Go Local: Keep the location in mind when you select a venue for your meal. Choose a spot that’s close to home to minimize driving. If possible, walk, take public transportation, or ride your bike and you will save time, money, and traffic/parking frustration.

Eat Your Greens: Patronize restaurants that use local and organic foods in their selections.

Check with your favorite restaurant to find out if they incorporate healthier “green” foods into their recipes. Check out the Eat Well Guide for a list of restaurants that use local, sustainable ingredients.

Go Veggie: If you have a choice, go for a vegetarian selection. A vegetarian meal is better for your health and that of the environment, and it is often one of the cheaper items on the menu. And it may just give you a creative new meal idea to try at home.

B.Y.O.P (Bring Your Own Place Setting) Sometimes you can’t always control where you will be eating. If you know you will be headed to a restaurant that uses paper napkins or plastic silverware, consider bringing your own reusable napkins and silverware from home to minimize waste. Sure, you may get a few odd looks. But any parent who has ever taken their child to a restaurant should be used to these looks by now.

Greener Take Out: If you decide to abandon the restaurant setting and get your order to go, ask that your food be packaged in as few boxes/bags as possible. Also ask the restaurant to forgo the usual wad of napkins, plastic utensils, and unnecessary condiments.

]]> http://www.thegreenparent.com/2008/01/18/eating-out-how-to-green-your-dinner/feed/ 10 http://www.thegreenparent.com/2007/10/15/hold-the-beef/ http://www.thegreenparent.com/2007/10/15/hold-the-beef/#comments Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:56:00 +0000 Jenn Savedge http://www.thegreenparent.com/?p=54
Skip the beef at dinner tonight and opt for a veggie meal instead. A vegetarian diet is not only healthier for you, it is also better for the environment. The production of beef makes more of an impact on the environment than any other type of food. According to a report produced by the World Wildlife Fund, more pasture is used for cattle than all other domesticated animals and crops combined. Cattle also eat an increasing proportion of grain produced from agriculture, are one of the most significant contributors to water pollution, and are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The average American eats roughly 4 servings of beef each week. So hold the beef at dinner tonight and you can reduce your environmental impact by 25%.

Now, I know it can be difficult enough to get your kids to eat veggies as a side dish. If you tell them their dinner is “vegetarian,” you risk an all-out mutiny. But it’s easier than you think to pull off a vegetarian meal. Cheese pizza is popular with kids of all ages, and the same goes for mac and cheese, bean burritos, or spaghetti with a yummy marinara.

If dinner is a hit and you decide to take things one step further, consider taking PETA’s “Pledge To Be Veg” for 30 days. Sign up at their website and they’ll send you an email loaded with recipes and tips for going veggie. Check out their “Chew On This” video below for 30 reasons to go vegetarian. (Please note…THIS VIDEO IS VERY GRAPHIC. IT IS NOT FOR CHILDREN OR FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.)

Watch more videos at PETA.org