Choosing the right cookware

While you’re trying to remove toxins from your home, it might be easy to overlook seemingly inconsequential items in your house. But toxins are lurking everywhere, and without the right attention they will undo the progress you may have achieved. Where exactly might these toxins be hiding, you might ask?

Cookware. 

I teamed up with Sara at  https://cleanlivingwithkids.com/bake-safer-use-glass-bakeware/

and Leah at http://freedomandcoffee.com/eyeing-that-instant-pot-why-stainless-steel-isnt-as-safe-as-you-think-and-what-to-use-instead/ for this informative series on cookware. 

Nonstick cookware is a relatively new creation that took the market by storm 1938. In more recent years, everyone from Rachael Ray to Emeril has come out with their own sets of nonstick cookware. It boasts that no food will stick, which makes clean up a breeze. Higher end sets were made with multiple coatings to make them more stain resistant. So long as you didn’t use metal utensils on them, they seemed to last as well.

But are these pans such a good thing? 

In the last decade, as more and more have become aware of bad ingredients being put into their bodies, studies have come out claiming health risks from this nonstick coating. In fact, if they are heated too heavily, the coating begins to flake and releases perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The release of this acid causes “Teflon flu” which can cause acute lung injury, reproductive issues, and cancer, among other side effects. For more info:

https://www.foodmatters.com/article/is-your-cookware-safe

So what do you do? Personally, I switched to mostly cast iron. Cast iron is a truly, naturally nonstick pan that can be heated to any temperature without danger, and it heats evenly. Use it over an open fire, in an oven, or on the stove without incidence. It is chemical free, easy to clean and long lasting. 

But that’s not even the best part.

Many people are dangerously low on iron, and cast iron actually increases the iron in your food. Instead of searching constantly for foods that have more iron, just cook more food in cast iron and get it in everything! 

https://www.earthsfriends.com/benefits-of-cast-iron-skillet/

There are a few things to watch when using cast iron. Some people have high iron levels already, so that can pose a risk. Additionally, if the pan is not “seasoned” properly, it can rust, and rust is never good to ingest. This risk can be easily avoided, though. After using, just wipe clean- unless it was a saucy meal. If you must use soap and water to wash, immediately dry, rub with a cooking oil that can withstand high heat, and stick in the oven to reseal the pan. This is called seasoning, and it will prolong the life of your cookware. 

I personally love the taste of food cooked in cast iron. It doesn’t give any strange flavors, and seems to give a richer taste to everything. Try it for yourself!

What kind of cookware do you use? 

https://www.earthley.com/product/energy-plus-herbal-iron/ref/DeepSouthCrunchyMom