoy later ; )  I started with their plantain chips & spicy bbq dip and moved on to their Soylent Green Bowl wchich was full of healthy grains & greens topped with tempeh & delicious mushroom sauce. Mmmm! Then i took a vegan deluxe burrito for the road ; )

Finally, I will confess that I stopped into yet another bakery ; ( But I had no choice!! It was 100% Vegan!! Woot woot!  Gotta support veggie businesses even if it means I must eat cupcakes ; ) And eat cupcakes I did at Divine Cupcakes. They've not only got vegan cupcakes but they have gluten, sugar & wheat free options so no one is left out of the sweet mix. You can pop in for freshly baked cupcakes (might I recommend the Red Velvet or the Lavender?) or take & bake options. And if you are so inclined, they ship!  No more excuses, get yourself a cupcake ; )

I'm more then excited to get back to Oregon and Eugene is definitely on my return list ; )