As humans, we devote a large chunk of time, money and energy on food.

From the money we earn to buy groceries, to planning menus, shopping, preparing, cooking and eating, food is an all-encompassing portion of our lives. And as such, it’s incumbent on home cooks to look for more eco friendly ways of feeding your family. Let’s explore some options:

Tools & Equipment:

• Did you know it’s best to cover your pots and pans when cooking? That simple step adds up to less cooking time which conserves energy. It also means less clean-up with water as spattering is reduced.
• Try to grill outdoors as much as possible. This reduces indoor gas or electric usage as your food is cooked by propane gas or charcoal. With this method, you get the added bonus of not heating up your home on hot days and needing to turn up the air conditioning.
• Play it smart with foil. Use it to line baking dishes as that will help you with clean-up, meaning you will use less water. Foil can be recycled, too. Simply wash off and use to wrap leftovers.
• Be fridge friendly. These energy guzzlers consume the most in your kitchen so don’t buy ones that come with ice makers and water dispensers as that will only hike hydro consumption. Also if your fridge has exposed coils in the back try to vacuum them twice yearly as that will help the appliance run more efficiently.
• Run your dishwasher in the evening or early morning hours to save energy. Make sure it’s full and use biogradable soap. Let your dishes air dry as opposed to heat dry.

Produce & Groceries:

• Try to buy local as much as possible. Not only does this support local growers, but you are also getting food at its peak flavour and sparing the planet by preventing oil-fuelled trucks, planes and trains from delivering food from afar.
• Look for organic products. Organic farming practices do not depend on chemicals. Organic foods not only taste better but provide you with more nutrients than food from factory or commercial farms.
• Don’t dismiss leftovers. These kitchen miracles are often tastier the next day or a whole new dish once you transform Tuesday’s leftover meatloaf into a pasta dish for Wednesday. Think of the money, time and energy you will save with a little pre-planning. Keep kitchen scraps to make soup stock or toss them in your composter.
• Try cooking with smaller portions. Cutting meats and vegetables into smaller chunks allows your food to cook much faster which requires less energy.

Sources: www.fluxmagazine.com, www.earthbuddies.net, www.howstuffworks.com