Is it time to change your napkins?

I had a GREAT lunch yesterday with some of my favorite people at this lovely new restaurant, the Vergennes Laundry, in Vergennes Vermont. At the table: web editor Michelle Edelbaum and our "garden coaches" Barbara Ganley and Kate Ridgely, who are (out of the kindness of their hearts) blogging for the EatingWell Gardening Well community group.

I confess: Michelle and I were a little embarrassed at first because we're supposed to be planting the EatingWell garden outside our office and haven't gotten too far along. But that's why we tapped Barbara and Kate, who live down the road, to give us all sorts of great advice and inspiration.
They are both amazing gardeners, (Barbara made a whole dinner for about 30 -- including homemade grappa--last fall entirely from her garden), and cooks, and so so creative. Barbara used to teach in the English department at Middlebury College and Kate is one of the state's top artists (she painted Governor Douglas' portrait) and did the illustrations for Amanda Hesser's The Cooks Garden cookbook. Anyway, I diverge.

But one of the reasons they are blogging is that, as Barbara said "I hope to help people change how they live." Kate added on.. "Gardening is the best way to know where your food comes from and that its healthy and organic." They rattled off about 50 more reasons why gardening is good for us and for the planet and I told them about our Earth Day Challenge -- where we are asking YOU to give us your green tips for a chance to win subscriptions and our EatingWell in Season Cookbook. 

As we polished off a light salad made with tender Boston lettuce and flaky pizza topped with slivers of spring potatoes, I reached for my napkin and realized that it was .... linen. That's right: real, honest, unbleached brown linen. It's been so long since I've seen these at a restaurant -- especially a restaurant that serves lunch for less than $10 a person.  I love the look and feel of linen but even more so, did you know that a linen napkin is the most environmentally smart choice you can make in napkins?

Seriously, check out the research and the story we did on Which Napkins Are The Greenest?
So my Green Tip for Today? Have lunch with your favorite gardener and just start brainstorming different ways you can live a little greener life. You will be amazed by how many simple solutions you come up with. And use a linen napkin.