Ideal Bite

Calling all entrepreneurial DIYers in New York! Greenfinds and Samples for (Eco)mpassion are looking for vendors for their Holiday Eco Marketplace. This all-green market will run from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 and be open Thursday to Sunday at 2 Great Jones St. Tables are $350 per week minus any commitment for the following weeks – they can even staff your table, you know if you’re stuck at your day job. If you wanna sign up or need more info, contact Ike at ike@greenfinds.com or 917-226-9765.

Shoppers – be sure to gather up all that loose change lying in your couch/bottom of your purse and scope out the Holiday Eco Marketplace. They’ve already got a great lineup on board like: Read the full post... 

I'm 5'2" with an Italian schnoz, so my dreams of modeling are pretty much non existent. My one shining modeling moment was for Marie Claire in December 2007 in their "100 Real Women in Party Dresses" spread (I knew the editor). It was a blast to get all made up and feel like Kate Moss for a moment (minus the…ahem, bad habit).

However, perhaps I'll put back on my modeling stilettos to enter to be the next Green Girl for Project Green. They're looking for the 2010 "it girl" to be an advocate for the environment (there's still time to vote for the 2009 candidates). You'll win a modeling and talent contract, a photo shoot with fashion photog Courtney Dailey with organic makeup and sustainable duds, a 20-piece Read the full post... 

Try to say that 5 times fast. If you or someone you know writes about eco issues and lives in LA, join EcoStiletto at Environment Furniture (8126 Beverly Blvd., WeHo - Map It) on November 6 from 9 am to noon, where Green Works Natural Cleaning Products presents the first-ever Green Blogger Convention.

First you'll chat up other green bloggers, writers and editors, while you sip organic Cafe de Olla from Border Grill and get complimentary first-come, first-served sustainable beauty treatments from Read the full post... 

Got your attention? Sweet...or perhaps I should say Tart. We're talking pomegranates, peeps. We all know they're good for your insides (can help combat the risk of heart disease), but they're great for your outsides too: The high level of antioxidants may help protect your skin from cell-aging free radicals.

We're gonna hook up one lucky reader with an anti-aging arsenal in the form of Weleda's Pomegranate Regenerating Body Care Gift Kit, which includes its Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash and Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil, with organic pomegranate seed oil, plus an exfoliating loofah and a reusable tote. Just be the first person to email the correct answer to this question - What Greek goddess did Read the full post... 

What I've got you've got to give it to your mama…or just keep it for yourself. One lucky Biter is going to win a limited edition, not-sold-in-stores Aveeno Envirosax reusable bag filled with Aveeno products. It's created with 100% organic cotton, sourced from a co-op in Peru.

The trick to reusable bags is to actually remember to use them - keep them in your car and bring them into the store so you can say "no" to paper or plastic. (Bonus: Stores like Safeway and Whole Foods offer a five-penny discount if you BYO.)
 
Anyways, the first Biter to email the correct answer to "Paper or Plastic?" (hint: it's in the link above), along with your name and mailing address to contests@idealbite.com wins. Be sure to put Read the full post... 

In high school, I always avoided carrying a purse by just stuffing my cash, keys, license, etc. into my pockets - I still do the same thing now (which makes my handbag obsession especially vexing). Anyway, one of my pocket necessities was always Softlips (if you don't believe me, just ask my best friend, Jessica; seriously, give her a call - you'll have a nice chat). As a lip balm devotee, I'm superpicky about the stuff, but Softlips won me over as a teen. It comes in a slender tube (i.e., easy to stuff in a pocket) and actually does what the name says - makes my lips soft, thanks to beeswax, shea butter, and vitamin E. So imagine my level of stokedness (totally a word) when I found out my teenage lip balm crush had gone green last year with its PURE line (no Read the full post... 

There are three awesome events coming up in LA, and whether you decide get an organic facial, watch a movie outside, or get a dose of rad vintage fashion, it's all for a good cause. Read on and maybe we'll bump into each other there…

Beauty for a Cure
What: Aveda Institute LA's Beauty for a Cure event. Make any donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in exchange for complimentary haircuts, mini facials, neck and shoulder massages, and makeup applications using Aveda's plant-based, mostly organic prods. Call (614-291-2421) extension 3 to schedule a free appointment.
Why Care: During the month of October, the Aveda Institute LA hopes to raise $7,500 in donations to Read the full post... 

Few things universally impress the Biter team like coconut oil. We put it in our hair, in our food…and, after tromping around in summer sandals at the beach and everywhere else for a few months now, on our feet - mine are so callused that with a little friction, they could take the rough edge off the corner of a table.

Some suggestions for an at-home pedicure:

Take off polish (I used the remains of a not-so-eco formula just to get rid of it, but go for something like Sante if you're buying new)

Soak feet in Epsom salts (which I've recently been mixing 50-50 with my favorite EO Bath Salts to stretch them farther) Read the full post... 

Last Thursday I met this radiant French woman, Valérie, with glowing, flawless skin at Le Pain Quotidien (natch). She's an ex-film exec whose diagnosis with breast cancer was the impetus for quitting her job, moving to Topanga Canyon in LA, switching to a raw food diet, and making homemade skin care. When the fish outgrew the fishbowl so to speak, she found a business partner and Odacité was born.

I've been using the exfoliating face wash, rose water spray, and day and night creams all weekend, and I used the masque once. So far, so spoiled - the products feel alive on my face and smell lovely without being overly fragrant. Odacité is made with organic ingredients, sans the bad junk ( Read the full post... 

Sunshine, I love. Smelly sweat, not so much. Try Rich Hippie, an organic line that uses real (not synthetic) flower and plant extracts and contains alcohol distilled from grapes rather than chem-laden, cancer-linked petroleum. RH comes in tiny roll-on bottles that you can toss in your purse or pocket and there are 24 scents - four that are unisex - to choose from. I’ve got my eye on the light, sweet Flower Child with Bulgarian and Turkish rose, Madagascan rose geranium, and Croatian lavender.

Bonus: Now through July 27, if you buy one bottle you get one of equal or lesser value for free. Yep, free. To snap up this offer, visit Rich Hippie, add the one you want to Read the full post...