September 13 is National Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day, which is a great opportunity to teach them about ways to be energy efficient when cooking.

Some of our favorite tips are:
Microwaves use less energy than regular ovens, so consider using it instead. Plus, microwave ovens don’t heat up your house and make your air conditioner work harder.

If you are using a regular oven, don’t keep opening the door to check on the food. Opening the door lets warm air out, and your oven has to work harder to get the temperature back up.

Also, try to get all your ingredients out of the refrigerator at once. If you keep opening the refrigerator door, it has to work harder to get the temperature back down.

Keeping pots and pans covered keeps heat from escaping so you use less energy.

If you need to boil water, use a kettle. It’s more energy efficient that the stove.

Turn off the heat a couple of minutes earlier than what the recipe states. The residual heat will continue to cook the food (especially if using an electric stove, which takes longer to cool down).

Don’t put leftovers immediately in the refrigerator. Let them cool down on the counter for a while so your refrigerator doesn’t have to work harder to cool them.

And when you’re doing the dishes, make sure the dishwasher is completely full before you run it.