Today is Earth Day, the day when we have to honor our planet
as well as cleaning up our land and water. Yet foodies and home chefs can honor
the planet all year round as well as reducing their carbon footprint.
One of the best ways to cut down on energy and pollution is
buying local. This is easy as we head into the Spring planting and summer
harvest season. Many groceries such as Stop & Shop, Acme and Shop Rite,
here in New Jersey all by from local family farms. However, they also buy from
South American and Mexican farms out of season too. Try to avoid these when you
can. Another good place to source locally ground fruit and veggies is your
local farmer’s market. They should be opening soon in cities and towns across
America and offer a wide and delicious variety of garden variety and even
unusual produce. Farmer’s markets are also great places to buy honey and all
natural baked goods from family owned apiaries and bakeries , along with cheese
and butter from local dairies. Of course the best ways to reduce your carbon
footprint is planting your own. Add more green to the environment by growing
tomatoes and lettuce along with onions and carrots. Include some herbs too to add zing to your organic meals. One of the
most impactful gestures is canning . Preserving your fruits and vegetables for
eating during the winter is a great idea. You don’t have to rely on foreign
imports when winter comes. Just go to your pantry and pull out the green beans
or cherries you preserved back in July and August.
How do you make your kitchen more energy efficient? Use your
microwave instead f your oven. It takes less energy to cook food because the
appliance uses heat to cook the food not the atmosphere around it as a
traditional oven would. A microwave can save up to eighty per cent of power
used to cook or warm up meals in an oven. Yet many eschew microwaves because of
the health controversies surrounding them. This is fine because there are ways
to make a stove and oven more energy efficient. Just make sure that the flame
is fully underneath the cookware. This also applies to electric stoves too. Also
use appropriate size pans for the job. Oversized ones will eat up too much energy
and heat. They’re also cheaper too. Another must-do is don’t pose in front of
the open fridge , wondering what to eat or drink. It accounts for up to seven
per cent of refrigerator’s energy used. Opening the door lets warm air in which
makes the fridge’s compressor has to drive it out while returning to a normal
temperature for storing food. Decide what you want before you open the door. Also
have an organized one too. Rooting around in it is the same as posing in front
of it. Put the more popular items up front and don’t overload both the top and
bottom.
Foodies can also do their part in saving the planet. Buy
local. Be resourceful . Most importantly
- DON’T waste energy when you cook or store food!
Posts
