Ready for your non-toxic kitchen? Good! Not too long ago we talked about making our bathrooms toxic free. Since the kitchen is the central hub of any home, it’s important that this room be a safe and clean environment. Taking the steps to making your kitchen toxic free is a good idea for anyone interested in healthy living.
3 Steps for a Non-Toxic Kitchen
1. Ditch the toxic cleaning products
Just like any room in the house, the products we use to clean, deodorize, and polish do find their way into our bodies, soil, water, and world. Have you ever looked at some of the products you use on your counter only to notice a warning notice that it shouldn’t be used where food will directly go? Um…. red flag.
But just like in our bathroom series, the ingredients you really need to clean are super simple and cost effective.
The solutions:
- Make your own AP Cleaner (you know, the same one you already made for your bathroom)
- Make your own glass cleaner (for windows, mirrors, or glass tabletops)
- Make your own floor cleaner
- Make your own dishwashing detergent
The main players:
Vinegar (Apple Cider or White Distilled)
Washing Soda
Baking Soda
Citric Acid
Essential Oils (learn how to get my favorite essential oils at wholesale prices here.)
And don’t forget the power of lemon! Check out this post for lots of ways to use lemons to deodorize and clean.
Safe product solutions:
I personally don’t make a lot of my own products anymore. With two kids and a full-time business I just don’t have the time. If you’re like me, then I encourage you to support companies dedicated to safer homes. For me, I use Young Living’s Thieves cleaner. Not only is it natural and safe, but it’s super economical. One of their bottles of concentrate (14.4 oz) is equal to 29 16-oz. bottles of home cleaner. TWENTY NINE!
For an ever bigger bang for your buck, I bought the Thieves Premium Starter Kit. It literally replaced a majority of my toxic bathroom products. I’m saving money, saving time, and lovin’ the clean I get from these products. (You can see what’s included in the Thieves Starter kit here.)
This is a simple first step toward a non-toxic kitchen.
2. Ditch the toxic cookware
Unfortunately, so much of the cookware sold today isn’t really very good for you. Things like Teflon and other chemicals coated on cookware can leach into our food… and the result is bad. And it’s shame because there are safer alternatives… many of which are really inexpensive and last a whole lot longer.
Evidence is piling up that emissions from the production of synthetic compounds in non-stick cookware, cleaning products, and a host of other common products may cause cancer and other health problems. (source)
Solutions:
- Stainless steel pots and pans are toxic-free and great for making rice, pasta, soups, stews, and the like (Find them online here).
- Cast iron cookware is cheap, toxic-free, and will last a life time. (Find my favorite skillets online here. Make sure to get these accessories to get your going: a handle cover, straight edge spatula, and a scraper. Learn how to care for your cast iron here.)
- Stainless steel muffin pans, baking sheets, etc. are a great alternative to teflon. (Find them online here and here.)
3. Ditch the toxic food
Okay, now for the big one that often gets neglected when thinking about a non-toxic kitchen: Toxic Food. What is toxic food? Well, “toxins” are considered poisons. So toxic food is anything that can be poisonous to the body. For me that means most of what the groceries stores sell as “food.” I try not to go crazy and don’t stress about having a “perfect” diet, but I do my best to nourish my body with real food.
Solutions:
- Replace GMO and pesticide-laden foods with organic.
- Replace processed foods full of artificial ingredients, preservatives, or other synthetic ingredients with real food, made with your own hands.
Of course if you don’t know where to start I’d highly recommend checking out my newest ebook, Processed Free. It’s the guide to help you learn about real toxic food and, better yet, how to switch over to the good stuff without stress and worry. Learn more here.
Your Non-Toxic Kitchen: Progress not perfection.
Just a friendly reminder, any step in the right direction is better than doing nothing at all. Slow and steady progress is the key to long lasting changes toward a non-toxic kitchen. Start with one step, break it down into doable actions, proceed forward and then remember to look back and see how far you’ve come!
What do you think? What would you add to making your kitchen non-toxic?
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