20 Plus Ways To Have A Tasty Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Meal

Obviously, not eating turkey for Thanksgiving would be very eco-friendly. Options like soy turkeys, vegetarian dishes or vegan dishes are wonderful options here, but what if your family is really committed to having that turkey? What if you can't change their minds and they insist it just is not Thanksgiving without turkey breast or turkey legs? You can still minimize your environmental impact by buying a grass-fed, free range and or organically raised turkey.

Also take note not to buy the biggest turkey you can find. Buy only what your family will eat for that day and maybe 1 day of left overs. After about two days of left overs people tend to stop eating left overs and food goes to waste.

Cut down on carbon emissions and buy your food locally. Visit a farmers market, healthy food stores or your local grocery store for local foods.

You bought local. Good for you! Can you buy organic too? If you can't don't worry about it, but if you can go for it. Because harmful chemicals are not used on organic foods organic foods are healthier, tastier and eco-friendly. So, if your pocket book allows shop for locally organic or pick one or the other: just organic or just local. Your entire meal doesn't have to be organic either, maybe just the vegetables or maybe just the fruits. You decide what is best for you and your family.

One of the best ways to reduce waste is to buy fresh. If you buy fresh there will be less or nothing to throw away. For example instead of having canned pumpkin for your pie make a pie from scratch from a fresh pumpkin. I guarantee you everyone will love it and want more.

What if your side dishes consist more of fresh foods too. For example, instead of prepackaged stuffing how about a fresh salad with fresh veggies and nuts. Or instead of jello try a yogurt fresh fruit salad with pecans instead. My family loves this dish and its healthy too. It is easy to make and not expensive at all.

If you must buy packaged and you know you will need a lot of it buy in bulk to cut down on packaging. Buying in bulk also saves you money if you use it a lot.

Once you begin chopping, peeling, cooking and so on make sure to leave out a bowl or container or bag to put your kitchen scraps in. Everything but dairy, meat and fat can go in this container. Once your container is full toss it in your compost bin. If you don't have a compost bin dig a hole in your yard or in your garden and dump the scraps there. In time they will decompose and leave behind rich dark black soil. If you have a bin don't forget to turn it. The more you turn it the faster the decomposition and the easier it is to keep any bugs or odors away.

Serve your Thanksgiving meal on your reusable china. It's prettier this way. Sure you will have to wash dishes but washing dishes is therapeutic (it is for me.....No I won't go to your house to wash dishes). If you hate washing dishes opt for eco-friendly disposable. There are plenty of options on the market today. Take a look at some of the options below.

To decorate your dinner table this year opt for eco-friendly decorations. They can be decorations you swaped with friends, or bought at a resale shop, or they can be the decorations you used last year for Thanksgiving. Whatever you do avoid buying new decorations this year. There is no need for it. Every year when I shop at resale shops I find an enormous amount of Holiday decorations waiting around to be used. Save money and help the environment by decorating second hand.

Truth is no matter how hard you try to reduce waste you will have some. So... recycle what you can. If your neighborhood doesn't have a curbside recycling program take your plastics and paper to a recycling bin at a school, church or other non-profit organization to help them raise funds for their cause. For the rest of the trash maybe you can figure out a way to reuse it. If you can't that's okay to. There are still plenty of ways to keep your feast eco-friendly.

With the oven and the stove on all day from cooking and the guest hovering around the kitchen and the dinner table snacking and chatting, your house will warm up fast. If you feel the need to turn on the AC wait. Consider opening the windows. Let some fresh autumn air come in. If the temperature is too cold maybe everyone's sweaters and jackets can come off if they haven't already. If it is still too hot, turn on the fans.