Go On a 'Green' Diet

In so many ways going green is similar to going on a diet — an energy diet.

Similar to South Beach, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, it's all about limiting your consumption. Whether it be carbs, calories, fat or carbon, in the end there is truly no other way to describe it. And as with a diet, for the majority of the population extremes aren't successful, in fact, they just don't work. In the same way that a five-day juice diet will likely result in a binge of epidemic proportions, so too will giving up all that you value in a quest to be greener. The best way to keep both your waistline and your carbon footprint in svelte form is to make gradual and permanent steps in the green direction.

In the past few years, I have steadily turned over a green leaf. First by starting to eat organic, then mostly locally grown, and then giving up meat entirely. After some serious thought I decided it was time to work from home and we ditched one of our cars. But through it all one fact remains the same, moderation, I have and will refuse to give up all that I hold dear on my carbon diet, after all maintenance is key. Here are my favorite enjoyable ways to go green:

1. Make eating locally a social event.

Whether it means hitting the farmers' market every weekend and establishing a relationship with your local farmers or joining the Slow Food group in your area, eating locally is all about taking time out of your life to enjoy the fruits of labor of small farmers. Many of these farmers work to produce a quality, sustainably grown product rather than the mass produced, terribly bland junk our society sometimes calls food. Every weekend my husband and me, along with our two over-zealous puppies, spend our Saturday morning strolling in and out of the farmer's market booths, sampling the jewels picked that day, and building yummy meals around the season's best.

2. Sip on some biodynamic wine.

Biodynamic wine is nothing short of a green miracle. It's organic on steroids. Biodynamic vineyards treat the farm as a unified holistic organism. This means that they focus on cultivating the relationships between the soil, plants and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system. Biodynamic farming uses fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives and field sprays and even coordinates planting with the astronomical calendar. Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa Valley produces some truly delicious biodynamic wines including my favorite, the Abraxas. I can think of no greater pleasure than sipping on a glass of Abraxas at dusk on my patio watching winter bloom into spring.

3. Indulge in organic, fair trade and terribly dark chocolate.

I have gradually phased sugar out of my diet. Of course I'll still gobble down a giant chunk of key lime pie on dinners out but for the most part processed sugars do nothing to help my butt or the planet. Except, of course, chocolate. It's antioxidant properties (as with vino) fully relieve any slight twinge of guilt that I normally would have felt. And high quality organic and fair trade chocolates are grown in an eco-friendly manner and those that produce them are paid fairly. Pair your chocolate with a biodynamic wine and life is one continual vacation. I love Green and Black's Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar.