A Water Bottle's Journey Across the Ocean

Whoa?!?!...blog posts on consecutive days?  Go me! ;)

I received a very special care package from my wonderful college roommate Holly on Thanksgiving.   It made my day and reminded me how thankful I am to have the friends and family that I do.

After a consulting project my study group B2 did last year for one of the largest FMCG companies in the world, I've been fascinated with companies' ability to innovate.  We were reviewing some of the inhibitors of innovation for our client, and I learned a great deal about R&D and Marketing in consumer-oriented companies.  This is an example of how companies get it right.

This is a new water bottle that Brita launched.  (Yes, those are two laptops in the background.  Please don't judge.)  Basically, it's a dishwasher safe water bottle that has a special filter that screws on the underside of the cap.  Tap water is then as good as throw away bottled water.  Each filter lasts ~150 bottles.  The actual plastic Brita bottle retails for ~$10 and two-pack refills are ~$7 on Amazon.   Quite reasonable in my opinion.  Plus, this product makes it easier for people to be healthy (drink water vs. fizzy drinks) and green (less trash).  

I feel like the uber-cool early adopter on campus.  Only problem is that few know about Brita in this country. Mucho impressed with this product innovation.

Ode to Beets

My friend Reese recently reminded me that my blog has gone into hibernation recently.  As my LBS friends would say...heinous!

As I've grown older, my palate has changed.  I used to hate asparagus, dark chocolate, arugula, and avacadoes.  Now, they're a few of my favorite things to eat.  Another mature flavor that I've only come to appreciate from moving to London is the humble beet.   My mom used to make them for my dad, and only my dad.  No one else would come near them...especially me because the blood red color freaked me out.  Beets are popular in the UK and show up on many menus.  Ordering a salad with beets at a group dinner is what hooked me to this vegetable.  I now have the below salad at least a couple of times a week.  Just a little arugula, goat cheese, chopped beets, and balsamic glaze.   And in this country, you can buy very good pre-cooked beets marinated subtly in malt vinegar to give a sweet and succulent punch.  I read a food critic's blog mentioning how antioxidant-rich beets have grown in popularity as chef's have increasingly paired them with goat cheese (and what doesn't taste good with goat cheese?!?)

For more beet-inspired recipes, here's a list of 100.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/beets/index.html