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Recycled Glass Drink Bottle

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BottlesUp Recycled Glass Bottle in Blue
from: The Ultimate Green Store

My new favorite drinking bottle is this beauty from BottlesUp that I got from The Ultimate Green Store.  If you were listening to The Good Green Witch today you heard us talking about it. It has the lowest carbon footprint of any water bottle in the industry, is 100% sourced in North America, and every order is delivered in environmentally responsible and minimal packaging that you can easily recycle. And, as Johnny mentioned, it’s ribbed for your pleasure.
They make great bottles if you prefer drinking out of glass like me. I still love my stainless steel for my coffee and my bpa free plastic for my hikes, etc. but for everything else it’s glass. These are amazing gifts too.

Review: back to Nature Granola

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In my humble opinion back to Nature Chocolate Delight Granola is the best granola ever! Cascadian Farms makes a Dark Chocolate Almond cereal that is good but I can never find it in the stores anymore. Which is why I went on a hunt for a new granola. So too bad for you Cascadian Farms I am in love with back to Nature!

The eco side of me loves that the chocolate they use Rainforest Alliance Certified, made in the USA and they support The Nature Conservancy. The (pretends to be) health conscious side of me loves that it’s made from 100% whole grains, no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors and no trans fat. All sides of me love that it is so good!

My favorite way to enjoy it is yogurt parfaits. Here’s what you need:

  • Plain or Vanilla yogurt-organic and/or soy
  • Strawberries or raspberries-local and/or organic. Farmers market fresh!
  • Chocolate Delight Granola

One of my best investments was a case of pint size mason jars (the jam size). I use these to make up a weeks worth of yogurt parfaits. Add berries to the bottom of for or five jars and top with yogurt, filling the jars half full. Depending on the yogurt you use you may want to sweeten a bit, I recommend using organic agave. Seal them up and put in the fridge and you have a delish breakfast or snack ready for you. Add the granola right before you eat otherwise it will get soggy.

I find it easier and less wasteful if I prepare my food ahead of time. I am obsessed with mason jars. This goes beyond my yogurt parfaits but I will save this for another post. In the meantime go out and buy some of the back to Nature granola so they don’t stop making it.

 

Arrogant Bitch

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Given the fact I am a self proclaimed Queen, you may assume some arrogance on my part. That’s fine, you are probably right. So logically as a start my series of blog reviews for eco bartending I am starting with Arrogant Bastard Ale. Admittedly I am not  a very adventurous beer drinker. I am doing this for you. As an eco bartender I must both practice what I preach and know my product. So yes, I will take one for the team and test every organic, local and/ or sustainable beer I can find and report back to you.

If you are a hard core beer connoisseurs please don’t be offended by my generalizations. I won’t be getting into the finish or the hops & barley, I’m just giving my opinion.

As far as living an eco lifestyle I believe it’s not always about going without, but simply making greener choices. Lucky for us this means we can drink beer and still be eco friendly! Of course not with just any beer. Organic is (obviously) an eco friendly choice and so is choosing a local brewery. By default this lowers the carbon footprint if it’s local and some of these breweries have very sustainable practices.

Stone Brewery is a popular local brewery here in SoCal & San Diego. I am super impressed with their commitment to sustainability. I haven’t made it there yet but I will definitely make it to their bistro for one of the beer & chocolate pairing. I know, sounds amazing doesn’t it? 

The Queens opinion on the beer: I really  did start with this one strictly because of the name and what it says on the label: “This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory”…

Such clever marketing, it dares you to try it. I took the bait. I am an arrogant bitch and you can’t tell me I’m not worthy (what the cap says). The statements are true. It is an aggressive ale. I didn’t like. I don’t have the sophistication to appreciate it.

Of course I am drinking the whole bottle, don’t want to waste that would not be very eco of me. Honestly though I think it’s a good beer it’s just not my style. I’m not a fan of bitter beer, but if you are then you will like it.I have heard this is a beer that if you let rest for a while and the flavor gets better. It is better now that I am at the end of the bottle. It does have a smoothness and a little sweetness to it. Bittersweet is how I would describe it.  For what it’s worth that’s how I would describe breakups with a couple of my ex boyfriends. Would I order it at a bar? Probably not. Would I drink it again if that is what is served at a party? Probably, just like I would hang out with my bittersweet ex if he was there.

Cheers!

 

 

How can you reclaim and reuse waste?

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So I am very excited about my new job that starts next week at The Ultimate Green Store I have been researching the companies that have products on the site. I am so inspired by these companies and their commitment and ingenuity.  For example there is a company called English Retreads, based out of Colorado. [...] Read more »