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Want to bike in the best bike commuting city? Your opportunity for the Annual Bike to Work Day is this Monday! (UPDATED)

Love Your Park Week is back! Love Your Park Week, created by the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Rec, celebrates Philly's park scene and outdoor space. The week includes a boatload of events, educational programs, tours, service projects and more. Love Your Park Week kicked off on Saturday in Philly with a Kickoff Service Day.  Projects across the city cleaned over 80 parks.  The Philadelphia PumpTrack (which is a dirt course of bumps, jumps and berms, designed for BMX and mountain bikes) debuted on Saturday at 53rd & Parkside Avenue, right by the Parkside Evans Recreation Center.  Wondering how else you can celebrate Love Your Park Week? Here's a few of the events going on this week.

Dine out on May 22nd and help out a Philly environmental nonprofit, too! We're psyched to share: Dine out for the Environment - Philly Many of our favorite restaurants are supporting local farms, reducing waste & chemicals and using smarter options for the city's footprint.  Dine Out for the Environment is the first city-wide restaurant event, showcasing our city's most sustainable dining options. How can you join in on the action?

I thought a professor lied when he said the only way he survived graduate school without falling into debt was by eating canned beans for every meal. Yet 5 months into grad school, I can see where desperation hit. While beans are a healthy, vegetarian protein, I was not so devoid of hope. It has to be possible as a student to eat at Whole Foods on a budget, right? Testing and proving this theory brought me into foreign territory, one teeming with hormone-free meat and overpriced produce. The foreign lands of Whole Foods. My mission: To claw my way out with a bill less than or equal to $54.90, which is the U.S Department of Agriculture’s low-cost one-week food plan for a 19-50 aged man. Known Success Rate: Unreported, but there have been many a credit card casualty. Wildlife to Avoid: Twenty-something year-old vegans. Although a pleasure to view in their natural habitat, this species is hungry and their movements can be unpredictable. Important Note: Nutritional health is a subject in which everyone has an opinion, and this writer is not an expert but a survivor in this task. Find out if I survived, after the jump.

Spring is here! Philadelphia's green community emerges from the woodwork with a nonstop calendar of awesome, local events. Here's two events coming up on Monday you won't want to miss.

Do you have old books sitting on your shelf, wasting space? It's almost difficult to give away books since they rarely retain any value. Plus, I've been denied giving books to libraries by my office!  But never fret, dear readers. We found JUST where to donate those books for today's Where Can I Wednesday column helps you donate all of those used and old books in Philadelphia. Happy spring cleaning! Here's where to donate used books in Philadelphia:

May is finally here! The sun is shining, birds are singing and more skin is showing.  With Memorial Day is right around the corner, are you ready to bare it in your itty bitty bikini and board shorts? If you’re bummed about pigging out on that last pint of Ben and Jerry’s, don't fear: there’s still time to get in shape fast and FREE in Philadelphia. Whether you’re looking for a mind and body workout or a high-impact calorie burner, there’s plenty of low cost options for you. Click through for 9 options!

Sustainability's on its way to become a little more permanent in City government, but they need your help! As we mentioned back in November, Resolution No 130884 is to make the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Sustainability Permanent within Philadelphia city government. Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski sent an email with an update on the progress.  Councilwoman Reynolds Brown and Councilman Kenney co-sponsored the bill and it was positively voted out of the Committee on Law and Government last week.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Zojirushi. The opinions and text are all mine. Regardless of the type of plastic, more than 70 percent of plastics leak estrogen-like chemicals. Makes that microwavable meal really appetizing, right? Yum! Whether you're at home, camping or the office, you can kick plastic from your life in favor of more sustainable products. Here are a few tiny investments I've made over the years to limit my plastic waste in the office.