Written by: Phindile Le Bris Sithole-Spong
We can all agree that the kitchen is the heart of the home. Whether you are an avid cook, or prefer take outs. Chances are, you spend a fair amount of time in your kitchen handling food, drinks and snacks. Which is why ensuring your kitchen is as toxic free as possible is important. As a self proclaimed foodie myself I can say that I spend a good amount of time in my kitchen.
Which is why when I was looking for a confinement project, one of the first places I looked to was my kitchen. Not only because I cook daily for my husband and I. But also because I have started making meals for my 7 month old. After doing some research I realized that in keeping with my goal of making wholesome foods, I needed to make sure my kitchen was as toxic free as possible. Here are some changes I made to my kitchen to make it less toxic;
- Changed out my non stick pans for ceramic coated pots and pans and cast iron pots. Not only does this ensure that the food I make doesn’t get contaminated with toxic chemicals often emitted by non stick cook wear. But I can rest easy knowing I was truly making healthy food for my family and I.
- Made my own surface cleaning detergent: This one actually started with my husband. Like me he enjoys cooking for our little one. And after failing to find organic cleaning products he turned to the web for some advice. After reading a few articles he settled on vinegar. Since then we have been using it to clean most of the surfaces in our house. I like to mix it with lemon juice and water and only use soapy hot water to clean our chopping boards.
- Clean out the fridge weekly: Whilst this required no real swap out. With confinement, one thing I have noticed is how much better I feel when our fridge is cleaned weekly. This can range from a deep clean to a quick wipe and reshuffling.
- Changing out our snacks: Whilst I will be the first to admit that I enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie as much as the next person. One thing I have done is try to be more conscious of what is in our cupboards. From snacks to foods as a whole. Knowing what is in our foods takes the guess work out of food prep.
- Investing in a fruit and vegetable brush: I am not sure what I was doing before I bought our natural fiber fruit and vegetable brush. But knowing that our fruits and veg are cleaned from any chemicals is a plus for my peace of mind.
- Switching out plastic containers fro glass ones.
What are some things you have switched out to make your kitchen less toxic?
