I snubbed sweet potatoes (or yams as they’re often called) for far too many years of my life. Luckily, over the past few years I’ve become 
acquainted in a big way.
Organic sweet potatoes are a delicious winter vegetable that can be easily transformed into a dinner side, snack or even dessert. Plus, an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber – they’re super nutritious.
Here are three of my favorite ways to enjoy sweet potatoes:
Don’t throw out your ipod or MP3 player when it stops working – You can recycle it! Apple’s Recycling Program offers a 10% discount on your next purchase when you bring your old iPod in for recycling. You can also recycle old cell phones, old computer systems and Macs!
If you’re in the market to buy new electronics, Apple also sells refurbished iPods & MACs. Try buying a ‘reincarnated’ one over a new to save some green.
Our guest blogger & reader Chris Brown is an urban planner in The Garden State. His fascination with urban structure inspired this post.
Plant, meet Lamp. A small pedestrian street in Eindoven received this illuminous makeover thanks to design firm, BYTR.
How great would this look on a side street in Philly? Who wouldn’t mind an extra three feet of walkable concrete without having to sacrifice the aesthetics of green plant life or a well lit curb.Talk about a win-win.
See the original at
I had a recent bout of ‘green guilt’ that got me thinking … 
I just got back from a trip to beautiful Los Cabos (don’t hate me!) – The trip, scenery, company and Mexican hospitality were off-the-charts awesome.
The downer…the hotel was not eco-friendly. As in, NO recycling. (I am a strong advocate of checking into hotel policy prior to vacationing. But this time was out of my control. )
Why do I bring this up? The more conversations I have with sustainable minded people, the more I realize most of us experience a little ‘green guilt’ from time to time. It’s tough to act 100% eco-minded. Unfortunately, we’re bound to be in situations now and then where we feel uncomfortable.
I felt really guilty knowing my bottles of dos equis weren’t headed for the recycling bin… The truth is harping on this mindset and feeling unworthy because I couldn’t exercise control is counter productive.
What’s the best way to overcome these feelings?
Hungry for some local & fresh produce? Good news – The Piazza at Schmidt’s has an annual Saturday afternoon Farmers Market! The Piazza Farmer’s Market imports local farmers to Northern Liberties to showcase the best local produce, meats, poultry and dairy products available in the city of Philadelphia.
Kicking off last Saturday the Piazza Farmer’s Market has
Looking for new eco-friendly ways to trek across Philly? 
Philadelphia Electric Wheels opened this past fall in West Mt. Airy, apprx. 12 mins from Center City. Philly Electric Wheels is the first store in the tri-state region to sell and service electric bike exclusively.
Electric bikes are one of the new hot trends in personal transit – including electric tricycles, models that fold and generate their own energy as you pedal. Easy on the wallet (they cost just one penny per mile to operate!), electric bikes travel up to
Need some eco-conscious events to warm you up in this frigid weather and start 2010 off right? Here are a few local events:
Tuesday, January 12th: New Whole Foods opening in Plymouth Meeting. Warm up with this cook-out event and free hot chocolate o n the roof, delicious samples of Whole Foods Organic foods & free gifts. (Plymouth Meeting Mall, 500 W. Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 (610) 832-0010)
Wednesday, January 20, 6-9 PM. Celebrate natural, eco-friendly beauty products at Juju Organics’ launch party of their online retail store. RSVP by Friday, Jan 15th – RSVP@paigewolf.com (Juju Organics, 713 S. 4th St, Phila, PA)
Thursday, January 21, 7 PM: Celebrate honey & natural creations with your honeybee at the National Honeybee Bicentennial. This free evening of the national launch of the Bicentennial for the Father of American Beekeeping celebrating Lorenzo Langstroth includes lectures by Carl Flatow of Science Friday Initiatives, Barbara Ceiga of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Marc Hoffman; Busy Mountain beehive raffle, and ice cream provided by Haagen-Dazs’ Help the Honey Bees project. (Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia)
Saturday, February 6th: Drink, eat and dance the night away by donating to a fantastic charity at the Liberty Ball hosted by Penn State’s Philly Alumni Chapter. All proceeds benefit PSU’s THON, or Dance Marathon to fight pediatric cancer. Buy tickets on Libertyball.org (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts – 128 N. Broad St, Phila, PA)
