10 Easy Ways to Add Green to Your Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and many see this as tis the season for stress, overwhelm, overeating, and exhaustion! The last thing you may want is to try and figure out how to execute an eco-friendly Thanksgiving dinner. No need to fret or down another glass of eggnog. Below are the top 10 tips on creating an easy, eco-friendly and fun Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Email Invites
A great way to minimize your carbon footprint is to utilize the efficiency of an e-invite. Not only will you be saving money on postage, minimizing paper waste, fuel consumption by postal vehicles, but you will also cut out the time it takes to address and seal individual invitations. When the holidays come around, any time you can free up is welcomed.
2. Remember The Three R’sâÂ?¦Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Remember this mantra as you shop for your feast. You can easily reduce the amount of waste you produce by making a list of what you need and only buying what you will actually use. Bonus points if the products that you purchase come in recyclable packages. Bring your own reusable shopping bags and when it’s time to set the table, use cloth napkins that can easily be washed and reused.
3. Buy Locally Grown Food
Locally grown food is superior to food flown in from around the world. It’s fresher and chock full of nutrients. Locally grown food is better for your health and the environment. It doesn’t require heavy fuel consumption to get it on the store shelves. Locally grown food also contributes to your local economy, supporting local farmers as well as local merchants.
4. Celebrate At Home
In the US, Thanksgiving weekend is one of busiest times for highway travel, thus creating a massive amount of air pollution. Stick to home and you’ll not only be saving air quality, but also avoiding the stress, exhaustion and road rage that comes with extensive travel.
5. Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Decorations
You don’t need to be Martha Stewart to create your own decorations. With a few simple supplies, a little creativity and some patience, you can make great eco-friendly Thanksgiving decorations. Make nature your centerpiece and use items right from outside your door. We’re talking pinecones, acorns, branches, dried leaves, and so on. Kids are great for getting the creative juices flowing. Send them outside and let their imagination run wild. You may just get an amazing and unique centerpiece out of it.
6. Scale Back On The Festivities
Do your guest really need 10 different side dishes, desserts and drinks? Honor the meaning of Thanksgiving by returning the holiday to a simpler time. Scaling down your Thanksgiving gathering will allow you to spend more quality time with your guests, and less time huffing and puffing in the kitchen.
7. Conserve Energy
Between the hustle and bustle of preparing a feast, we can easily lose sight of our energy consumption. Cut back by thawing your turkey in cold water instead of the fridge (it requires more energy to keep large items cold in the refrigerator). Stuff your oven to capacity by cooking multiple items at once, and remember turn down that thermostat. Between the people and the cooking, you’ll have plenty of heat in you house.
8. Collect For Others
Save the cans of green beans, cranberry, carrots, and other non-perishables that your family doesn’t end up using and donate the cans to those in needs.
9. Compost Leftovers
Every Thanksgiving dinner has leftovers. Not to mention cooking and prepping scraps like potato peels, stuffing stuck on dinner plates, and the green beans your tiny guests turned their noses at. Instead of tossing scraps and leftovers in the trash, add or create a compost pile. Composting not only returns nutrients to the soil, but also keeps garbage out of landfills.
10. Say Thank You
No matter what happens on Thanksgiving, remember the true meaning of it all. Do your best to set aside the stress and exhaustion and take time to say thank you to the people in your life who matter most. We only have this one life to live, and as the holidays approach we are reminded by how quickly it all goes by. These moments count, and some of the best moments in life are those spent with friends and family.
