What cookware is safe?

After receiving many “Eco” pots and pans this Christmas I wanted to do some research about their safety.  While many things are labeled environmentally friendly these days I wanted to see what I could really find out about them. 

• Silicone:  I saw my mother-in-law using these bake sheets and they just seemed so much like plastic I was sure that there had to be some toxins involved.  Surprisingly I couldn’t find any information that they are bad for you to cook with.  Silicone rubber is chemically inert which means no toxins or gases should be emitted from it.  They are derived from sand and oxygen molecules and is non toxic to soil and aquatic organisms.  It can be recycled as well but supposedly it lasts forever so even a frequent baker can reuse these thousands of times. 
• Stainless Steel:  This is actually a combination of metals and there is a possibility of them leaching into foods if your cookware is dinged or scratched.  Experts say even then the amount of metal is negligible but if you don’t want to take any chances then check them frequently to make sure they are in good shape.
• Cast Iron Cookware:  Sources agree that the iron does leach into your foods especially if its a long cooking dish like a stew or soup.  I have read that it can make your food take on a metallic taste (ewww!).   The FDA says iron is a healthy food additive but as we all know you can’t always trust the FDA to give you the full story.  I think I will stick to a multi-vitamin for my iron and leave the cast iron to my wood burning stove for potpourri!  Oh, if you do cook with it you have to season it after every use so that can get tedious.
• Teflon:  Here again it depends who you talk to.  Experts and the EPA say that Teflon is harmless and small amounts that may flake off into food do not cause any health risks.  But with so many other choices on the market I wonder if its worth even taking the chance.  Factory workers have supposedly gotten sick so it would seem that they might not be the healthiest choice to cook with.
• GreenPan:  I got this pan as a gift from one of my family that knows how into green things I am.  It contains no PFTE and supposedly their production methods create 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  I have to say the pan is a great alternative to Teflon, its easy to clean and not even burnt cheese sticks to it. 
• Glass:  Always an Eco favorite it is completely inert so there is no leaching of chemicals at all.  Its great for storing and reheating food in.   Its also affordable so I think its a great choice for baking and casseroles.

So hope this helps if you are confused about what in your kitchen is truly Eco-friendly.  Also remember to buy made in the USA!  Pyrex glass, Lodge cast iron cookware, and Calphalon are all still made in the USA.  Enjoy!

www.theorganicmommy.org

 

Paycheck to paycheck organic

 These are my top five ways I have found to live more green and save some green.

1.  Stop buying expensive cleaning supplies for your house.  All you need is this all natural multi-purpose cleaner.  I use it for everything in the bathroom and kitchen and love it!  2 cups water, 1 cup white vinegar, and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide.  Safe to use around kids (great for the highchair tray) and pets.

2.  Compost your food scraps.  I just started composting a few weeks ago.  I always felt ok about throwing away food thinking that its biodegradable and that it wouldn’t affect the environment.  Duh!  If you put food in plastic bags then it doesn’t break down quickly and releases gases harmful to the environment.  I got a stainless steel pail with a lid that I keep right next to my kitchen sink.  It looks fancy so you would never guess its a compost pail.  It holds about two days of food scraps and then I take it out back to my compost garbage pail.  I took a regular garbage pail with lid that secures, drilled rows of holes in it and voila.  I add dried leaves and grass clippings as well as all the food scraps, coffee grinds, and egg shells.   Since I have to pay for garbage pickup it makes sense to have less of it and it saves me more trips out to the garbage pails. 

3.  Organic goodnight.  I always wanted to have all organic cotton bedding and sheets but could never afford it.  Its just so expensive.  So instead I decided a more budget friendly alternative would  be to buy organic cotton pj’s so at least my skin is covered in organic cotton even if my sheets cant be.  They are still a little expensive but for a tank and pj bottom it would be around $35 and the organic bedding is hundreds.

4. Reuse and recycle.  I always try to save furniture and old bedding because you can do so much with it.  Especially when you have kids its great to repurpose an old lamp into a fun kid lamp with a few accessories from the craft store.  I looked at the fabric clearance table the other day and I got two yards of “thomas the train” fabric for $4 total.  I had two old picture frames that I used to frame the fabric and now my son has two large framed thomas pictures for $4!

