Kitchen ideas, part 1

​There are many sustainability opportunities associated with the kitchen for energy conservation, water conservation, and reducing waste.  I’ll list a few here and then add more in the next post. 

• A small casserole dish baked in the oven requires less cooking time and energy than a large dish.  Instead of using one large pan, divide the casserole into two or more smaller pans.  For many types of casseroles, the second dish can be frozen to eat later.  Freezing the second dish can also reduce food waste if you cannot eat all of the large casserole before it gets too old to eat. 
• Keep the oven door closed as much as possible while baking.  Each time you open the oven door, the temperature in the oven can drop as much as 50 ⁰F, and then energy is needed to reheat the oven. 
• When you are baking in the oven, try to bake multiple items instead of just one.  It takes very little extra energy to cook multiple items and you run the oven only once. 
• Plan your meals before you shop and then buy only what you need.  A large size package may be less expensive per serving, but if you can’t use the whole amount, you haven’t saved money and you’ve wasted the food and the resources that went into producing the food. 
• As you plan your meals, make a plan for the leftovers, too.
• Keep the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry organized so that you can use the food before it spoils.  It’s easy to lose items in the back if you don’t have it organized.  Make sure that everything you put in the freezer and pantry has a date on it so you know which items to use first.