FIJI Green Gal: This week, one of my colleagues is joining this blog to share her thoughts on FIJI Water. As she is the proud mother of twins ñ and therefore one of the toughest women I know! ñ weíve dubbed her ìFIJIís Favorite Mom.î

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Admittedly I am a Mommy who talks about her kids WAY TOO MUCH! And this blog just gives me another outletÖ

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Fact: I love my kids. But having responsibility for them is already scary enough, and what I feed them is at the top of my anxiety list!

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It started before they were born. I would travel as far as necessary to shop for groceries, paying double for a prenatal vitamin, organic waffles (theyíre all I could keep down the first 4 months), other organics, pesticide/hormone/flavor-free everything…just so I knew my growing babies were getting the best nutrition available. Now add to that the fluid intake I needed. Iíve never been one for soda or highly caloric juices, so I relied on water. With most foods, I got heartburn. I tried all the water I could, whether based on a cute bottle, flavor, or price, but even water gave me heartburn! Then I tried FIJI Water and loved the taste. And I could drink more without getting heartburn. Other mommies-to-be told me it was the purest water I could drink and provided natural minerals both the babies and I could benefit from.

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Fast forward a few years later, Iím now an employee at FIJI Water. A week into my job, they sent me to the island of Fiji to see where the water comes from. I have seen where the water comes from and gets put into the iconic square bottle. I am proud to work for a product that is as natural and untouched as the product claims. And I am proud to serve the best in my home ñ especially to my kids!

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BTW: Since working here, Iíve learned about BPA, and the product has never had it!

Tanya Zuckerbrot included FIJI Water in her article, “A Healthy Eating Plan for President Obama,” on Fox News Health Blog recently. In the article, Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, nutritionist and creator of The F-Factor Diet, offers healthy snacking tips to combat stress, fatigue and hypoglycemia. She notes that FIJI Water is a smart choice for hydration since it contains naturally-occurring electrolytes without any added sugars or calories, and that President Obama can often be found sipping our water. (We saw him enjoying FIJI Water on Election Night, of course!)

We’re delighted to announce that FIJI Water’s Los Angeles office has received LEED Silver certification!†We’re proud to†be “a†pioneering example of sustainable design,” as the official letter from the U.S. Green Building Council phrased it. A tremendous amount of thought and effort went into this renovation, and it’s been amazing to see how many details go into making an office that’s good for people and good for the environment.

Get social with FIJI Water! Add FIJI Water to your Facebook and MySpace pages to stay up to date on the latest events, press and more…

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FIJI Water is proud to announce a wonderful new partnership with Ecco Ultra Lounge, Hollywood’s†first eco-friendly lounge!†Located in the heart of the popular Cahuenga Corridor,†Ecco†sets the standard for an eco-friendly nightlife experience by minimizing and neutralizing its impact on the environment.

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Celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and Nicole Richie have been spotted at Ecco, and Discovery Channel’s Planet Green – recognizing the eco-friendly milestone Ecco will establish in the nightlife industry – will feature the venue on its show “Alter Eco,” hosted by “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier.

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Ecco serves FIJI Water as its exclusive bottled water and also offers two cocktails made with FIJI Water:

• Absinthe-Minded (Enjoy with Caution!): Organic Lucid Absinthe, Sugar, FIJI Water, Wormwood
• Alter Eco: Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice, a Few Drops of Rose Infused FIJI Water

So the venue is a place to see and be seen, the water tastes great, and the cocktails are yummy. But†what makes Ecco eco-friendly?†Well, it features (among other things):

• Multi-colored, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art LED lighting system, exclusively designed and installed by Disco Designer and Cosmos Lighting
• Power supplied by LA Department of Water & Powerís Green Power resources
• Superior Organic cuisine and liquors
• Cold & Heat Insulation, saving 20% of standard energy use through high quality insulation
• Energy efficient recycled steel air pressure toilets and waterless urinals
• State of the art ìDyson Airbladesî hand dryers
• Free valet for hybrid vehicles
• Paperless Solution for ticketing and reservations – Provided by UpCode Solutions USA and its Mobile Access & Interaction technology (MAI)ô
• Audio provided by Turbosound, winners of the Best Club Awards 2008 ìBest Sound System & Best Sound Productî

It’s amazing to see how many details the club owners, designers, and operators thought about as part of their effort to minimize Ecco’s environmental impact. Click here to learn more!

What better time than the New Year to look for a healthy buzz? Here’s a message from our friends at POM Wonderful on how to get one…or two…or more. And keep reading to find out how to get a healthy buzz for FREE!

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Glad we have your attention now…since you love FIJI Water, you might also be interested in an exclusive offer from its sister company, POM Wonderful. POM is now offering its newest product, POMx Iced Coffee, for delivery to your home or office at shopwww.fijiwater.com (you know, the same shop where you can get FIJI Water delivered for less than $1 a day!).

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POMx Iced Coffee is an antioxidant rich coffee energy drink that is a blend of all-natural ingredients and the only iced coffee that will provide you with a Healthy Buzzô – a potent combination of polyphenol antioxidants and caffeine.