5.  Spend organic smart.  I know I’ve said it alot but if you have to stick to a budget then use your money wisely to get the most organic bang for your buck.  Buy dairy, meat, and fruits and veggies that are high in pesticide organically.  I always buy strawberries, peaches, apples, peppers, spinach, and potatoes organic.  I rarely buy organic onions, blueberries, or watermelon because they are very low in pesticides. 

Post some of your favorite budget organic tips!

www.theorganicmommy.org

 

Do you know how important bees are?

I have to admit that lately I am a little addicted to the Burts Bees line of products.  They are a little pricey but so far I think they are worth every penny.  I love the baby wash, sunscreen, and all natural mosquito repellant.  Anyway, my point is that some info on their website made me realize just how important the honeybee really is. 

Did you know that every third bite of food that you eat depends on bees for pollination?  Already we are hearing about food shortages so can you imagine if we lost 30% of the fruit and vegeatable plants that we rely on to feed our families?  You may have heard about the Colony Collapse Disorder that is affecting bees in recent years; it is a mysterious dissapearance of the honeybee that can be linked to habitat destruction, misuse of pesticides, invasive species and global warming. 

So what can be done to help?  First you can plant wildflower seeds in your yard that might attract honeybees.   They especially like the following:  Calendula, Daisy, Purple Coneflower, Sunflowers and Sweet William Catchfly.  Also they thrive in organic farms with fruit and veggie plants free of pesticides. 

You can also buy local honey.  It will taste better because it isnt mistreated to have a long shelf life so it will taste more floral.    Also you are keeping trucks off the road and supporting local beekeepers so they can continue to help bees and polination.

Honeybees have been on this earth for 25 million years so lets not let them die off now!  Plant something in your garden just for them and maybe even look into beekeeping.  Its supposed to be an interesting hobby and you get to eat your own honey!

 

www.theorganicmommy.org

 

Receipe for Natural All-Purpose Cleaner

I was watching Planet Green last night and saw this receipe for an all natural cleaner that you can use on almost anything to disinfect and clean.  Mix it in a spray bottle and go….its safe to use around kids and pets.  I used it this weekend and its amazing, no nasty fumes to deal with and my shower and stove have never looked so clean!  Just wanted to share it if your interested.  Enjoy!

2 cups water

1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

1 cup white vinegar

www.theorganicmommy.org

 

Being winter green…no more oil!

Five years ago my husband and I bought our home together in Wantage NJ.  Those of you not familiar with NJ might think that it is one big turnpike with factories spewing out toxins into the air.  There is a small part of NJ that looks like that and unfortunately the entire state gets a bad rap for it.  But there is a reason that its called the Garden State and I believe that is found no where more than in Sussex County where I live.  We have woods all around our yard that is a little over 1/2 acre and a family of groundhogs that live under the shed.  There are many farms around us which is becoming a rare site in NJ these days.  We live on a lake and have beautiful views year round. 

The only bad side is our house is a small bungalow that needed lots of fixing up, and five years later we still have quite a to-do list….I say “we” meaning my husband.  But one of the best investments we made was to buy a wood burning stove to heat our home.  Its a small home so the stove heats it up more than enough, in fact there are quite a few nights in the winter we are sitting in tank tops because it went all day and was so hot!   

When I went out on maternity leave and had our son in January of 2007, we went from a two income family to one.  NJ is one of the highest for auto insurance and taxes so we knew we would have to adjust to less money.  Since I was home all day we decided to try to heat our home mainly on the stove for the first time.  With a tank of oil costing us over $600 it seemed like a nice addition to our newly frugal lifestyle.  My husband got wood from a lot that our friend’s parents had cleared for a new structure.  It worked out great and last year we only went through one tank of oil instead of our usual four-five tanks per season. 

This year in 2008 winter we plan to do all wood burning with no oil at all.  We are not sure if it will work totally but we are willing to try.  I hate supporting the oil industry anyway and it feels good to heat your home and know you aren’t contributing to them.  I love walking outside in the snow and smelling that burnt wood smell in the morning air. 

