Cutting out chemicals

Fallleaves

Thanks for the tip, Mommyathome! (I love Target)

Mommyathome

Fallleaves,

Hey no problem. Check it out! Let me know what you think! They also had various sizes of sets. I think a 20 pieces, 15 piece etc.

juneping

my question is: were they all made equal in terms of quality?

Anonymous

Id forgotten about ceramics. Did a look and as usual the more you look into it the more you find you need to look further, plus navigate through possible biased recommendations. Out of the maze of info a few things stood out. Watch what brand you buy. (American , not India or China etc)  It seems all non stick surfaces eventually succumb to scratching and damage and therefore leeching. In short its buyer beware (sigh) With a healthy dose of suspicion about non stick surfaces, I think I'll stick to my stainless steel and cast iron.

Mommyathome

So non stick is no good? 

juneping

yes nonstick is bad. Def don't use it

Mommyathome

Thank you!!!

momaton

Hi Mommyathome,

How are you feeling?

I just threw out all of my old pots and pans. Everything was sticking to the non-stick and nothing stuck to the 40 yo stainless steel.

My DH loves to cook so he did a ton of research...found a set of Wolfgang Puck stainless steel pots and pans $99 at Sam's club.

LOVE them. Nothing sticks and sooooooo easy to clean

I have a cast iron dutch oven that is lined with ceramic...you have to be extra careful with ceramic so as not to scratch it. I love it too though.

I've been lurking on this thread for quite awhile so it is nice to "come out"

Hi everyone.  lol

nice too, to talk about something as mundane as cookware. Little bit of normal.

hugs all,

Eve

juneping

hi momaton, 

nothing is mundane in terms of BC. even the water we drink from the tap....and bottled water isn't what it seems.

momaton

totally agree juneping totally agree.

when I first moved to my DH's home 4 years ago, I developed red welts from the water after taking a shower. YIKES.

I just meant it was nice to have a convo about pots and pans, rather that cancer.....

juneping

wow...that's pretty crazy about the water causing red welts..

and i started to be interested about things that can keep us healthy. i never bother with organic produce until ppl told me i should care. and one thing lead to another...boy, a lot i didn't know.

SelenaWolf

I use unglazed clay cookers for roasting.  It necessitates getting used to a different type of technique, as well as converting recipe times for the clay cookers, but the results are wonderful.  I've roasted chickens, sauer braten, vegetables and soups/stews in them.  The downside is they are breakable and clean-up can take some time...

Fallleaves

Here's a list of companies that carry products in BPA-free cans (and those that don't!)

http://www.inspirationgreen.com/bpa-lined-cans.htm...

Momine

Selena, I have a wonderful clay pot (huge) from Sifnos and I love it.

If you have a gas stove, plain old cast iron cookware is relatively cheap, great to cook in and never wears out.

Anonymous

I wonder if theres a breadmaker minus all the toxic coatings. I would love to be able to bake my own bread but my ordinary electric oven is too big and the expense of doing a loaf in there wouldn't be worth it.

Thanks for the link Fallleaves

midnight1327

Musical, i will see if i can spot one on trade me if you want,  you get alot of cheap bargins in there, have you  got a bench oven, i do alot of my cooking in there.  i never use a big oven.

Fallleaves

This is an article about researchers coming up with a novel way to test for everyday exposure to chemicals---wristbands. The silicone wristbands absorb up to 1,000 different kinds of chemicals. So here's a non-invasive way to collect data on environmental toxins that people encounter as they go through their day. I think it's brilliant!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/14030...

Fallleaves

And here's an article about linking BPA to breast cancer tumor growth:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/1403...

Just further evidence this crap should be banned. 

(Oh, and there was a study reported yesterday that linked BPA to prostate cancer....)

Momine

Musical, my mother bakes rye bread in large batches. Then she cuts the loaves in half and freezes them. If you take the bread out of the freezer the night before, it is usually defrosted by morning. But you could even freeze it in slices, then just pop a slice in the toaster.

