With all the goals, obligations and tasks we have to complete in our daily lives, keeping true to sustainable lifestyles can be hard. Whether you’ve been committed to living more sustainably for years, or you’re relatively new to the idea, there are always plenty of new tips and tricks to learn that can help make your goals much easier to attain.

Living a sustainable lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard! Sure, sometimes it requires doing more work, but in the end, the investment of time and money is well worth the outcome. Check out these tips for how to stretch your time and money without compromising your lifestyle!

With the autumn rapidly dwindling into short and cold winter days (sometimes inundated with snow), you may find yourself wondering how you’re going to get your farm-fresh produce. Happily, many areas have winter markets where you can find your favorite veggies and other produce into December and into the new year. As the first installment, here’s a list for New England.

Easton, MD – On the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, close to several major cities yet a world apart, Talbot County, Maryland is many things: historic, friendly, charming, sophisticated, oh-so-beautiful, and … delicious?

Yes – delicious! Talbot County has long been known for its splendid recreational opportunities, rich history, and lovely small towns, but recently it has upped the ante: for those in the know, the county is now a destination for serious “foodies.” In fact, no fewer than twelve Talbot County dining spots are listed in the 2011 edition of the famed Zagat guide to Washington, DC and Baltimore restaurants, dominating the Eastern Shore category, and the marketing options for those who enjoy their own cooking are abundant as well.

Artisanal food making is quickly becoming the best thing since white bread; and why not, with food crafters flocking to farmers markets to sell their homemade fare. The USDA reports registered farmers markets have increased 16% in 2010 to 6,132; and this growth is expected to continue throughout 2011. This locavore trend motivated in part by the unremitting recession and fueled by hundreds, if not thousands of unemployed or under-employed entrepreneurial spirits has laid the ground work for the initiation of cottage food legislation.

Perhaps tossed salads are one of the easiest dishes to prepare, as they are simply a mixture of various chopped vegetables, but when one hits upon a delicious and visually pleasing combination, it only seems right to share. 90% of this salad came straight from the farmers’ market, through a few rinse cycles, and into my bowl. The rest was pantry basics.

This spring I was invited down to Houston by some like-minded real foodies for a screening of the movie What’s On Your Plate?, a charming and compelling documentary by two young women about where food comes from. I visit Houston often to see family, but had never taken the time to explore Houston’s farmers markets. This was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Houston’s real food scene.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization specializing in research and advocacy related to public health and the environment, has released its 2011 updated “Dirty Dozen” list of the 12 fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticides. Topping this year’s list? Apples. This begs the question, “Can eating an apple a day really keep the doctor away?”

The answer may lie in where you get your apples.

I’ve always found freshly baked bread is comfort food of the highest order. There is something reassuring about the aroma of baking bread as it fills my kitchen and floats through the rest of my home. If I make a loaf early in the morning, I can almost guarantee that it will be devoured before the end of the day (with a little help from some little mouths in my house). And because I think about these thins, I began to wonder if I could find local flour to for my bread baking. After all I can find vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy, and honey, could I do the same for flour? As it turns out the answer is, yes.

With the advent of the factory farm and the onset of globalization, buying locally produced food has been somewhat of a trade-off for the modern consumer. Sure, we all know that local food is fresh food, but with an always open mega-chain supermarket right down the road, who has the time, or money, to shop local? All of us, that’s who.

I fell in love with Seattle the first time I visited in the summer of 1993. I was 25 and it was my first non-business trip by myself. When I plotted out my trip, I foolishly allotted an hour for exploring Pike Place Market. I ended up spending the entire day in this foodie paradise and dropped by each day for the remainder of the trip. When I returned 10 years later, I was equally charmed.