We plan on using a space heater for a few hours a day if needed to keep our pipes in the basement from freezing.  I will let you know how it all turns out in the end.  If you don’t have a wood burning stove then you should consider it for your home.  Its the best of living frugal, green, and warm!

www.theorganicmommy.org

7-15-08  Let me just add for anyone concerned about cutting down trees that we have not cut down any live trees in the four years we have used a wood burning stove.  If you don’t know anyone that has wood they are getting rid of then there are many options.  The state park by our house lets you buy a permit for $15 and you can go there and load up as many fallen trees and wood as you can put in your truck.  It helps clear the paths at the park and help new growth develop so its win win.  Also my husband works by the city and since many people outside the city don’t have wood burning stoves when a tree is cut down because its dead or whatever the situation, many times they are thrilled to get rid of it for free and give it to us as long as we haul it away.  In the small amount of woods on our property there are always fallen trees that have died or fallen from a storm.  Each year we can get quite a bit of wood from just clearing the fallen debris from our property. 

I think choosing wood burning over oil or propane is still a greener choice and affordable.  I would love to have geothermal or solar energy heating my home but I don’t have thousands to put out for that right now.  Maybe some day in the future I can hope!

 

How to have a clean and green home

A toxic-free home sounds like something we would all like right?  Well if you contain a cabinet in your home that contains cleaning products then most likely you have several toxic chemicals right in your kitchen.  Most cleaning products you find in stores contain ingredients that can be harmful to your health.  Now you might think that since you aren’t sitting over the container breathing in the fumes that it wont matter but this may not be the case.  As with so many other situations where chemicals and humans are concerned there is not enough testing and information regarding safe levels and exposure over the long term. 

There are some perfectly natural cleaners that you probably already have in your kitchen.  Baking Soda is great for absorbing odors, loosening baked on foods from pans, and as a stain remover from ovens, tile, and more.  Make a paste of it by mixing baking soda and liquid soap.  Hydrogen Peroxide is a gentle alternative to bleach because its oxidizing power works at sterilizing and stain removal.  Lemon juice can cut grease and remove tarnish from most metals except silver.  White Vinegar can help kill germs, deodorize, remove carpet stains, clean coffee makers, counter tops and floors.  The smell takes some getting used to but at least you don’t get dizzy from it like some cleaners.  Mix the vinegar with water in a 50/50 ratio. 

 Remember that cleaning products may not have to reveal all their ingredients.  Though they are regulated some ingredients are considered “trade secrets” and government regulations are designed to protect this information.  Obviously be wary of any products labeled with words like danger, warning, or caution.  Maybe its worth trying these simple cleaning solutions and see how they work in your home.

 Some tips for a cleaner greener home:

1.  Let the fresh air in.  The EPA says that the air inside the average home is 2-5 times more polluted than air outside.  So open up those windows on a nice breezy day!

2.  Take care of your house plants.  They naturally filter air and provide oxygen. 

3.  Carpets can be extremely high in toxic chemicals.  The carpet, padding, and the glue that holds it down can all give off toxic fumes as they age.  The newer the carpet the worse it is.  Try to choose rugs made from natural materials such as cotton or sisal rugs. 

4.  Take care in your personal care products.  Purchase natural shampoos, body washes, and soaps that don’t contain harmful chemicals.  Beware of false labeling in this are, just because the shampoo says its natural doesn’t mean it is free of toxic chemicals.  For more info please see my article under family safety titled Harmful Products in your Shampoo?

5.  Make sure toys are not toxic.  Beware of plastic toys that contain PVC plastics as they can leach toxic chemicals if chewed on or heated.   Wooden toys made without lead paint are good options.  Buy USA made and avoid toys made in china if possible.  Some good brands to look for are STEP 2 and HAZELNUT KIDS.  They may carry some toys from china but everything is clearly labeled so you can tell where its coming from. 

6.  To control allergies use pillow and mattress bags that help eliminate dust mites.  Make sure your filters in vacuums,furnaces, and air conditioners are cleaned regularly.

7.  Always use filtered water.  Tap,well water, and even some bottled water are not safe options anymore.  You just don’t know what is in them. 

8.  Try composting and gardening.  It cuts down on your trash and gives you back nutrient rich soil for your garden.  Even if you live in the city you can have a container garden and grow many veggies and herbs.

9.  Try to use natural products such as baking soda and vinegar instead of harsh chemical cleaners. 

10.  Eat organic foods that are free of pesticides and chemicals.

www.theorganicmommy.org