Many people want to live greener, but aren't sure where to start. One of the easiest places to start is the kitchen. While many people don't realize it, food and cooking can both be very harmful to the environment, if not done properly. Thankfully, there are a number of easy things you can do. Whether you're using local ingredients or making the most of the energy you use, you can be greener. Here are just five ways to go green when cooking.
Use Local Ingredients
The first thing you need to do, before you ever get in the kitchen, is to purchase as many local ingredients as possible. Shopping for local ingredients can help keep reduce your carbon footprint because the ingredients you use aren't being shipped across the country or around the world.
Skip the Electronic Gadgets
You might not think so, but using manual can openers, knife sharpeners and other manual gadgets can save a lot of energy. Yes, this does create more work for you, but isn't it worth it? You can help make the process easier by investing in comfort grip products.
Save Coffee Grounds and Eggshells for Plants
Coffee grounds and eggshells can be wonderful for your plants. Best of all, these are items that you would normally throw away. That means you will be putting less trash in the landfill. To make the eggshells more useful to your plants, be sure to grind them into a powder.
Reuse Water in the Garden
A lot of water gets used in the kitchen and much of that water could be reused to water your plants. For example, the water you use to cook pasta and steam vegetables can be cooled and then poured onto your plants. The water from steamed vegetables will even add needed nutrients to your plants and can help increase growth.
Make the Most of the Energy You Use
Last, but not least, if you're going to use energy in your kitchen, you need to make the most of it. For example, time your dishes so that they all cook in the oven at the same time. Another tip is to leave your oven cracked in the winter, after you get done baking, to help heat your home.
Your kitchen is the easiest place to start for going green. Whether you reuse cooking water or use ground eggshells on your plants, you can go green while cooking.
