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My diet consists mostly of frozen pizzas purchased at Trader Joe's. I probably eat three to five frozen pizzas a week. I've even started eating vegetarian pizza a few times a week in order to cut down on my meat intake. Not having a microwave or a toaster oven, my stove is my go-to guy when it comes to frozen pizza preparing. Cutting down on meat is one way that I try to help the planet, but I often wondered if there was anything I could do to make my stove/oven greener.
Here's what I've found out.
Turn off the Oven Early
There is no need to blast your stove on high the entire time your pizza is in there. You can cook the food in the oven's residual heat. Turn off your oven about ten minutes early to save energy.
Bake Several Dishes at Once
Let's say you have three dishes that need baked. Baking them all at once is a great way to conserve energy. You can cook three dishes for the electrical or gas price of one.
Clean Your Oven the Eco-Friendly Way
Don' t clean your oven with crazy, killer chemicals that can quash the quality of your indoor air. Here's an eco-friendly recipe for an oven cleaner by Natural Blends.
1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup hot water, 1/4 cup bicarb soda, 5 drops of rosemary essential oil and 5 drops of lime essential oil.
Apply elbow grease as needed.
Match the Pan to the Burner
According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a 6 inch pan on an 8 inch burner wastes 40% of the energy produced by the burner.
Use Sturdy and flat-bottomed pan
A warped pan can use up 50% more energy than a flat-bottomed one.
Buy pans made of copper and cookware made of glass
Copper heats up faster than other metals and reduce the amount of energy that you need to cook. Glass and ceramic cookware heats faster than other materials in the oven.
More on Cooking:
Ways Save Major Energy Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner
Kelly Rossiter's Top 10 Economical Dinner Recipes of 2008
Should You Cook with a Microwave or Stove?
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