Plastics are a big issue in green living. We know they’re made with non-renewable resources. We know that making plastic products creates pollution. We know that many plastics have been found to have BPA, phthalates, and other nasty chemicals. We know that a ton of plastic ends up in landfills.

Yet Americans just keep right on using it. It’s not a big shock. Plastic is cheap, easily portable and lightweight, can be waterproof, and it’s used for flipping everything – toys, dishes, cleaner containers, shampoo bottles, baggies, and so on. You can’t escape. Well, actually you can escape. Fake Plastic Fish …read more

When it comes to cutting boards many folks have those icky old plastic cutting boards laying around. These plastic monsters are made with non-renewable resources and it can be tough to find a recycling center who takes them; especially if you’ve got no clue about the type of plastic it’s made with.

Totally Bamboo Cutting Board Set
A better, more eco-friendly choice is wood. However, with wooden cutting boards often comes the safety concerns. Is is safe? Will bacteria settle down into the board? How can you safely clean it? Plastic doesn’t mean safer though – studies show that wood and plastic …read more

It doesn’t make sense to buy organic food and then cut it up on a planet harming cutting board. Plastic cutting boards of the past are made with petroleum products – a non-renewable resource plus can deposit little plastic bits into your food (look at a plastic cutting board after you use it!) There are better, longer lasting, more earth friendly options in cutting boards nowadays.

1. The Bamboo Cutting Board Set is one of my favorite eco-cutting board sets because it comes with both silicone flexible boards for ease of food transfer but also comes with a pretty and durable …read more

Cloth napkins. They are a step up from paper, aren’t they?  A little bit fancy, a whole greener, fabric napkins are a good kitchen investment.
Here’s a cute set of 4 cloth napkins from WeeBeaks Etsy shop. They are a festive 2-tone pink batik, that is washer/dryer safe, but skip the bleach if you want to keep them bright. They measure 14 inches square or 35.5 cm.

Cotton Candy Swirls Batick Cloth Napkins, Set of 4
$15.00
Check out WeeBeak’s shop for more colors and patterns. 
Image credit: WeeBeak at Etsy.com

If you’re looking to create a more sustainable kitchen then there are some must have green kitchen tools and eco-gear you’ll need.

1. Decent vegetarian cookbook: A diet with less meat is important if your goal is green living. Meat can take a toll on the environment and your body. You don’t need to go totally vegetarian or vegan, but you should incorporate a few meatless meals a week. My favorite veggie cookbook (which actually has some fish in it, so it’s not totally veggie) is Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. The recipes don’t taste low-fat at all. In fact, the entire …read more

Sunset Magazine has a wonderful slideshow featuring 17 different and beautiful earth-friendly options for your countertops.  They write: “High style meets sustainable living: find an eco option for every kitchen”

Choosing safe and green kitchenware and dishes is a HUGE topic. Because each type of cookware and dish comes with its own set of concerns (both safety-wise and eco-wise) watch for later posts where I’ll break each type of kitchen item down specifically.

However, for today here are some general tips about kitchenware and dish safety…

The best green dishes are made with recycled and or sustainable materials but that doesn’t always indicate perfect safety. Make sure you look at the whole picture before buying a set of dishes.
Glass dishes, stoneware, and ceramic dishes made in the U.S. are three of the …read more

Emeril Lagasse may have had a little extra free time on his hands of late due to the cancellation of Emeril Live.  It seems though that he has moved on and has embraced going green, healthy living and a new fledgling network.
Emeril’s new show, Emeril Green, begins airing in June of this year.  As all good chefs, Emeril loves working with fresh ingredients.  Emeril will show you how to shop for and utilize organic foods while keeping it healthy for you and your family.
From Well Fed Network:
The man who once told Bobby Flay “I have my own food pyramid” as …read more

There are so many ways to go green in your kitchen.  Probably one of the easiest is to recycle.  We all go through so much waste in the kitchen and so much of it is recyclable…glass, plastic and aluminum to name just a few.
Rebecca over at Mother’s Earth’s Garden writes about the Confessions of a Non-Recycler and a neat gadget to make recycling that much easier.