More Hip Than Hippie #286 - Go Paleo!

The Paleo Diet is at once the oldest and newest concept of food: eat only what you evolved to eat.

Cook! Walk! Sleep! Does this sound like a diet you can get behind? Then you may be ready to go Paleo. The Hipsters chat with author Robb Wolf about this surprisingly sustainable lifestyle. Also, Dori starts her garden, Val contemplates life without beer, and lucky listeners get a great deal on Klean Kanteens!

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: When is a beer not a beer? When it's Midas Touch Ancient Ale. Leave it to Dogfish Head Brewery to come up with a beer made from honey, saffron and grapes. Dori: 5 hips; Val: 5 hips

Chocolate: It's not for wimps, but Godiva 85% Santo Domingo is an intensely pleasurable dark chocolate that ROCKS with beer. Dori: 5 hips Val: 5 hips.

Hip News and Finds

Finds:

• Bloomin' good. Just in time for Mother's Day, FTD has announced a new line of Fair Trade Certified bouquets. If you prefer pretty posies with a smaller footprint, check out Chico's California Organic Flowerstoo.
• Drink up! Val is so excited about the new Klean Kanteen Reflect, she's offering a More Hip discount! Save 20% on any KK branded water bottle at Greenfeet with promo code BLS5074. Offer expires 5/7/11.

Hip News

• Happy Oiliversary. It's now been a year since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf, and BP marks the occasion by slapping lawsuits on its business partners.

Teenie Weenie Greenie™

Visit with Val! Take a look at Val's blog post about the 3 Reasons to Adopt a Sustainable Lifestyle. Chime in with your thoughts and comments. The watch her Earth Day TV appearance on our local news!

Go Paleo!

Chico's Robb Wolf is many things: scientist, personal trainer, dark chocolate lover. He's also the author of the best-selling book The Paleo Solution, which advocates returning to "the original human diet." Robb takes a break from his day job at NorCal Strength & Conditioning to help the Hipsters understand the concepts of Cook! Walk! Sleep!

• Use the Quick Start Guideto begin your Paleo journey.
• Take Robb's Shopping Listto fill your cupboards with no-fail food.
• Keep the Food Matrixhandy for fresh meal ideas.
• With an emphasis on local, sustainable food, followers of the Paleo diet embrace the idea of Liberty Gardens.
• Robb's friend Sarah Fragoso provides recipes and tips in her new book, Everyday Paleo.
• For his next trick, Robb heads to New Mexico to work with the founder of MovNat, Erwan Le Corre.

Listener E-mails

Why haven't you emailed us? Do you live in a cave?!? Join the More Hip conversation by sending us an email at hip@greenfeet.com. Check out our blog!

• Aimee in Rochester, NY wants to know if she should rinse her soaked grains. In a word, no! But beans are another story. Hey Aimee, do you know Jason?
• Jason in Rochester, NY wonders if the colorful paint on Klean Kanteens is safe. He also shared a story called "How Wasteful the Older Generation Was..."
• Shout-outs! We loved hearing from Val in Alaska, James in PA, Erin in Portland and Rebecca in Corvallis, OR (hang in there)!

Show the world you're More Hip Than Hippie! Grab some merch for May Day or any day!

Twitter goes green on #EcoMonday! Follow Val on Twitter: GrnDiva, at your service! Add us to your friends on Facebook!

Remember to vote for us at Podcast Alley, and leave a glowing review at iTunes!

More Hip Than Hippie is sponsored by Greenfeet.com.

More Hip Than Hippie #285 - Straw Bale Gardening

Straw bale gardening is a form of container gardening that's used successfully all over the world.

Who knew? You can grow veggies inside a bale of straw! Joel Karsten wrote the book on the subject and gives the Hipsters the quick 'n dirty scoop on this eco-friendly gardening method. Also, Val's bike breaks down before she does, and Dori's daughter sits in on the show to get a fresh set of psychological scars.

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: In honor of the upcoming Royal Wedding, we tipped a pint or 2 of Fuller's London Pride. This understated medium-bodied ale is jolly good indeed.Dori: 5 hips; Val: 5 hips

Chocolate: Despite its pleasant mouth-feel, Chocolove's Almonds & Sea Salt bar was just too heavily molested. The love poem was a nice touch though! Dori: 4 hips Val: 4 hips.

Hip News and Finds

Finds:

• Val's Favorite Thing! The only thing greater than a cool new product is one with a heartwarming story to go with it. The Reusable Sandwich Bag Chalkboardis the brainchild of an 11-year old entrepreneuse named Alex, who has a bright future in front of her!
• No Daddy. Not a fan of senseless slaughter? Migrate your web domain from GoDaddy to Venovix or Canvas Dreams to protest GoDaddy's CEO hunting an elephant.
• Hoppy Birthday Rob! Val gifted the hubby with a pair of Hop Tulip Imperial Pint Glasses from Sierra Nevada Brewery.

Hip News

• The need for weed. Canny engineers in Canada (eh!) developed the Kestral hemp electric car. Don't drive too fast, you'll get a weeding ticket!
• A-Pole-calypse. Climate scientists report that the Arctic ozone hole is larger than ever, setting a new record this year.

Teenie Weenie Greenie™

Green Thumbs Up!Listener Ashley shares her tips for gardening with repurposed items:

1. Plant seeds in yogurt cups and egg cartons

2. Transplant seedlings to old bottles & containers

3. Support the seedlings with used chopsticks

Challenge yourself to find new purposes for everything before tossing it out!

Straw Bale Gardening

Straw Bale Gardening is essentially another type of container gardening. The twist? Your container turns to compost as your crop grows! Best of all, this method works anywhere in the world. Joel Karsten of Roseville, MN wrote the book on the subject and gives the Hipsters the quick 'n dirty scoop on straw. (Hey, it ain't hay!)

• First of all, learn the difference between straw and hay.
• An avid gardener and trained horticulturist, Joel encourages Straw Bale Gardening on his website and Facebookpage. The photos are great!
• Check out Joel's handy book, Guide to Growing a Straw Bale Garden.

Listener E-mails

Sign up for the Greenfeet newsletter so you can get in on a very very very special Earth Day offer!! Join the More Hip conversation by sending us an email at hip@greenfeet.com. Check out our blog!

• Alyssa in SoCal is contemplating college and has set her sights on CSUChico! The Orion is part of the award-winning journalism dept. You can volunteer at the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundationwhile you're here.
• Melanie in Chicago wonders if Green Planet plant-based plastic water bottles are as green as they seem. Josh provided the answer with this informative article by Beth Terry at My Plastic Free Life.
• Lisa in New Jersey wants a natural tooth whitener; we recommend Uncle Harry's. Here's a little info about the hazards of too much fluoride.
• Stacy in Los Angeles wonders if Scanpan nonstick cookware is safe. Unlike Aeturnum, the surface can still scratch and flake.
• Melinda in South Carolina found a fun tutorial for turning recycled plastic bagsinto totes.
• Amy in San Diego decided to eliminate soy from her diet after reading The Whole Soy Story. She's a believer in The Paleo Solution by Chico's own Robb Wolf. Hmmm, future guest on the show?

Show the world you're More Hip Than Hippie! Grab some merch for Earth Day or any day!

Twitter goes green on #EcoMonday! Follow Val on Twitter: GrnDiva, at your service! Add us to your friends on Facebook!

Remember to vote for us at Podcast Alley, and leave a glowing review at iTunes!

More Hip Than Hippie is sponsored by Greenfeet.com.