Non-Toxic Kitchen Supplies
Confused about what materials and supplies truly make a nontoxic kitchen?
It’s no surprise! With lots of fancy (& expensive) brands claiming to be non-toxic, it’s hard to know what to buy and easy to assume whatever it is has to be pricey.
Whenever we consider converting our home, kitchen, etc to a non-toxic haven, it can easily include feelings of overwhelm over cost, time investment, etc.
My encouragement? Pick ONE thing at a time.
You also don't HAVE to spend an arm and a leg on fancy products - in fact, most of my most-loved kitchen finds are relatively affordable in terms of cost per use!
Here are a few of my favorite materials and products you can find in my own kitchen!
And a last note - don't take this as pressure to turn around and buy it all - bookmark it to reference when you have the capacity!! This entire list was built over a matter of years!
Stainless Steel
I highly underestimated stainless steel for too long, mostly because I didn't understand the basics of making it actually non-stick!
For a stovetop pan, it's really super simple - heat it on low-medium for a few minutes until you can flick water on it and it “dances” - it doesn't evaporate right away but sort of skirts around like it's having a party (my kids LOVE doing this!).
My favorite day in day out pan.
(this one has gone up in price since I bought it, so here's a more affordable version here!)
& want to know a secret? You don't need a million things. I own TWO pans. Two. As a full-time recipe developer!
(I just recently made the switch from non-stick baking pans myself if you can believe that! I use unbleached parchment paper over cheapy pans for years!)
In hindsight, it would have actually been cheaper to just get the stainless steel baking pans for how much parchment paper we've used!)
Affordable pots & pans set here!
Instant Pot link (I prefer this over a slow cooker because of the stainless steel lining!)
My next favorite material? GLASS.
Plastic, y'all. I don't even know where to begin.
We've heard for a long time that we should nix it and we also know how much cheaper it is than going all glass. So again - ONE thing at a time.
We have to find that balance between scare tactics and knowing information, and the unfortunate reality is that plastic is just not good for us.
It can contain phthalates, BPA, and xenoestrogens, which can all cause imbalance and damage in our hormones, and lead to increased risk of cancer, reproductive/fertility issues, and hormonal imbalances.
I know, I know, it sounds scary. The hard reality is that it IS. But we still take one step and one bit of information at a time and do what we can!
My favorite glass cutting boards.
Here's some tupperware options but honestly if you have an IKEA close by, their glass storage is great and affordable!
My all-time favorite food processor
And by the way, there is no shame in having mis-matched glass jars for storage from saving all those random spaghetti sauce, pickle, and condiment jars. I have SO many!
Other good materials: stoneware & ceramic, food-grade silicone, wood, cast iron*
These materials are great for various baking pans, dishes and mugs, cooking utensils, and baking needs (reusable muffin tin liners, etc!)
As a bonus, here's some good beeswax food storage wraps and some cotton kitchen towels (I have the rust color and it makes cleaning a little happier 😉).
And last but not least because it's one of my FAVORITE cooking methods ever, my ceramic Dutch oven (the sage color is the cheapest for whatever reason, so that's what I got!)
slightly cheaper version here
This is certainly not an all-inclusive list, but simpler is better in my opinion!
*a note on cast iron - some of you have noticed I don't mention it much! Based on a decent amount of available research and my own functional lab testing, it is possible that we as a society are more prone to iron overload due to various factors (fortified foods, supplementation, hormonal birth control, etc) so I prefer to limit my own cast iron cooking!
Need some great recipes to make in all that beautiful non toxic kitchenware? 😉 Head to my digital cookbooks here (whole foods based, gluten free if needed, and recipes the whole family will love!)
A lot of these photos below are from my new Tots cookbook!
Happy non-toxic nourishing this week!
Fallon