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Click here and enter code POMX78 at checkout to receive a FREE CASE of coffee with the purchase of one case! POMx Iced Coffee comes in two delicious flavors – CafÈ au Lait and Chocolate – so this is a great chance to try each one!

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You can also†visit us on MySpace or Facebook.

Some months ago, I asked for advice on how best to adjust to the demise of my microwave, as I wasn’t doing such a good job of it on my own. People sent me some outstanding ideas, all of which have helped me eat more, sleep more, and reduce my carbon footprint. And when I can achieve all three goals, life is good!

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I figure there’s no time better than the food-filled holiday season to update you on my progress. Some great ideas that readers shared with me included preparing food that tastes good as cold leftovers, going for raw foods, incorporating ingredients from the local farmers’ market, and just eating cereal sometimes (thanks to†dropofkim, CatieB, and Betty!). (You know, I love eating cereal with fruit for dinner. It’s yummy and†nutritious, and it reminds me of college! Can’t believe I’d forgotten that was an option, so thank you for the reminder.)

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Especially during summertime, it was lovely to pull together simple but delicious salads, use the abundance of gorgeous produce to make vegetarian entrees that taste good without reheating the next day, and have more light and refreshing options in the warm weather. And of course, with my eating less meat and using less gas and electricity to heat food, my carbon footprint dropped too. One of my favorite dishes is a simple cannellini dip that takes five minutes to prepare, tastes amazing and flavorful, and is even better after a day in the refrigerator. With some pita bread for dipping and salad and fruit on the side, it makes at least a couple of easy and satisfying†meals.

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But with the colder weather settling in,†I’m eager for†warmer dinner options. Apart from substituting oatmeal for cereal,†I now know how to reheat food properly on the stove, thanks to dropofkim: Add a little water and heat on low. And I’ve found doing this means the†food heats up evenly and stays hot much longer than when warmed in a microwave. I’ll also visit favorite restaurants from time to time to enjoy a good meal. Especially with the economic downturn, I’m feeling keen to support neighborhood businesses where I can.

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I haven’t given up entirely on getting a microwave. There’s still a lot to be said for the convenience! But I’m going to keep in mind jcwindsor’s suggestion to find an EnergyStar appliance and CatieB’s suggestion to find a kitchen cart made of recycled and/or repurposed materials. In the past, I’ve found some gorgeous furniture for great prices at consignment shops, garage sales, and the like – I love finding antiques and†artisan pieces at bargain prices! Now,†I suspect “antique microwave cart” is an oxymoron, but I still like the idea of finding a way to repurpose materials and keep them out of landfill. Another option could be to find a cart made of rapidly renewable resources like bamboo, which also looks beautiful.

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Thanks again for all the great suggestions – I love the creativity, the variety, and most of all the delicious results!

A while back, I wrote in this space about the demise of my microwave and its impact on my eating habits, sleep schedule, and carbon footprint. A big thank you to all of you who wrote in with suggestions – there were so many good ideas, many of which I have since adopted. I’ll update you soon with more details about the recipe ideas, stove reheating tips, appliance and furniture shopping guidance, and more that I received from several readers.

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I also appreciate the concern of those who felt skipping dinner would be unhealthy. Believe me, I am the last person in the world to advocate not eating as a way to lose weight. Apart from the obvious health implications, I just love to eat. So even if it were a good idea, I couldn’t ever pull it off!

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That said, I do believe there are many food and beverage choices we can make that are healthier for us and for the environment. For example, over the past few years, more people have chosen to drink bottled water. While some environmentalists have expressed concern that these people are replacing tap water with bottled water, beverage sales data show this simply isn’t true. People are replacing sugary packaged beverages – not tap -†with bottled water, a much healthier and less carbon-intensive option.

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Over the past few years, the increase in bottled water volume has closely mirrored the decline in carbonated soft drinks and sugary fruit drinks. In other words, people are substituting bottled water for other packaged beverages that are less healthy and have a higher environmental impact. Soft drinks and fruit drinks use lots of refrigeration energy, result in agricultural impacts (e.g., energy, pesticides, fertilizers)†from growing sugar, corn, and other ingredients, and require manufacturing of flavors, preservatives, and other chemicals. (You’ll recall from the Wall Street Journal article that refrigeration is a major carbon emissions source for beverages that require chilling.) Soft drinks also require extra packaging to hold in the bubbles.

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So as people choose bottled water instead of soda or fruit drinks, they not only contribute to the overall greening of the beverage industry, but also do so in a way that is healthier. In fact, the switch to bottled water has eliminated about a trillion calories from the American diet over each of the past couple of years.

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Trillions of†calories – now that’s a lot of weight. Personally, I think FIJI Water tastes much better than the sugary stuff, so I’ll happily choose that when I’m on the go. And if it helps me cut out a couple hundred empty calories, doesn’t need chilling because it tastes good at room temperature, and†avoids†the conversion of land to agricultural use and the manufacture of preservatives (who needs those?), so much the better!