Greener Cooking: 3 Ways to Go Green in Your Kitchen

As the old adage goes, "You are what you eat." While the veracity of this statement can easily be debated, it is still a great reminder that the way that we feed ourselves can be a good indicator of our lifestyles in general. With this in mind, it is important for us to remember that if we truly wish to lead green lifestyles, then we better be consuming green cooking. The term "green" cooking can be loosely applied to a variety of cooking techniques, but here are several simple ways for almost anyone to "go green" in their every day culinary expeditions.

1. Purchase organic crops. Whenever possible, seek to buy foods that are grown with minimal pesticide and herbicide use and that adhere to other organic qualifications. Local groceries and health food stores should offer a variety of such produce, but many cities also have specific organic produce delivery companies which will deliver seasonal organic produce to your doorstep. Both healthier for you as well as for the environment, organic goods are a great way to start going green in your cooking and eating.

2. Reduce oven use. Ovens tend to burn up fuel far less efficiently than stove tops, and reducing the amount of time that items are cooked in them can greatly reduce your carbon footprint as well as your energy bill. To practically reduce your oven use time, warm up items on your stove or bring ingredients to room temperature (when safe) before baking in an oven, if at all possible. You may also want to try using appliances such as crock pots as energy efficient oven alternatives. Whenever you are using your oven, try to overlap baking times so that you have more than one dish cooking at the same time in order to maximize use of your oven's energy.

3. Conserve your water. While most Americans are extremely blessed to have access to an abundant supply of clean water, this clean water is not something that we should begin to take for granted. Take care to measure your boiling water out to the minimum amount needed for whatever dish you are preparing; since most of the water is poured out anyways, most cooks tend to use far more water than needed when preparing foods such as pastas. Using less water when cooking will not only reduce your water bill and conserve a precious resource, but it can also reduce your cooking time (and thus energy use) because a lower volume of water will require less energy to be heated to a boiling temperature.