This might not be exactly green, as in a solar powered cooker or anything and it takes a bit of time. However with the smoker I am saving money, cooking stuff for multiple meals, and getting fresh air.
First my smoker, it is a Bradley Digital 4- Rack Smoker, it is well insulated and thus can be used in just about any weather (I haven’t checked the power usage yet with my Kill-A-Watt). It has a separate timer for smoke and another for heat. So you can ran the smoke generation for a limited time and then keep on cooking. You can run the smoker all the way up to 360 degrees, making it easy to cook (almost bake) anything. The smoker part requires Bradley’s bisquettes, which are pressed wood that come in various types (9 to be exact). The good news is they are not that expensive, you get a box of 48 (or 120), each bisquette is good for 20 minutes of smoke, plus they are made from pressed wood chips, so no fancy chemicals or chunks of wood.
As for the savings, the last time I went to my favorite BBQ place, I put out a lot of cash. The normal guideline for ordering there is 1/4 lb of meat for a sandwich or a 1/2 lb per person for a plate. I ordered 2 1/2lbs of Bisquette, plus 1lb of turkey, 3 hot links, and then 1 quart of potato salad and a quart of cream corn. There are 3 adults in my house, plus my daughter (who likes eats some turkey and loves the corn) and I was expecting my brother in-law and his wife to stay for dinner (they live just down the street), they didn’t so we had some leftovers for the next copy of days. However this order of food (even with a free half loaf of bread one large bottle of BBQ sauce) came to just a bit over $80.
If I pick up my own pork roast, I can get a nice size one for amount $30, which I did for Easter. The roast provided a meal for 5 adults, plus we had leftovers for the next couple of days, and the meat is good in other dishes, like chopped up with eggs for breakfast, an awesome hamburger helper (use the smoked meat in place of hamburger), or pulse it in the food processor for pulled pork sandwiches. I have a wireless BBQ Thermometer, in the roast that beeps when it reaches the temperature I want, so I am not running in and out all-day checking the smoker, just the occasion check.
All these things together means a relaxing afternoon of cooking that provides food for half the week. Plus if I cook the roast myself, I have control over the spices and salt content, so I am saving money and have better control of what I am eating, and I making multiple meals with one roast saving time. Plus I am cooking outside, so I am not adding extra heat to the house and I get some fresh air in the process.
The smoker comes with recipes, but I didn’t find them that impressive, I recommend the book Smoke and Spice, which includes recipes for all types of meat and vegetables, I often smoke onions and garlic (which rock) and I share them with my Vegan friends. Plus I found brining Pork (soaking in 8 cups of water with 1/2 cup of salt) helps a lot with moisture. To date, I have cooked pork roast & ribs, some beef, chicken, turkey, fish, and some vegetables and loved every minutes of the process and the food.
Smoker
http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Digital-4-Rack-Smoker/dp/B000FJZ150/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1239724768&sr=1-14
http://www.bradleysmoker.com/
Wireless Thermometer (one model)
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-RediChek-Remote-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B0000DIU49/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1239725342&sr=1-3
Great Smoking Guide
http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=pd_sim_hg_4
I am looking into a solar cooker in the future.