Green Holiday Cooking Tips

Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been a great time of the year to make all the wonderful goodies our friends and families love. Unfortunately, it is also one of the worst times of the year for resource consumption. This year we can all do our part to correct this problem by reducing the amount of resources we each use. When planning and preparing your family's holiday meals try to use these simple suggestions to help reduce your consumption.

1. Use less meat. It takes a vastly larger amount of resources to produce a pound of meat then a pound of vegetables. This year make sure that the turkey or ham, or whatever you are making is properly sized. Don't just get the biggest. I know some families who prepare two or more kinds of meat, try making one per holiday. Add a bigger variety of vegetable options to your table. Not only will you help reduce resources used on meat production you will also be offering a healthier menu.

2. When you go to buy your wine this season try to favor those made locally. It takes a huge amount of resources to ship wine all over the place. By buying locally you will not be contributing to unecessary transportation. Also choose wines that are stopped with a real cork as opposed to a plastic one. These can be used later in decorating or they go great in a compost heap as well.

3. A great number of dishes require that you boil food in water. When doing this use only the amount of water necessary. The water will boil faster, your food will cook a little quicker, and you will have saved water and electricity or gas, depending on the type of stove you use.

4. Instead of leaving your food on low heat to keep it warm try putting on the lid and wrapping the pots in dish towels. This will insulate your cookware and allow your food to stay warm for hours without the use of extra energy.

5. If any of the food you are preparing will be frozen prior to use so not use your microwave to thaw it. Plan ahead and use the fridge instead. Place your frozen foods in the refrigerator the night before. This will help the fridge to work less as the foods will keep it cooler in there for a short time giving your fridge a break. Also it will be thawed and ready for cooking, no energy wasted on using the microwave to thaw out your food.

6. Buy products using the least amount of packaging. Do not buy single serving foods as the amount of resources used to package these foods is staggering. If you are making a lot of something consider buying it in bulk. This option is generally cheaper and used less packaging. If at all possible look for items packaged in recycable material or in refillable containers.

7. Use your freezer. Stock up on all your holiday foods and freeze them ahead of time. Also fill it up after the holidays with all the leftovers. Buy packing your freezer full you use less energy running it. This is because the frozen items help keep the temp down.

8. Buy as many of your holiday foods from local growers and suppliers. The less travel time, the fresher and healthier the food as well as the less resources required to bring you the wonderful foods you love.

9. Store your leftovers in reusable containers. Instead of using plastic wrap or aluminum foil use your Tupperware. This will produce a whole lot less garbage. If you simply can't use sealable containers then consider greener options such as recycles aluminum foil.

10. When you are preparing your families holiday meals, turn down the thermostat. The heat from your oven will compensate for the loss in heat and help reduce the energy you use to heat your home. Also, when you are done cooking allow the oven door to stay open until it has cooled to use a little more of this energy.