Food Network Magazine's 2023 Green List
The results are in: Here are our favorite new eco-friendly products of the year!
If being more environmentally conscious is a personal goal for you in 2023, then you already know that making small everyday changes can go a really long way. Whether you've already replaced plastic sandwich bags with silicone ones like these, or you've started composting veggies and other food scraps, steps like these can make a really big impact on eliminating food waste, conserving water use and lowering your carbon emissions. If you're looking for even more ways to make your kitchen greener, Food Network Magazine is here to help! As part of their brand-new issue, editors tracked down 20 of the best eco-friendly products worthy of a spot in your refrigerator, pantry and kitchen countertop. From edible spoons to trivets made from recycled tires, here are the publication's picks for the greenest buys of 2023.
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1. Fresher Lettuce
Most produce takes up to a week to get from field to market, but Revol Greens can deliver its lettuce to stores within 24 hours of harvest. That means a longer shelf life, less waste — and tastier salads.
2. Upcycled Boards
What does this wood board (pictured above) have in common with Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney? It’s made by a company started by Taylor Guitars (a go-to for A-list musicians) using ebony left over from crafting instruments.
3. Food You Can Rescue
Grocery stores throw away 30% of their stock every year. To the rescue: Flashfood, an app where you can browse discounted fresh foods nearing their best-by date and pick them up at the store. The app added more than 300 locations in the past year.
4. Grains for Good
Fonio, a grain cultivated in West Africa for centuries, has become an environmental superstar. It requires significantly less water to grow than wheat or rice, and it has a satisfyingly rich, nutty taste to boot. Yolélé makes fonio pilafs in five flavors.
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5. Milk with a Mission
Production of food from cows accounts for 10% of global greenhouse emissions, and Neutral, America’s first carbon-neutral food company, wants to fix that. The company’s organic milks, which recently made their way into Target and Sprouts, come from dairy farmers who are actively working to offset their carbon footprint.
6. Reusable Paper Towels
Made of cellulose and cotton, each of these handy towels replaces 17 rolls of paper towels and their packaging, and they’re 20 times more absorbent. This version (pictured above) gets rave reviews for being sturdy — and cute. To get a set of your own, check out papayareusables.com.
7. Eco-Fine Wine
Bottled wine looks fancier than the boxed kind, but shipping heavy glass bottles isn’t exactly earth-friendly. This hot-selling newcomer (pictured above) holds four bottles of wine in a recycled cardboard carton. Once opened, the wine stays fresh for six weeks.
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8. Not-Plastic Wrap
Landfills are full of discarded potatoes that weren’t pretty enough to be made into chips. But now potato rejects are getting a new life — as a cling film called Great Wrap. It’s made from potato starch and used cooking oil, and it’s fully compostable.
9. Bacon from the Sea
Seaweed is one of the most sustainable sources of protein on the planet, and Shark Tank darling Umaro Foods has figured out how to turn it into vegan bacon. Unlike other wannabes, it’s nearly as crispy, meaty and smoky as the real deal. Expect to see it in stores this spring. Find a location serving the bacon at umarofoods.com.
Photograph by Philip Friedman
10. Compostable Tea Bags
Paper tea bags aren’t always biodegradable because of the glue that seals their edges. But new bags from Young Mountain Tea are made from sugarcane and break down into organic matter.
11. Nice Spices
Diaspora Co. has become a go-to for chefs, who love the brand’s fragrant spices — and its mission. The company sources ingredients from organic family farms in South Asia and encourages regenerative farming and fair trade.
12. Next-Level Leftovers
To help home cooks reduce food waste, chef Tamar Adler’s new book, The Everlasting Meal Cookbook, offers up 3,500-plus recipes and tips for leftovers, like turning lasagna into a stew and making dumplings from mashed potatoes.
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13. Easy Herbs
You can now be a little smarter about growing herbs inside: AeroGarden has upped its game with an LED lamp that you can control from your phone. Just stick the lamp into the pot and adjust the four light modes through the app.
14. Better Pods
Nespresso has been running a recycling program for their coffee pods for years, but now the company is going even greener and planning to make Vertuo capsules from 85 percent recycled aluminum in 2023. Compostable paper pods will be coming soon.
15. Trivets from Tires
Designer Arielle Assouline-Lichten had an "aha!" moment as she considered recycled rubber samples for a gym project. Now her company, Slash Objects, creates colorful trivets, coasters and place mats from some of the 300 million tires Americans discard every year.
16. Edible Spoons
Why send utensils to a plastic wasteland when you can eat your ice cream with an edible vanilla-flavored spoon? Ice cream shops around the country now offer Incredible Eats spoons, made sturdy with wheat and oats. Up next: edible chopsticks.
17. Durable Scrubbies
Instead of throwing away kitchen sponges every couple of weeks, opt for a colorful crocheted scrubby. These scrubbies, from Etsy seller ADH Crafted, are made from the heavy-duty materials nylon yarn and hemp, and they last for months. You can even toss them in the dishwasher!
18. Mini Composter
You know a composter is state of the art when the Museum of Modern Art sells it. Pela’s new countertop one, the Lomi, is toaster-size, easy to use and transforms scraps into compost in under five hours.
19. Cookies for Climate Change
In the spirit of using every last bit of food waste, Renewal Mill has created baking mixes and almond and oat flours made of pulp left over from the production of plant-based milks. It’s tastier than it sounds!
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20. The Mighty Mason Jars
A century and a half after mason jars first appeared, they’re in high demand again — for making overnight oats and serving fun cocktails, among other uses. Why do we love them? They’re nearly indestructible, they’re resistant to absorbing odors from food and drinks, and best of all, they’re less than a buck each! For these reasons and others, they get our Lifetime Achievement award!!!
HGTV's Green Home Finds
Check out a few highlights from HGTV Magazine’s 2023 Green List!
Reliable Rugs
Cold Picnic makes rugs using solar-powered weaving machines — and they’re toxin-free.
Fabric-Scrap Napkins
These napkins are made from materials salvaged from L.A.’s garment district.
Recycled-Glass Vase
Ikea melts leftover glass from the production floor to create vases like this 10-inch beauty.
Pillows from Remnants
The knitwear company Verloop turns excess yarn into fun home products, like these colorful pillows.
Story Credits:
Story Introduction written by Michelle Baricevic for FoodNetwork.com.
Story produced and story captions written by Kate Franke, Kelsey Hurwitz, Carol Lee and Monica Michael Willis for Food Network Magazine.
Baby lettuce, cellophane, basil plant and mason jar images courtesy of Getty Images.
Milk glass image courtesy of Alamy.
Tea bag, pillow, rug, fabric-scrap napkins and vase images by Philip Friedman.
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