Tips to Turn Your Kitchen Green This Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving a little over a month away, what better time to show your appreciation to Mother Nature by turning your kitchen green? Not decorating your kitchen green - making your kitchen eco-friendly. It may sound odd or difficult, but it can actually be quite simple. Speaking of Thanksgiving, you can start off by making sure you have plenty of your own personal "doggy bags" on hand--recyclable, compostable utility trays.

Send goodies home
Thanksgiving is a festive time for families, but for those in charge of preparing the meal and cleaning up afterwards, the holiday activities can be exhausting. Order the trays with the lids and you'll be able to prepare parts of your meal ahead of time. Store the meal in the refrigerator and then simply set out on the banquet table at meal time. Before you know it, everyone will be heading home. You'll be left with tons of left overs. Unless you have a budding scientist in the family who might make use of the mold that will eventually be growing on things that got shoved to the back of the fridge, send goodies home with your friends and family. These trays are oven, microwave, and freezer safe. No more sending food home in containers you might never see again.

That's the beginning and end of your Thanksgiving feast, but what about in between? What else can you do in your kitchen to make Mother Nature's job a little easier?

Buy local produce
Another great way to go green this holiday is to buy locally grown produce. Buying locally supports local farmers and less fuel is used for shipping.

Change your lighting
Change the lighting in your kitchen from the traditional incandescent bulbs to the modern and more efficient fluorescent bulbs. They use less energy and produce less heat. That's definitely something to be thankful for when you're in a kitchen already hot from cooking turkey and pumpkin pie.

Replace or move appliances
Give your kitchen appliances a once over. The U.S. Department of Energy advises replacing pre-1993 refrigerators. Refrigerators with the Energy Star Label use 20% less energy than standard models. No time to replace such a big appliance?  At least leave a few inches between the wall and the back of the refrigerator so that air can circulate properly. Make sure the condenser coils are clean on older model refrigerators. Check the owner's manual so you know how to clean it safely.

Think bamboo
Think bamboo--a renewable resource. You can purchase a variety of bamboo items for your kitchen including cutting boards, baskets, and utensils.

Use smaller utensils
When it comes time for the actual cooking, use the smallest pot or pan necessary for the task. This will produce less heat.

Now you're ready for an eco-friendly Thanksgiving – And all you had to do was start with some simple, compostable, recyclable, utility trays.

Jillian Johnson is a professional marketing content writer who blogs on a variety of topics. Follow her @MissWritey.

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