Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? A fro yo pie that will delight your belly without making it bigger?? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

With summer here (or officially four days away) we’ve got lots and lots of free time on our hands. And by that I mean we’re cooped up in our parents house and – god help us – we love our parents, we really, REALLY do, but after about 48 hours back from school we are already counting down until Welcome Week.

There are only so many times one can surf through Perez or watch this week’s episode of the Bachelorette commenting on Ali’s awful spray tan, so what can you do to pass the time? READ. And by read, I mean the books you’ve always wanted to, not the ones required for class that you beg your suitemate for her notes on so you don’t actually have to read them.

The fun books, the good books, the books you can’t put down – so much so you take them with you to pee. The books that are thoughtless and funny and on and on.

So here’s a list of ten of my favorite books, some new, some old, some serious some fun. Go sit on your lawn, make yourself an Arnold Palmer and enjoy. Read More »

As I was researching for what was supposed to be a post on green snack foods, I realized just how eco-harmful the food industry can be.  Looking at Newsweek’s Green Rankings for 2009, only 28 of the top 500 companies are from the food and beverage industry. Yes, a measly 5%.  Plus, the best ranking food company (Brown and Forman) ranks in 374^th place overall!  In other words, the large-scale food industry blows.

I knew I just couldn’t lie to the intelligent ladies that you are, so I scrapped the article and came up with this.

Here are some of the worst snack options and their greener replacements to reduce your environmental impact… and your waistline. Seriously, think about this next time you go shopping; we’re all probably doing more harm than we even know.

Culprit #1: Tyson
Why it sucks: Tyson is one of the largest companies in the meat industry.  According to the movie Food, Inc. (which you all should see!), such large scale farming contributes to pollution, greenhouse gases, depletion of resources, antibiotic resistance and illness in workers and consumers, and poor employee treatment.
Don’t eat: Tyson’s fried chicken fillet sandwich. For so many reasons. Gross.
Eat instead: Gardenburger’s Original Veggie Burgers Read More »

Last Tuesday I saw the documentary Food, Inc. and it changed my life.  Although it had a relatively minimal environmental focus, it still reminded me how important we are as consumers and how much our food purchasing decisions actually make a difference.

Think about it – 10 years ago you couldn’t really find any substantial amount of organic produce in mainstream supermarkets.  Now, due to the demand for healthier and more sustainable products, the supermarkets are flooded with organic products from Oreos to macaroni and cheese.  And for those of you who think you can’t afford eco-friendly foods on a college budget, think again.  I will show you where, how, and what to buy to decrease your carbon “foodprint” while increasing the size of your wallet. Read More »