A City Girl's Guide to Living Green

Small Steps to Help the Environment and Lift Your Mood

For so many urban dwellers, life is a balancing act. Women try to squeeze in as much as possible into every moment of the day: work, family, friends and health. But all this success has a price: exhaustion. Refreshingly, a newfound interest in healthy living is developing, leading even the most competitive type-A person to search out ways to improve their lives and help the environment.

Through the recent focus on living green and global warming, it's clear that even the smallest decisions can have big impact on the world. The same holds true for managing a personal life-making a minor adjustment can lead to big rewards for overall well being. Since you are a city girl, you are most likely already living green by using mass transit, walking and learning to live with less. But if you want to take more action while also treating yourself kindly here are a handful of lifestyle changes:

Starting from the inside out is an excellent way to begin a makeover-and that means freshening up the diet. Thankfully, shopping for nutritious local vegetables and organically grown fruits have never been easier. With a proliferation of green markets and organic food stores, cooks have a variety of options that will please the palette and generate less waste.

Living well isn't all about veggies and whole grains. For decades researchers have been touting the health benefits of alcohol. Try unwinding with a glass of organic wine after the next take-no-prisoners meeting. Organic cocktails are also gaining popularity. For a hangover-free drink, combine red wine and pear juice to create a luscious treat. Keep an eye out for restaurants that are adding organic cocktails to their drinks menu. Examples include vitamin enriched vodka drinks sweetened with organic berry juice.