Well, Halloween is over, and it is officially the start of the holiday season. Thanksgiving of course is the first in line. Food prep, baking, roasting, frying, and then the mess afterwards not only robs you of your energy, but also tends to rob your energy efficiency if you’re not careful. Not sure how it’s remotely possible to be energy efficient while preparing a holiday feast? Here’s a few tips:

• 1.Bird in a Bag – roasting your turkey in an oven-safe bag can reduce cooking times by up to 5 minutes per pound, which means less cook time, and less energy being used!

• 2.Breast Down – roasting your turkey with the breast facing down instead of the breast facing up may prevent that classic golden brown skin, but it will lock in the juices keeping your turkey breast juicy, and eliminate the need to open the oven and baste the bird! Every time you open your oven, heat escapes, creating the need for extra energy to reheat to get back up to temperature.

• 3.Wireless Meat Thermometer – investing in a wireless meat thermometer will prevent the need to open the oven to check the temperature of the bird and cooling down the oven.

• 4.Consolidation – try to cook more than one dish in the oven at a time to conserve energy not needing your oven on as long.

• 5.Slow Cookers – believe it or not, slow cookers, even though they take a lot longer to cook food, actually use less energy than the oven! Cook sides in the slow cookers – not only does it save energy but it’s a lot less effort for you!

• 6.Let it Cool – be sure to let your food cool down to room temperature before putting them in your refrigerator. This will lessen the energy your refrigerator will need to use to get back down to temperature.

Everyone loves the concept of holidays – family, food, friends and laughs! Don’t let the holidays get in the way of an affordable energy bill this year!