Kohlrabi

It’s related to kale and broccoli, but looks nothing like either! Both the dense bulb and the crunchy leaves are completely edible, but you’ll need to peel the bulb first. Kohlrabi is rich in vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C, manganese and more.

Swiss Chard

A single cup of swiss chard packs more than six times our recommended requirements for vitamin K. Plus, like its cousin the beet, it packs quite the nutritional punch when it comes to phytonutrients known as betalains, which may help with detox, anti-inflammation and more.

Nutritional Yeast

Not a “yeast” in the traditional sense you probably think of, this cheesy, flaky stuff is great sprinkled on top of your salad or mixed into your dressing. It may help with red blood cell production and also offers up lots of vitamin B12, which is crucial if you’re on a strict plant-based diet.MizunaA relative of turnips, the fleshy stalks and brightly colored leaves add a spicy bite to any salad (similar to arugula). It’s a rich source of folate, iron and more. Add in small doses because just like arugula, its taste can quickly overwhelm ordinary greens.

Credit: Pink Sherbet Photography, Creative Commons

The next time a friend says, “Dahhhling, you look positively radiant!” — well, she may be telling more truth than not.

This week, the Ecology Center released the results of its tests of dozens of low-cost jewelry from stores like Forever 21 and H&M. The Michigan nonprofit found that more than half of all such jewelry contained high levels of toxic substances, such as lead, chlorine and brominated flame retardants.

More than half (57 percent) of the products tested had a “high” level of concern due to the presence of one or more hazardous chemicals detected at high levels. Four products contained over 10 percent cadmium, a known carcinogen. Fifty percent contained lead, with over half of these containing more than 100 ppm of lead in one or more components, exceeding the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) limit of lead in children’s products.

“There is no excuse for jewelry, especially children’s jewelry, to be made with some of the most well-studied and dangerous substances on the planet,” said Jeff Gearhart, research director at the Ecology Center and founder of HealthyStuff.org. “We urge manufacturers to start replacing these chemicals with non-toxic substances immediately.”

That flashy bracelet from Hot Topic may be “hot” in more ways than one.

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

Humidifiers and air purifiers have a lot of benefits. For example, they can help keep your skin from drying out in the winter, and may even reduce the symptoms of your nasty cold. But there’s usually one big problem: these contraptions are often quite fugly.

Thankfully, designers at Cloud and Co. created a sleek, ultra-modern humidifier. Its matte, white shell is pure beauty, even when the device isn’t running. The designers summarize it as thus: “Functional product and art object.”

When you can leave your humidifier out in public next to your Modernica V-leg series table, yes, yes please.

Discover more at Cloud and Co.

Photo credit: Stop the Water While Using Me!

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

According to the United States’ Natural Resources Defense Council, more than 30 percent of counties in the lower 48 states will face extremely serious water shortages within the next 40 years. There are a lot of things you can do to conserve water (and also reduce your utility bills). For example, cutting your showering time back by just 60 seconds can save you just under 2,000 gallons of water annually. Hot damn.

But sometimes, it can just be so hard to remember to turn off the water when shampooing or scrubbing down your bod. Thankfully, we now have Stop the Water While Using Me!, marketed as the world’s first cosmetics line built around reminding you to turn off the water (also, arguably one of the longest brand names ever chosen for a cosmetics line).

It’s a full range of bath products for your skin and scalp, including shampoo, soap, shower gel and body lotion, and each is made with purely natural ingredients like honey and grapefruit. Other perks include a complete absence of chemicals and synthetic dyes and perfumes. Plus, none of its products were tested on bunnies, hamsters, ogopogos or anything else with a mother and father.

Oh yeah, and its all-caps label reminds you to shut off the water when you’re washing. If only for 60 seconds. It’s not that hard, right? Discover more at STWWUM’s website, which has an equally long URL address.

Source: TranquilTuesdays.com

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

Tranquil Tuesdays, a Beijing-based tea company, is shaking up the sleepy tea world with its non-tranquil approach to commerce. Each of its six tea varieties — white tea, black tea, green tea, Pu’Er tea and two kinds of oolong tea — are handpicked at tiny family-run tea estates throughout China.

In China, women generally pick the tea while men control the business side of things, but Tranquil Tuesdays works directly with many female supplies and is commited to improving the skills of underprivileged women in China’s rural communities.

But for many people, it all comes down to the flavor. Tranquil Tuesday’s teas are unblended, unflavored and unscented, so what you’re tasting is the distinct flavor of an individual estate in a specific region.

Discover more at TranquilTuesdays.com.

This special paper comes in a variety of colors.

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

Last Christmas, the American Greeting Card Association reports that Americans bought approximately two billion greeting cards. “Giving a greeting card creates a lasting impression,” states the association. An impression on the earth, its forests and its waterways, for sure. It’s time you gave a sh** about greeting cards. Quite literally.

Enter the Mr. Ellie Pooh paper company, which specializes in seasonal and blank greeting cards. The company’s whimsical name hints at something unusual about its products. Each handmade card is made from elephant dung. Yes, you read that right: Dumbo’s poo.

Using a local workforce in Sri Lanka, the company collects elephant excrement and washes the dung to leave behind raw cellulose fibers. These fibers are then sterilized and combined with post-consumer paper pulp and turned into homemade paper.

Benefits are many, including helping local Sri Lankans to see elephants as economically valuable rather than as hunted prey, and reducing the greenhouse emissions necessary to make the paper.

(Available online at Mr. Ellie Pooh)

Glass straws save the planet, one drink at a time.

Every Monday, our resident gurus identify groundbreaking, trendy, hip products that elevate your life from bourgeois to brilliant.

