From cooking, to eating and cleaning up, we use energy and produce waste during the holidays. But, you can have a greener celebration.
Linda Mason Hunter says she is getting ready to serve up a fresh and earthy-friendly feast for her family. She says, " Thanksgiving is about meaning and celebrating the harvest and being thankful for all that we have."
She's a green living speaker, writer and consultant and showed us ways to celebrate a sustainable holiday at her studio in the City Lofts. She says, "The centerpiece of my table and at most tables at Thanksgiving is the turkey"
Hunter is serving a fresh turkey from Sheeder Farms in Guthrie Center. They raised three hundred this year with out added hormones or antibiotics. She says, "They run all over the yard and they eat bugs and dirt and things, so they aren't filled with chemicals and stuff."
She says when you're out doing your shopping, plan to buy things with as little packaging as possible. She says aseptic paperboard is a great alternative to cans. She says, "This is the way it looks. It always has a spout and it's package like this, and you can tell it's like cardboard by feeling it."
Hunter says a good place to start going green this Thanksgiving is to look at your table. She says to use reusable cloth napkins. She says, "This is an easy green change to make."
Hunter says another easy change is your decorations. She says pick up pinecones for placecard holders, fill a hurricane vase with fresh cranberries and choose beeswax candles with cotton wicks instead of the those made with lead. She says, "Lead wicks can pollute indoor air more than three times than the EPA level recommends as safe."
When you're cooking, she says to keep what she calls your carbon "cookprint" in mind. She says, "The oven uses a whole lot of electricity." She says to use the convection setting of your oven. It cooks food faster and cuts energy consumption by 25 percent. She also says to cook things like cranberry sauce in the crockpot.
When you get ready to clean up, skip pre-rinsing the dishes. Hunter says, "If you have a dishwasher made in the last six years, they are good enough to take the residue of your dishes"
Hunter says more than anything, "keep it simple, of the earth and enjoy the day." A day for giving thanks, and maybe this year, being a little easier on the environment.
Linda Mason Hunter says she is getting ready to serve up a fresh and earthy-friendly feast for her family. She says, " Thanksgiving is about meaning and celebrating the harvest and being thankful for all that we have."
She's a green living speaker, writer and consultant and showed us ways to celebrate a sustainable holiday at her studio in the City Lofts. She says, "The centerpiece of my table and at most tables at Thanksgiving is the turkey"
Hunter is serving a fresh turkey from Sheeder Farms in Guthrie Center. They raised three hundred this year with out added hormones or antibiotics. She says, "They run all over the yard and they eat bugs and dirt and things, so they aren't filled with chemicals and stuff."
She says when you're out doing your shopping, plan to buy things with as little packaging as possible. She says aseptic paperboard is a great alternative to cans. She says, "This is the way it looks. It always has a spout and it's package like this, and you can tell it's like cardboard by feeling it."
Hunter says a good place to start going green this Thanksgiving is to look at your table. She says to use reusable cloth napkins. She says, "This is an easy green change to make."
Hunter says another easy change is your decorations. She says pick up pinecones for placecard holders, fill a hurricane vase with fresh cranberries and choose beeswax candles with cotton wicks instead of the those made with lead. She says, "Lead wicks can pollute indoor air more than three times than the EPA level recommends as safe."
When you're cooking, she says to keep what she calls your carbon "cookprint" in mind. She says, "The oven uses a whole lot of electricity." She says to use the convection setting of your oven. It cooks food faster and cuts energy consumption by 25 percent. She also says to cook things like cranberry sauce in the crockpot.
When you get ready to clean up, skip pre-rinsing the dishes. Hunter says, "If you have a dishwasher made in the last six years, they are good enough to take the residue of your dishes"
Hunter says more than anything, "keep it simple, of the earth and enjoy the day." A day for giving thanks, and maybe this year, being a little easier on the environment.
