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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

5 BPA FREE Reusable Water Bottles For Back to School

August 27, 2012 0
reusable-water-bottles-5If there is one item that I never forget to back in Eben’s backpack each morning – it is his reusable water bottle. Kids work and play hard – so having a great reusable bottle full of fresh water with them all day is essential for optimum health! However, if that water bottle is made using BPA – Yikes! We have a great selection of BPA free reusable water bottles in our home that we refill using our fridge filter, so I thought I would share my top five favorites for your back to school shopping list!

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#1: EarthLust

EarthLust reusable water bottles have been one of my favorites for years. I love their kid friendly 13 oz. bottles made of food grade stainless steel and the designs – oh, the designs! Printed with non-toxic paints, EarthLust bottles aren’t just for keeping your kids hydrated they are portable pieces of art. Top that off with  a BPA free cap with carabiner – which makes it perfect for clipping to a backpack.
+ EarthLust 13 oz. Bottle $16

reusable-water-bottles-2#2: KleanKanteen

Eben has been using a 12 oz. Klean Kanteen reusable bottle for ages – because it is the perfect size to fit inside a lunchbox. Klean Kanteen reusable bottles are made using 18/18 food grade stainless steel and the lids are also BPA free. These reusable water bottles are heavy duty – yet extremely lightweight, ours is banged up from years of use, but it’s one of our favorites so we keep using it!
+ KleanKanteen 12.5 oz. Bottle $16.95

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#3: CamelBak
We are a family of hardcore hikers, so we have been using CamelBak products for years and years. CamelBak also offers great reusable water bottles for kids that are 100% BPA free. These water bottles are also sturdy and durable. I am a huge fan of the Kids’ Stainless Bottle 12 oz. bottle made from stainless steel!
+ CambelBak 12 oz. Bottle $13

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#4: Vapur

Vapur’s Quenchers are fantastic for lunchboxes, since it is a flat reusable water bottle. You can fill it, freeze it and use it as a ice pack in your child’s lunch box. Then, by lunch time it will have melted enough to drink! Vapur reusable bottles are also BPA free and great for on the go – Eben can shove the water bottle in his pocket and fill it up at school. We have also used our Vapur reusable bottles when we hit the amusement or water park – because we can drink the water in between rides and then roll up the bottle, put it in our pocket and hit the roller coasters!
+ Vapur 13 oz. Bottle $11.99
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#5: Kor
The Kor One reusable water bottle is BPA free and has a hinged cap which makes it simple to add ice cubes! Kor One has a great spout that makes drinking splash free – and with their Kor Stones, you can see a message of inspiration every time you take a swig!
+ Kor 25 oz. Bottle 29.95

Do you have a favorite that I missed?

Cookbook Crushing

April 26, 2012 0

In our home, our bookshelves and coffee tables are stacked with cookbooks. I love cookbooks with bright, beautiful photographs and creative food styling. The mister loves cookbooks because he does all of the cooking. Ha! Here are some cookbooks that I am crushing on right now – all of full of beautiful photographs of food and yummy recipes too! Win-win!

1. La Tartine Gourmande $21
This book looks so yummy and with it’s bright photographs of French food, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Bonus: Nearly all of the recipes are Gluten-Free! I am feeling inspired.

2. The Gardener and the Grill $20
The mister loves his grill and I think grilling is the perfect way to prepare food in the summer. This cookbook is super intriguing to me with it’s fantastic mix of vegetarian and omnivore-friendly recipes with fantastic food styling.Yes, please!

3. Ripe $25
Cheryl Sterman is a food writer and her beautiful little masterpiece arranges all of the fruits and vegetables by colors. This book is a must have! Love!

4. Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones $25
Who doesn’t love ice cream? This lovely cookbook from San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Creamery is full of 90 ice cream recipes using local, organic and homemade ingredients. Can you image Eben’s delight if we mixed up these delightful ice cream batches all summer long? Sign me up!

