Non-toxic cooking is one of the best decisions you can make for your entire family and kitchen!
With chemicals lurking inside everything nowadays, from the food itself to your cookware and storage containers, it’s time to take things seriously.
Many studies show the adverse effects and long-term health conditions that can come from these. There’s no better time than right now to ditch those chemicals and go cleaner, healthier and non-toxic.
It’s Because You Care
You’re reading this article because you care. You care about creating a more natural space in your kitchen when the food you prepare and eat is safe and nourishing. You care about the lives around you and their quality of life.
I started to really think about the chemicals around me while pregnant with my first. There’s something about becoming a mother, about carrying a child that makes your momma bear come out in full force. All you can think about is protecting and giving them the best life possible.
I’ve always cared about nutrition, and I love learning more and more about how we can live healthier and happier lives just by what we decide to put at the end of our forks. But I was blissfully unaware of the chemicals I was exposing myself to day in and day out.
I was beside myself when I learned about how unhealthy non-stick pans were. Seriously!
Not only did I use non-stick, but they were all scratched up, which is even worse for you! I immediately ran into the kitchen, threw them all in a large garbage bag and tossed them in our outside trash can. Adios, good riddance.
I realized it was just about keeping my baby healthy — it was about keeping all of us healthy. Our entire family. That’s when it all changed for us. I grabbed every piece of information I could get my hands on and devoured it like a crazy woman.
Don’t worry — you don’t need to toss it all at once. I encourage you to make one change at a time as your schedule and budget allow. Find your rhythm. It adds up and makes a huge difference in time. Trust me.
Toxins Found in Typical Kitchens
Let’s take a quick look at a few toxins in the typical kitchen so you understand the importance of making these swaps.
- Bisphenol-A (BPA): This chemical’s found in plastic containers and bottles, and the worst part — it leaches into food.
- Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs): PFCs are found in non-stick cookware, microwave popcorn bags and some food packaging materials. When heated, they release toxic fumes.
- Phthalates: These chemicals are used in many plastic products, including food packaging and storage containers. They can leach into food and are known to disrupt hormone function.
- Pesticides: Pesticides are commonly used on fruits and vegetables, and residues can remain on the produce. It's essential to choose organic to avoid residue in your kitchen.
- Heavy Metals: From the fish you’re eating to the foil you wrap leftovers in, heavy metals can find their way into your food and cause some severe health issues.
It's important to be aware of these chemicals so you can take the steps needed to minimize their presence in your kitchen. So you’re one step closer to non-toxic cooking for you and your family.
Let’s dive into the three easiest and most impactful kitchen swaps you should make right away to help you along your non-toxic journey.
1. Swap Toxic Cleaners
I used to have an arsenal of cleaning supplies in my kitchen:
- Lysol disinfectant wipes
- Degreaser counter spray
- Bright blue dish soap
- Mr. Clean's multipurpose cleaner for my floors
Chemicals, everywhere!
We also need to touch on the “antibacterial” label on EVERYTHING. It’s not good for you. At all.
When you use antibacterial sanitizer, hand soap, cleaners, etc. — they’re stripping away the bad bacteria and the good as well. Over-sanitizing isn’t doing your immune system any good. If anything, it’s damaging it. Let’s dive into this deeper.
Dishes & Handwashing
You might believe you need antibacterial soaps, but the truth is you don’t. Antibacterial soaps are actually harming your skin microbiome and in turn, your immune system. You need good and bad bacteria — exposing yourself to some bad bacteria helps your body know how to fight them off.
When you use a good gentle cleanser and warm water, it gets rid of that bad bacteria without stripping your body of the good bacteria on your skin. This enables your body to fight off foreign invaders by staying strong.
Replace both your traditional dish soap & hand soap with Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap. Fill half of a hand soap bottle with soap and half with water. It’s gentle and effective and works great for dishwashing and handwashing alike.
Multipurpose Spray
Fill half of a glass spray bottle with vinegar and the other half with water. Bam. You now have your multipurpose cleaner. Spray your counters, your sink, all of it — just like you would with any other cleaner.
I’ll spray this solution on window or glass panes and use a paper towel drying in circles. Sparkly clean!
Cleaning Your Floors
When it comes to cleaning your kitchen floor, all you need to do is mix ½ a cup of vinegar and 1 gallon of warm water. It’s that easy. You’ll be amazed at how shiny and clean your floors look and feel. No weird residue and no chemicals absorbing into your skin.
Not a Fan of the Vinegar Smell?
Try infusing your vinegar with a few drops of essential oils like orange and/or lemon, or add a few clips of pine tree needs into a jar of vinegar to infuse that incredible aroma. It only takes about two weeks to sit in a cool place. Then you’ll have a pine-scented cleaner.
The best part about swapping to vinegar is you’re saving a big buck! Those other products are expensive, especially lately with inflation. Vinegar is cheap and easy to get anywhere.
2. Swap Your Cookware & Storage
When it comes to what you’re putting in your body, this is one of the most critical swaps you can make besides the actual food you’re purchasing.
Even then, you can buy organic foods, but if you put those veggies in a non-stick pan to saute, you’re just adding more chemicals than you could even begin to realize directly into your food. Yikes!
Pots & Pans
Replace all pots and pans (this includes muffin, cake and loaf pans) with cast iron, stainless steel or natural stoneware.
Teflon and other non-stick cookware contain PFAS chemicals that release into your food as they’re heated. PFAS has been linked to cancer, so this isn’t something to take lightly.
Plastic Storage Containers
Whether that plastic is room temperature, cold in the fridge, or warm in the microwave, it leaches into your food. There’s no debate about this — you’re going to get a higher dose if you heat it. So never heat leftovers in the microwave in a plastic storage container — ever!
Replace all plastic storage containers with glass or stainless steel containers. I love the glass sets with the bamboo lids. This way, not a bit of plastic is touching my food.
Kitchen Utensils
It’s time to chuck those plastic forks, knives, spoons, spatulas, tongs, ladles, etc. — in the trash. They don’t belong in your kitchen or anywhere near your food.
The same chemicals that leach from plastic containers and Teflon leach out of these utensils as well.
Replace all plastic utensils with stainless steel or natural wood. I love bamboo and olive wood. They don’t stain, and they’ve lasted forever.
3. Swap Conventional Cooking Oils
Still using canola and vegetable oil? What about grapeseed, sunflower or safflower oil?
Even soy, corn and cottonseed oil? Please hear me, friend: one of the most impactful things you can do for you and your family’s health is to stop using seed oils.
UNHEALTHY OILS:
- Canola
- Vegetable
- Cottonseed
- Grapeseed
- Sunflower
- Safflower
- Soy
- Corn
HEALTHY OILS:
- Olive Oil: Low/No Heat (up to 350℉)
- Unrefined Coconut Oil, Grass-fed Butter, Ghee, Tallow: Medium Heat (up to 400℉)
- Avocado Oil: High Heat (up to 500℉)
This is the simplest swap you can make with the most significant impact you’ll see in your health almost immediately!
Make the Swaps and Live a Healthier Life
Making your kitchen chemical-free is one of the easiest and best ways to take control of your health.
Ready to learn more about nutrition and the impact it makes on your overall quality of life?
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