Turning off the gas and not turning on the oven doesn’t mean you’re eating badly, quite the opposite. Don’t you believe it? We prove it to you with this menu without cooking. On the other hand, due to the increases in gas and electricity prices in recent years – according to Legacoop and Ipsos – more than 6 out of 10 Italians have reduced electricity and gas consumption. And according to Coldiretti almost 1 in 5 Italians has drastically reduced the use of stoves, preferring alternative cooking methods or products that do not need to be cooked. It’s worth a try, right? We guarantee the result.

The 5 golden tips for saving energy in the kitchen

There are some precautions that you should absolutely adopt if you want to reduce your consumption. Here are the 5 fundamentals:

1. Choose low energy impact appliances.
2. Use the oven carefully: do not open it continuously, do not let it preheat for too long before inserting food and, if possible, cook several dishes at the same time on different shelves of the oven: the ventilated function allows cooking evenly on each shelf. You can also turn off the oven a few minutes before: the heat will remain high for a long time.
3. The microwave it is a valid alternative for some cooking methods, especially models with more advanced functions.
4. You have the air fryer? Make use of it. It reaches temperature quickly and due to the smaller size of the basket compared to the oven the food cooks more quickly.
5. And once the cooking is finished? Use the dishwasher always on the eco programmeif your model is equipped with it, e fully loaded.

What about gas?

There are also many ways to save on gas: use the pressure cookerwhich reduces cooking times, always bring the water to the boil with the pot closed with lid, choose passive cooking not only for pasta but also for many other foods – you can find everything in our article “Cooking with the heat off: not just pasta!”,

No-cook menu: from appetizer to dessert without consuming energy

Who knows how many of you turned up your nose at the idea of ​​a no-cook menu. Yet who knows how many times you have enjoyed a good carpaccio – of meat, but also fish -, a tartare or you have sunk your fork into a delicious salad. Of course, it may be more difficult for you to think of first courses without cooking, but we have the solution for that too. Did you know that pre-cooked couscous can be rehydrated even with the stove turned off?