Happy Earth Day! You may have caught onto the vibe that we have a few hippie tendencies. What can we say, we’re soft on the outside, but crunchy on the inside. In honor of Earth Day I’d like to share some of our favorite ways to “go green” in the kitchen.

Silpat Mats1. Silpat Mats – I seriously am in love with my silpat mats. They have greatly reduced our use of parchment paper, aluminum foil, and waxed paper. They’ve also significantly cut down on our pan scrubbing which is really nice. Anytime I’m baking something on a metal pan whether it’s cookies or chicken strips I always reach for my silpat mat for even cooking and less mess. They’re also great for making things like no-bake cookies or chocolates.

pastry brush2. Silicone Brushes – This little gadget has completely gotten rid of my need to buy cooking spray. Now if I need to oil something I just brush it on. It’s also great for basting items or painting a nice chocolate layer onto a pie crust (great trick for avoiding a soggy crust when baking a cream pie) or homemade peanut butter cups (this seriously has perfected the peanut butter to chocolate ratio on mine).

Salad Dressing Shaker3. Salad Dressing Shaker – Since starting to make our own dressings we’ve found we actually largely prefer their taste to that of store bought. We used to mix up the salad dressing in a mason jar, which worked okay, but the salad dressing shaker does a much better job of regulating the outflow of dressing. The measurement lines on the sides also make it so we don’t have to dirty measuring cups to measure the ingredients either.

Glasslock

4. Glasslock Storage Containers – Not only do we store leftovers in these, but we use them for all of Noel’s lunches. He never has spilled soup in his bag and his sandwiches never get smashed.

Cloth Napkins

5. Cloth Napkins –  This is probably the biggest thing that cuts down our paper towel use, plus it lets mealtime feel a little less barbaric. I’ve made or been given most of our cloth napkins, but I thought these ones were cute.

Bowl Covers

6. Reusable Bowl Covers – I often use these as a plastic wrap replacement. They’re great for covering a dish you’re taking to a potluck, rising bread, covering pies, etc. I’ve made all of my own bowl covers, but there are a few available out there for purchase.

In celebration of Earth Day, I would like to give away the photographed set of bowl covers. They feature a “Zippy Flowers” cotton print on one side and a dark teal water repellent nylon on the other. I would call them medium sized; their full diameter is 12.” The pictured covers adorn the top of a medium bowl and a stand mixer bowl. The covers are still somewhat breathable so they aren’t a substitute for tupperware. However, they are machine washable! For your chance to win this set of covers, leave a comment about one way you currently “go green” or plan to “go green” in the kitchen. Comment by 8am MDT on Friday, April 25th to be eligible. We’ll select the winner at random and announce it Friday!

PS This post is not sponsored. These are just items we really like.  However, the links to Amazon are affiliate links and we get a (very) small fraction of the sale if you buy through them.

Written by Admin

5 Comments

Serin Ware

I love my glass storage containers, and I use vinegar and essential oils for cleaning.

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Stephanina

The thing we waste most in the kitchen is produce because it sometimes goes bad before we use it (let’s face it, sometimes it only takes one day for supermarket produce to go bad). This year we’re starting our first vegetable garden, so if we need something, we’ll just go outside and pick it, instead of buying too much and wasting some of it. And since it’s warm now, it’s time to start using the bike trailer again for grocery shopping.

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Hope

Instead of using paper towels I use thin cloth towels I made out of old t-shirts. That way the t-shirts are also saved from being thrown away 🙂

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