Barbeque month!

Did you know that May is BBQ month? Well now you do! I guess here in America Memorial Day (last Monday in May) formerly kicks off BBQ season (usually lasting till Labor Day in September) but who knew there was a specific month set aside as BBQ month? If you care about the environment though how do you make your cook-outs eco-friendly?

The Grill
If you can borrow a bbq for your cookout rather than buy new, or purchase one second hand. Now is also a good time to scour Freecycle and Craigslist for freebies as people upgrade their old BBQs for the newer models. Sure the used ones may not be in the best condition, but a little TLC and elbow grease usually brings them looking spic and span in no time. If you haven’t tried solar cooking Summer is a great time to start! There are many commercially available solar ovens online but you could make your own with a little ingenuity and a youtube video. Solar afterall just hardnesses the power of the sun! What’s more eco-friendly than that? Look at solar first, then natural gas, then propane or electric and finally charcoal. If you must use a charcoal style grill instead of charcoal briquettes look for eco-friendly alternatives. Some
stores are now selling BBQ supplies made from Coconut Shells.

The Food
Buy organic pasture raised meat for an eco-friendly impact. Try to buy organic ingredients all round including buns, produce and drinks. Avoid HCFS, and additives or avoid the supermarket altogether and head to the farmers market for produce and bake your own buns. Don’t buy too much! Remember REDUCE is better than recycling or reusing. One of the biggest problems in America is food waste, don’t add to the problem by buying too much for your cook out event

The Rest
Instead of paper plates, opt for reusable plates, glasses and real cutlery. If you have bottled and canned drinks provide a clearly marked recycling recepticle. If fabric napkins, and real plates etc are not an option then choose biodegradable, unbleached or recycled paperwares and simply throw them on the compost pile or recycle afterwards. Food scraps (non meat) can be placed in the compost bin too.

dalgal | My Bio & Articles