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Monday, April 26, 2010

Greener Kitchen I

I like to see my kitchen as the belly of the house, or the gut. Since the gut is so important for overall health, a green kitchen is essential when it comes to green living.
So what does a green kitchen mean exactly?
How about a place where fresh, local and whole foods are being prepared in an as sustainable way as possible and without too much waste:

  • Buy local produce rather than that which has traveled thousands of miles
  • Think about joining a local food co-op
  • Visit your local farmer’s market as often as you can (click here for a NJ guide)
  • Compost whenever possible (ask friends or family with a garden whether you can join in the fun if you don’t have your own back yard, or check with Trina (see information on the right under Things To Do Around Town) if you live in Montclair
  • I want to stress how important it is to ONLY buy organic meats and dairy, if possible grass-fed and free-range
  • Try to cut down on meats. Just one meatless meal more per week per family would do so much for the environment
  • When you shop in a store, buy as much from the bulk section as you can: not only does it save you money, it also minimizes waste
  • Try to do your shopping by bike or walking every once in a while. We do most of our shopping walking which means we do it more than once a week (there’s only so much that fits in a stroller…)
  • Avoid processed foods altogether and learn how to read labels. My rule of thumb is if it has more than 5 or 7 ingredients, depending on the product, it can’t be healthy
  • When it comes to cooking, don’t overheat and turn your fan on over the oven
  • Prefer unrefined oils over refined oils (my top choices are olive and coconut oil)
  • Save glass jars and use them for storage rather than buying more and more plastic containers, especially for liquids
  • Avoid paper napkins and use cloth instead (also at work or school)
  • Eat a balanced, healthy diet full of whole foods and enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. This is wonderful Manuela! I really found it to be full of so much important and useful information. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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