No one likes to be stuck in a sweltering kitchen on a hot sunny day. When the weather is gorgeous, summer evenings should be spent outside, not slaving away over air-polluting kitchen appliances. A recent study from California has brought to light just how toxic kitchen appliances can be. Gas powered ovens were found to put a lot of dangerous chemicals into the air without homeowners being aware of it. Though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cracks down on industrial pollution, they don’t have an effective way to monitor pollution levels in the home environment, meaning that the levels of toxins that build up in well-used kitchens can reach staggeringly unsafe levels without families having a clue.

Don’t be a victim of your own home’s pollution. There are steps you can take right now to reduce your exposure to toxic indoor chemicals. One fantastic option is to occasionally move your cooking process to the backyard. Making your food outside can be an enjoyable, low-cost way to cook that’s as fun to do as the results are to eat. Best of all, these four techniques require no fuel source besides the sun and a little bit of firewood.

So step outside that sweaty kitchen, enjoy the outdoors, and have some fun experimenting with different ways to make dinner.

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