Greener Living
After watching former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, I felt saddened by the destruction we’re causing, but also awakened to the need for immediate change. I was also left with questions: What can I do today? What would have the most impact? How do I get started? Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability (Freedom Press, 2006) by Greg Horn, CEO of Garden of Living, offers dozens of tips, lists, facts, and figures to get you started and keep you motivated. Divided into three chapters—Sustainable Health, Sustainable Home, and Sustainable Future, Horn covers everything from the necessity of purchasing an organic mattress to ways to offset your carbon footprint. This is the guide for simple, more sustainable living.
Every year, I’m inundated with the 365-day books. You know, 365 movies to see this year, 365 words you don’t know, 365 inspirational quotes to make your life more…(fill in the blank here). But, rarely do I come across one that I actually want to use. Be the Change You Want to See in the World (Conari Press, 2006), however, breaks this mold. Author Julie Fisher-McGarry celebrates conscious living, providing tips, recipes, and antidotes to inspire a more fulfilling life. This month, you’ll find a recipe utilizing the number one grain that feeds the world, tips for making time for your health, plus information on helping protect endangered species. By viewing a year through a wide-angle lens, Fisher-McGarry manages to introduce more to one year than many of us accomplish in five.
You probably purchase their produce each week at your local Whole Foods, infusing your diet with organic, vibrant greens, carrots, and fruits. Inspired by their organic farm, which happens to be the world’s largest grower of organic produce, Myra Goodman, co-founder of Earthbound Farms, recently released Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook (Workman, 2006). More than a cookbook, Food to Live By is an inspirational guide to creating delicious and nutritious meals. Goodman offers tips on finding ingredients, chef’s notes, and recipes for everything from a Strawberry-Tarragon Salad to Ginger Lime Salmon. Vibrant photos of completed dishes, ingredients, and the farm itself reinforce the idea that food should be simple, flavorful, and inspired by nature.
