Thanksgiving can be the Greenest Time of Year

September starts the season for me, we kick it off with my daughter Juliette's birthday, then my wedding anniversary, my parents wedding anniversary onto Halloween, my Mother-in-Law's birthday then bam, Thanksgiving. My all time favorite holiday! It's about family, being cozy and most of all FOOD. It's not about consumerism, unless you count stuffing your face full of delicious that is.

Thanksgiving, while has a very different history than we are lead to believe (it wasn't all happy faces around a feast) it is taken on a very special meaning to many families in this country. Mine included. It is a time to come together, enjoy each other, eat delicious (and I mean delicious) food!

What better time of year to continue or start new eco-traditions. There are many ways to accomplish a green Thanksgiving. Here are some ways you can incorporate them into your family!

*Buy as many organic ingredients as possible, including your pantry staples (sugar & flour for example), vegetables, fruits, drinks (eco wine and small batch natural sodas like GUS!) and the bird itself

*Support local farmers by shopping at your local farmer's market, and if that's no possible ask at the grocery store what produce is locally grown, some even have them labeled

*Be creative in your decor, use items from nature, even better plants instead of cut flowers!

*If you don't already (and you really should be) use cloth napkins at Thanksgiving, they lend an elegance and personality to the table

*Make everything you can from scratch, you control the ingredients and there's less processing (less or no preservatives!)

*Eat ALL of the leftovers

*Invite friends over, share the bounty!

*If you can compost all scraps of food at the end of the night

*Skip the turkey! Much less of a headache! Cheaper too! There's so much good stuff to eat (I dare not call anything a "side"!)

*ENJOY eating in, saving gas and being with family!

Check out my favorite mouth watering foodie recipe blog Smitten Kitchen for lots of great recipes for your Thanksgiving including the delicious pictured Apple Pie!

(Image)