What would the start of a new year be without resolutions !

To exercise more, drink less, etc, etc, etc…

My resolution this year was to become more eco-friendly than ever before. Just putting my recycling in the right bin was not going to cut it, so I decided to challenge myself to come up with eco-friendly entertaining ideas to incorporate into my life.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will often share some of my eco-friendly entertaining tips through woman.ca with the hopes that Canadians across the country will use these ideas to ‘green’ their parties too.

Tip #1 – Like this one is not already obvious... Buy local!
In addition to being environmentally responsible, local produce almost always tastes better than produce that has spent days in transit.

Take lamb for example, some people claim New Zealand lamb is the best in the world. My opinion, firstly Ontario lamb has more flavour, but it also has about 10,000 less airmiles! How could a frozen product flown from the other side of the globe be as good as something fresh from our own backyard.

Some of my favourite local suppliers: For meats, nobody can beat Cumbrae's in Toronto, or (surprising but true) for local vegetable produce Loblaws is one of the country’s leaders in supporting local produce farmers.

Tip #2 – Re-use and re-cycle like never before.
Think of interesting ways to use existing items from around the house. Ornate tea tins make great floral centerpiece bases, stemless martini glasses can double as the perfect serving vessel for snacks such as nuts or chocolates.

One of my very favourites? Using tea sieves to serve grilled asparagus spears for a cocktail party. Simply grill the asparagus with olive oil, salt and honey and serve. Side note: fortunately asparagus are one of the only foods which are ‘acceptable’ to be eaten with your fingers.