Green Your Holiday Meals: All Those Leftovers

Working up a menu for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or any of the other upcoming winter holidays? This week’s tips will help you be environmentally responsible while planning that feast.

Tip #3: Do Right With What’s Left

If there’s one thing synonymous with American holidays, it’s lots and lots of leftovers. So what to do with yours? If there’s a food bank or homeless shelter in your region that takes prepared foods, you can bring ‘em there. If not, you can turn your leftovers into other meals, including soup or sandwiches; mashed potatoes can become a breakfast hash.

Whatever becomes of your grub, you can also deal with those licked-clean dishes in responsible ways: A full load in the dishwasher is greener than washing them by hand, especially if you skip the drying cycle.

Tell us: How do you deal with leftovers and dirty dishes after a big holiday meal?

PLEASE NOTE: In observance of Thanksgiving, the Sierra Club’s offices will be closed for the rest of the week. We'll be back with new posts on Nov. 30. In the meantime, you can peruse our archives for a wealth of green-living tips.