I am ALWAYS thirsty. No, really, I always have a water bottle or drink in hand. And whenever I go out to eat I always tell the waiter– just go ahead and refill my water glass any time you pass by! (weird right?) With the weather heating up, staying hydrated is SO important–so for me that means about 20 bottles of water a day! Ditch your plastic water bottle for a more eco-friendly option. Here are some of my favorites:

ROHO by Thermos

I love these designs! The BPA-free, stainless steel bottles have a really cool one-hand pop-off top too. So it’s perfect if you’re a mom with a baby in one hand and your water in another!  Check them out at thermos.com.

SIGG

SIGG may have gotten some bad press in 2009, when news broke that their eco-friendly bottles were not BPA-free (bottles manufactured prior to August 2008). But since then they’ve been hard at work to fix that. The 100% recyclable bottles now have an EcoCare liner, made from BPA and phthalate-free ingredients. Plus they’ve even got smaller versions for kids, perfect for their little hands. And we are thrilled because their designs are just too cute to pass up!  See our favorites at mysigg.com.

Klean Kanteen

If you’re like me and like to drink your water iced cold, you’ll love Kleen Kanteen’s Wide Insulated bottles. The stainless steel, BPA-free bottles will keep your iced drinks nice and cold for up to 24 hours–the opening is wide so you can fit as many ice cubes as you need. And when then weather gets chilly again, the vacuum insulation will keep your cocoa toasty for up to 6 hours.  The Klean Kanteen Classic bottle is another option, which comes in tons of colors (seriously, you can get one for everyone you know!). For more info, visit kleankanteen.com.

These are KIWI’s faves, what eco-friendly water bottles do you all use?

-Nicole McGovern

I was making my family some brownies the other night and the two of them would have eaten the whole batch if I hadn’t had a sugar intervention.

Here’s where the nickname came in.

I looked over at my daughter and she had a streak of brownie goo which connected her two eyebrows. The resulting name (which I won’t utter in front of her)?

Unibrownie.

I think it’s interesting the way we label everything and everyone. I was uneasy being a vegan mainly because I wasn’t sure I could live up to the regulations associated with the name. Would people judge me for wearing leather shoes? Or scrutinize my beverages? So, I’m not a big fan of labels.

I think that might be the key to something the trendsters are calling green guilt. You try really hard to recycle, compost, reduce waste, carry a water bottle, eat local, eat plants, grow your own…but then you get to the gym and forget the water bottle. Or you jump on a treadmill and feel guilty because the thing is plugged in. It should be the other way around, right? If you pedal, run, step or walk, shouldn’t you be generating electricity?

My green guilt comes from my house, mainly. I am desperate to install solar panels, get rid of my lawn with attractive moss and groundcover, have a huge and bountiful garden (impervious to deer and bunnies), get a new eco-mattress for every bed and ditch the rugs for renewable wood floors. But, it’s not in the budget in the short-term. And, you have to remove things which have to be recycled, disposed of or somehow evaporated.

We do our best.