Eco-Tuesday: Save Energy This Thanksgiving Day

This week's Eco-Tuesday blog post was inspired by David DeFranza's Article on Planetgreen.discover.com titled, "Five Ways to

Save Major Energy While Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner." You can read the entire article here. David presents some ideas that aren't necessarily new but serve as a great reminder for ways to limit energy loss when preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Some of David's ideas include choosing the proper burner size and putting items in the oven together to cut down on the time the oven is on. Here are some more ideas that I came up with:

1. Convection Ovens

Do you have one? You may not realize that you do as some ovens and microwaves come with a convection feature. Check yours out and you may be surprised. Convection ovens are more energy efficient than standard ovens and cook food quicker. David recommends using a microwave to cook side dishes, as it cuts down on the cooking time thus saving energy. I am really against using microwaves, since I believe that they zap the nutrients right out of your food.

2. Warming Drawers 

Warming drawers provide a great way to save some energy when it comes time to warming up the bread and side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. Check out one of our group discussions about warming drawers and learn more about the benefits of warming drawers.

3. Choose the Proper Burner

I have written about this one once before and it is really a great way to cut down on wasted energy. Your food won't cook any faster by using a burner that makes a larger flame than the pot or pan. Also, food cooks at the same rate whether the water is rapidly boiling or just simmer. Read more about that here.

4. Smaller Can Be Better

Who says you need to cook a whole turkey? Cooking a whole turkey monopolizes your oven for hours. I prefer making marinated turkey legs and thighs. It can end up saving you money, especially if you have a smaller crowd for Thanksgiving Day. Here's my favorite way to cook turkey thighs: The night before Thanksgiving, prepare the thighs as follows: Rub garlic powder, paprika powder and onion powder all over the thigh. Place each thigh (or two, depending on the size) in a Ziploc bag and pour about cup or white or red wine and about cup of orange juice into the bag. Seal the bag tightly, and refrigerate over night. Bake the thighs in a pan, covered, for about an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. I promise you that it will be delicious, and the marinade makes a great gravy.

5. Wait Before Placing Warm Food in the Fridge

Here's another tip from "Some Advanced Eco Tips" posted a few weeks ago on our blog. Placing warm food in the fridge can cause the fridge to work harder and use more energy due to the warm food decreasing the temperature of the fridge.

6. Turn the Heat Down

If you are going to be cooking up a storm in your kitchen with your stovetop and oven on all day, then turn the heat down a degree or two in your house. Chances are that the stove and oven will do a good enough job at keeping the house warm during your cooking hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Marcy Tate