“I can’t really say what I’m sippin’ on,” laments American hip hop indie-pop group The Cataracts in their Top 40 anthem, “Top of the World.” They wouldn’t have that problem if they were using a transparent glass straw. But glass straws are useful for more than just identifying what you’re drinking. Take these stats into consideration:

First, it is estimated that Americans use and toss approximately 500 million plastic drinking straws every single day. That would fill more than 127 of your typical school buses.

Second, daily usage of plastic straws doesn’t include the manufacturing and exporting of these straws. For example, Virginia’s Tetra Pak Tubex Inc. estimates that it manufactured and shipped approximately four billion straws in 2010 alone. Yes, billion.

So while it may seem trivial, using a glass straw instead of a plastic straw in your next margarita can make a difference for the environment. As they say, every little straw helps. Or something like that.

Available online from Organic Lifestyle.

The next time you go shopping, make a difference for the planet while making less of a difference in your wallet.

If you feel like more of your friends are trading their Great Value generics for fair trade/organic/slightly-more-dirty products this year, you aren’t going crazy. In 2011, a Reuters study in the United States discovered something that most readers will have noticed for several years: young people are the driving force behind America’s push for more sustainable, greener consumer products and food.

While more than a third of general Americans said they try to buy organic food, a whopping 63 percent of Americans under age 35 said the same thing. Go ahead, it’s okay to pat your back. Now, pat your wallet. Feeling a little light there? The dilemma: while young adults have a greater penchant for sustainable goods, this demographic is also the one that has a higher chance of being a little less sustainable in the bank account. Entering a Recession-tinged job market, fresh from a student loan-funded college experience, the under-35 crowd often doesn’t have the bankroll to fund an excursion down the gleaming aisles of Whole Foods.

But you can have your [whole grain, gluten-free, vegan] cake and eat it, too. By shopping smart and knowing where it’s worth it to splurge, and where it isn’t, your next hippie-friendly shopping trip will leave a few more bucks in your weekend beer fund. (Maybe only enough for cheap MGD, but still…)

NO, don’t splurge on this hippie stuff:

• Bottled water: While bottled water companies are doing a good job of greenwashing their products, there are two big problems: environmentally friendly  bottled water simply doesn’t exist, and bottled water carries a significant price premium. Put the Fiji Water back on the shelf and instead grab a water filter and a reusable BPA-free canteen. It’s just as healthy for you and is actually a greener choice in the long run.
• Deodorant: There’s the fancy eco-conscious stuff, like Tom’s of Maine, and there’s the not-so-fancy stuff. Both do their job just as well. For eco-friendly smell-busters, try those generic mineral salt deodorant sticks found hidden away in pretty much every health food store out there. They may not have all the nice packaging as the nicer stuff, but less packaging is yet another environmental win!
• Cleaning products: I love Method, and in terms of hippie-factor they’re pretty hippie. They also cost a pretty penny. Using traditional standbys (that are also natural and safe for you) like vinegar, baking soda, salt and a pinch of elbow grease, you can tackle pretty much every nasty mess that your roommate/sibling/dog/extra-shot-of-tequila might throw at you.

YES, do splurge on this hippie stuff:

• Fruits and veggies: Some vegetables and fruits are inherently higher in pesticides and chemicals due to factors like their fragile nature or their propensity to attract bug pests. But some kinds of produce, such as avocados, eggplant and mushrooms, are hardier and thus lower in pesticides, even in non-organic versions. If you’re watching your budget and your diet, buying organic versions of notoriously high-pesticide fruits strikes a good compromise. These include lettuce, most kinds of berries, spinach, apples and bell peppers.
• Meat: If beef’s what’s for dinner, a side of cancer might be, too. Most meat products are rich in more than just cholesterol and fat, but also hormones, pesticides and other chemicals. Organic meat is a better choice, though it is admittedly pricey. Better yet, make one day a night a meatless night (e.g., meatless Mondays). This saves you big bucks on your overall grocery budget, and is also ridiculously planet-friendly.
• Reusable shopping bags: More and more stores are charging for plastic bags, so you’ll often start saving money right off the bat. Plus, need I say anything more about plastic?

1. Houston Marathon

Tip: Hate hills? You’ll love this marathon. The average elevation difference rings in at around 25 feet throughout the course.

Houston, Texas: January 15th – chevronhoustonmarathon.com

2. Run for the Red Marathon

Tip: Love hills? This is a downhill run that loses 1,391 feet of elevation from the start.

Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania: May 20th – poconomarathon.org

3. Newport Marathon

Tip: Ocean views are stunning, but so is the sun; bring sunscreen and a hat for this race.

Newport, Oregon: June 2nd – newportmarathon.org

4. Chicago Marathon

Tip: This is the mother of marathons, with more than 45,000 runners and nearly 2 million audience members.

Chicago, Illinois: October 7th – chicagomarathon.com

5. Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon

Tip: You run along the river and end up in the city, so bring nightlife attire for the post-marathon parties.

Albany, New York: October 7th – mohawkhudsonmarathon.com

6. Baystate Marathon

Tip: The course actually loops around on itself so it can mentally feel like you’re running a shorter distance.

Lowell, Massachusetts: October 21st – baystatemarathon.com

7. Road2Hope Marathon

Tip: This is the best Boston qualifier marathon in Canada and includes views of the Toronto skyline.

Hamilton, Ontario: November 4th – hamiltonmarathon.ca

8. California International Marathon

Tip: This marathon is known for its gentle hills. Your quads will thank you.

Sacramento, California: December 2nd – runcim.org