Fallleaves

I keep my bread in the freezer (in slices) and take it out for toast. Definitely cuts down on waste, and I really think it tastes just as good. Well, maybe not quite as good as fresh bread straight out of the oven....

juneping

i also put my bread in the freezer and take it out the night before. i am by myself and there's no way i could finish a load of bread all by myself within just a few days. those organic bread got mold pretty fast.

Sierra

Hi Ladies: Im new to this thread

it interests me greatly

way too many chemicals

Im looking for facial masks homemade if anyone does any

for moisture

and re toothpaste:

I was using Biotene products only to find out

there are polyparabens in the oral gel and the m. wash I believe

Dang it! 

Plastic, hard to avoid

I put my items in glass when I get home if possible

Sierra

Lojo

I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if someone else has posted this re other plastics

http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certichem-eastman-bpa-free-plastic-safe

Can't win, it seems. The only non stick thing I have is my breadmaker. Are there alternatives?

Anonymous

Re bread, a biggie for me is NO SOY and NO GMO. The last time I looked, the only bread I can find in NZ that hasn't got soy in it  (but still may have traces being processed on equipment that does do soy) is Vogels Original. It's expensive compared to the el cheapo supermarket breads and is quite heavy and much better toasted. I get it in bulk when it comes on special and freeze it and just get out what we need. If I make sure its frozen solid when I get the loaf out, its very easy to separate the slices using a suitable knife. (Not a thin blade or pointed tip)  Breaking bread is NOT an option I favour lol.  I still would love to do my own....So are you saying Momine, the only way to avoid non stick surfaces is to still bake in a big oven and thus doing multiple loaves at once? 

Lojo what type/brand of breadmaker are you using? I thought they were all non stick, but I would love it if Im wrong!

Thankfully Im not a sugar person and I reckon it has a lot to answer for. Im thinking about doing my own cracker type biscuits, plus getting a flour mill.

Sierra welcome. YOure right ...theres waaay too many chemicals. I use baking soda for toothpaste now. It is a NIGHTMARE seeing all the chemicals in toothpaste let alone deciphering what the letters are and worse still, understanding all the meanings. Shampoo is another shocker. DOnt they love to bunch up the text to make it as unreadable as possible and/or utilize crazy colour schemes like putting grey text on white background or dark blue on black. I use glass too where ever possible,  but have had a few breakages in the freezer. Im trying to find decent stainless containers or suitable glass to freeze in. I used to say "plastic fantastics" ...not anymore.

Momine

Musical, I don't if there are bread makers without nasty coatings. I have never had a bread maker, so I was just explaining how my mom (who is a single woman) gets around the problem. In her case it is also that she makes traditional Danish, sourdough, rye bread, which needs several long rises. Because of the time involved, it really doesn't pay to make one small loaf at a time.

lightandwind

Fallleaves, I had read that about the BPA and breast cancer too. It should have been banned a long time ago. Infuriating.

juneping

that's why we should carry our own bottle of water and don't buy water or juice in the stores. i bought a stainless steel bottle to carry water with me. i am trying not to use plastic in my life. if i use the zip lock bag, i use the cookie paper to wrap the food first. not sure what's in the paper but i guess it's better than plastic.

Anonymous

Momine, a number of years ago I "inherited" one but it died. Cant say Im sorry but it sure would be handy if someone made a nonstick one. Im only just learning about breadmaking in general. I know its a very involved process and thats about it. 

Juneping thats a good idea about the cookie paper. I guess it would be equivalent to our  paper you can buy in a roll here. Also theres the greaseproof paper. You just can't trust anything these days and its very wise to read labels on everything you can. (Dont forget to take that microscope shopping!) 

I'm more likely to believe any bottled water is a scam than not. 

Edited spelling mistake

juneping

musical - bottled water is a scam. i watched the documentary "tapped", at least in the US, they went to somewhere less populated to pull water from their reservoir for FREE and sell it for a profit. shaking my head.

Momine

Musical, making sourdough rye bread is a lengthy process, but making a basic bread is actually very easy. My brother had even perfected a bread dough that needed no kneading.