5. Plenty $35
This delicious collection of vegetarian recipes looks amazing and the food styling is out of this world. London chef Yotan Ottolenghi’s recipes are deeply rooted in his Mediterranean heritage. My favorite style of food! Yum!

Mother’s Day is coming up, maybe I will receive another fantastic cookbook!

Do you have a favorite new cookbook or one that you highly recommend? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Favorite Book: What to Cook and How to Cook It

February 28, 2012 2

The mister does all of the cooking for our family – including breakfast, lunch and dinner. For reals. He makes fancy meals that can be eaten fresh, refrigerated or frozen for fantastic daily breakfasts. (Eben’s favorite are the vegetable breakfast burritos). He gets up early in the morning to make our breakfasts and lunches, then comes home from work to make us yummy dinners. Really, I think I must be the luckiest gal in the world. The best part is that he loves to cook – so it isn’t a chore to him.


However, there are some nights when he is asked to stay late at work, isn’t feeling well or just needs a break – those are the nights that I try to whip something up for dinner. It is never as fancy or yummy as his meals, in fact many times it leaves a lot to be desired, just ask Eben. Ha! With that thought in mind, I picked up a new cookbook over the weekend, it’s called What to Cook and How to Cook It by Jane Hornby. And while this book isn’t vegetarian, it has a very well rounded selection of meals that I can make vegetarian or organic versions of. I like this book because it has large pictures that showcase each ingredient and then gives step-by-step photo instructions on how to prepare each meal. And if you are like me, cooking by photos is much easier and enjoyable!

This cookbook is full of big, bright beautiful photographs and graphics that make it the perfect coffee table book when you aren’t cooking up a storm. In fact, I have picked it up several times since I purchased it just to admire the photographs. And even Mr. Sweet Greens who is a seasoned chef with many years of cooking under his belt, thinks this cookbook is fantastic. He has said there are several recipes that he will be making from it – and I have my eye on the dessert section! If you are looking for a cookbook to give as a gift I would highly recommend it too.

Have you picked up a yummy cookbook lately?
Are there others I should add to my bookshelf?

7 Thrifty Ways for Families to Save Money and the Planet

January 16, 2012 0

You will most likely find both saving money and saving the environment at the top of your 2012 New Year’s intentions list. In fact, these are at the top of my families own list. When it comes to saving the environment, it comes almost naturally when your family is focused on saving money and getting out of debt. And since there are many ways that you save a little green while saving the planet at the same time, it’s a win-win for your family and the environment. Read my seven favorite ways to save money while helping the planet at the same time.

Green Holiday Giveaway #20: Heys USA Britto Notebook Sleeve

December 2, 2011 69

Giveaway number twenty will make all of the techies on your holiday list swoon. It’s sponsored by Heys USA, they are offering a notebook sleeve from the Britto Collection.
As you are probably aware, Romero Britto’s vibrant creations are super popular in the art world and now on a carrying case for your laptop or notebook too. This notebook sleeve has a value of $250!
The eco-friendly collection from Heys USA is made using 100% recycled plastics. The Heys focus on innovation in travel goods expands beyond function, fashion and reliability, they continue to invest in manufacturing and design processes that give the traveling public the products they want and make it easier for them to select the most environmentally friendly luggage available.

Jump over to Heys USA and check out their EcoCase collection.  

How to Enter:

1. Sign up for my weekly newsletter (if you haven’t already). I will be announcing the winners in the newsletter, so you need to sign up to get the newsletter to see if you win!
2. Like Sweet Greens on Facebook.
3. Like Heys USA on Facebook.
3. Tweet: I hope I win one of the $2000 in eco-friendly prizes at @SweetGreens Holiday Giveaway Week 2011! http://tinyurl.com/7vq8xgo
4. Leave a comment on this post for each way that you enter.

Good luck, the winner will be announced on December 8th.  

** UPDATE: The winner is Sassy Greens.  

** NOTE: Some of the comments have the wrong date on them due to a system error – everyone who commented was entered into the giveaway – sorry for the confusion!

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