As some of you may remember, on Earth Day of this year, I vowed to devise and adhere to a more eco-friendly, green lifestyle.  That has manifested itself in the exclusion of refined carbohydrates, relinquishing my freak Splenda supply (22 days, 10 hours, and 45 minutes since my last packet), cooking at home, being less wasteful, and using public transportation.

Today marked a milestone in my progression into eco-living: I’ve given up driving my car.  My beloved 1997 Dodge Avenger.  Those who know me might be shocked by this, because they know I love my car.  I even have a theme song for it.  A climactic Whitesnake-esque, 80′s ballad that expresses my endless adoration for this magnificent set of wheels simply by singing out, “DODGE AVENGERRRR!” in my best hard rock falsetto.  However, it’s been getting a bit too expensive to tool around in ol’ Foxy.  She’s a little worse for wear and not getting the mileage she once did.  I’m keeping her around for the long hauls, but my new ride of choice is the sleek Stella:

hey there, fellas

Again, here I go with the naming of inanimate objects.  Stella is my relatively-new chariot for the streets of Boston.  Last year, I bought her as a birthday present to myself; rode around for a bit; took her up to Vermont; but never made the commitment to use her on my trek to work.  This week, that all changed.  And she’s holding up pretty well, even after a few rough days on the job.  Someone should really talk to Mumbles Menino about those pot-holes.  Sheesh.

Now what does all of this have to do with food?  Well, for one, it is another way in which creating a lifestyle around a diet effects other aspects of your life.  If I strive to eat more organically and locally, in an attempt to help save the environment, how can I justify driving the 5 miles to work in a gas-guzzling sports car?  Also, using my bike limits the amount of food (and therefore packaging) that I can buy.  I am no longer wasting produce or meat that I simply can’t finish before it expires.  I’m not wasting precious backpack space on bags of Cheez Doodles or Hagen Daaz.  Because I carry less, I buy less, and therefore stick with the foods that are going to feed me, i.e. be healthful, rather than pick-and-go foods.  For example, today I bought fresh tomatoes for Roasted Tomato Sauce, rather than the sugar-laden jarred variety.  Also, plain yogurt and fresh berries for smoothies, rather than jugs of Odwalla.

P.S.  I’m always interested in hearing about other ways to live more greenly.  Please leave a comment if you have a tip or two!