On May 14, 2009, Chef Dee inspired us with her "Cooking Green" segment on NBC-6's South Florida Today Show. Here is her follow-up article on the subject.
----------------------------------------------
Yes, everybody's "going green"! From the auto industry to restaurant chains. But what can you do on a practical level, in your kitchen, to use less earth resources and to help protect the environment? 1. A big one is to prepare multiple meals simultaneously. (Buy bulk & cook bulk). This saves $ and time (energy efficient). This is at the heart of green thinking and anyone can do it. An example that I always say and actually do is, when I bake a meat loaf, instead of baking one, I bake two. Eat one for dinner and save the other for lunches or another dinner. Sometimes, I buy or prepare myself a family sized lasagna or two and bake them off. I cut them into 6-8 portion sized pieces and freeze them in storage containers. This lunch averages about $1.30 for me to eat. It's cheap, healthy, tasty, and best of all quick (energy efficient). 2. Consumers can shop from their local farmers markets. This save $'s to the consumer and it is efficient because it means there will be less delivery trucks (coming from places like CA) on the road. 3. Consumers should learn to cook "seasonal fruits & veges" too. This helps for the same reason as I mentioned above. Winter fruits like (parsnips, turnips, carrots, apples & pears, etc). Just like I made in the segment that I did for you called "Cooking on a budget". These were some of the veges that I used. 4. Consumers can learn to recycle meals (use their leftovers). This is a great way to save $ and time and is great way to practice being green. I may actually prepare a dish to illustrate this concept. 5. We can use dish towels instead of paper towels. 6. We can use s/s utensils instead of wood or plastic. They don't burn or melt and they last longer. 6. We can use cast irons pots instead of teflon ones. They last longer.
Get the thinking here? It's all about thinking efficient. Just like Mom taught us when we were younger... "Turn out the lights, who's paying that bill?" :-)
Please share your thoughts on the subject, by posting a commment below.