green living

Tune in this Tuesday, October 13, 2009 when Alicia Silverstone stops by The View to discuss her new vegan cookbook.

The Kind Diet is the actress and environmental activist’s own recipe for how a plant-based diet can knock pounds off of your waistline and contribute to the health of the earth.

In the book, Silverstone outlines three simple approaches for gradually incorporating a greener diet into your lifestyle. The actress shares her passion for green living and eating with the ladies of The View and she also cooks a few recipes from it.

More and more products are coming out touting that they are less harmful to the environment or are earthy friendly, but in order to use this type of labeling the product must be manufactured with minimal energy and packaging should be made of recycled materials (think the paper grocery bags at Whole Foods supermarkets). Not all manufacturers follow the full guidelines that entitle this “green” messaging, so by referencing the logos listed below you can ensure that the products and produce you purchase are in fact “green”:

For products to use the USDA labeling it must contain at least 95% organic ingredients that have not had any chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified organisms used.

Once again, you’ll see Biggest Loser contestants staying well-hydrated on campus, but not with disposable water bottles. For several seasons the contestants have relied on a partnership with Brita’s Filter For Good program to help them hydrate and save the planet.

All contestants, trainers, and other Biggest Loser staff receive Filter For Good Nalgene bottles (BPA-Free!) and keep those filled with refreshing water via Brita pitchers and faucet mounts found throughout the house and gym. This helps the campus save literally tens of thousands of bottles of waters each season, and prevent all that waste from hitting our landfills.

It is one thing to recycle your daily newspaper and bring your own tote bag to the grocery store but when it comes to making over your diet and lifestyle behaviors, each of us has our own comfort-level with what it means to be green. While many believe that going green means giving up everything from their favorite hamburgers to swapping out their car for a bicycle, Sophie Uliano,  the author of The Gorgeously Green Diet as well as its predecessor, Gorgeously Green, shares with us simple steps that anyone can take to add more green living in their life.

We had the opportunity to speak with Sophie who believes that her plan which is more of a “live-it” lifestyle plan rather than a diet can be followed by anyone who is passionate about taking care of herself (and the planet).

Listen to the interview below