Cutting out chemicals

Musical, here is a famous recipe for no-knead bread: http://www.steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html

My brother used to do the exact same thing, except he didn't bother with the whole dishtowel and baking in a pot business. After the overnight rise, he stirred the dough and dumped it in a pan coated in olive oil and dusted with cornmeal, let it rise the second time and baked it. You can do it in a large pan and it will come out like focaccia, especially if you brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle salt and rosemary on it before baking.

Another option, which I have used, is to drop large spoonfuls of the dough on a oiled and dusted cookie sheet, rise, bake and you have rolls.

Also, anytime a recipe tells you to use "bread flour" you can substitute whole wheat or spelt and you can usually replace some of the wheat flour (about 25%) with rye. You can also add a handful of bran, seeds, nuts etc.

juneping that about sounds right these days. There's so many things one can shake their head at. When I get time I'll look on youtube to see if that doco is there.

Mommy I wouldn't call BPA or PFOA safe in any event. Since I didn't know what PFOA was I did a quick search and look. 

http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pfoa/pubs/faq.html

Excerpt:

Is there a risk assessment on PFOA?

To ensure that the most rigorous science is used in the Agency's ongoing
evaluation of PFOA, OPPT submitted in 2005 a draft risk assessment for
formal peer review by the Agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB). That
draft was preliminary and did not provide conclusions regarding
potential levels of concern. The SAB reviewed the information that was
available at the time, and suggested that the PFOA cancer data are
consistent with the EPA guidelines descriptor "likely to be carcinogenic
to humans." Since their review, additional research has been conducted
pertaining to the carcinogenicity of PFOA. EPA is still in the process
of evaluating this information, and has not made any definitive
conclusions at this time. Read more on the PFOA Risk Assessment
available here.

Yes Fallleaves sorry I meant BPA and PFOA safe. I saw a pot and pan set at Target that states BPA, PFOA, lead etc safe. But underneath that it also says safe non stick.... How do you actually know that it is safe???? Gosh, these companies should really be monitored and held accountable for jeopardizing people's health for a dollar!!! It's so frustrating that you have to be on the look out when purchasing anything!!! 

What are you doing instead of water bottles? I usually buy cases of Poland spring water bottles now I'm wondering if that's safe... The bottles are plastic!! 

musical - it's on netflix available for streaming

mommyathome - for stainless steel, the iron could leak into your food. which is not the end of the world. at least it's not carcinogen. ceramic is a better choice, if you google wellness mama, she  is a health conscious blogger...i read her blog to get info sometimes. 

http://wellnessmama.com/5148/what-are-the-safest-c...

http://wellnessmama.com/2379/review-xtrema/

i bought a stainless steel bottle to carry water with me.

Momine, thanks for your input. Im sure there was "something" about yeast (maybe the type???)  but Ive long forgotten what and will have to revisit that subject.

Aw Falll don't start me on Roundup  ..... or more to the point, that giant monopoly that is Monsanto. Other than all those isotopes Fukushima is spewing DAILY into the ocean and sending its toxic plumes right round the Northern Hemisphere and now the Southern as well, roundup is one of the most evil substances there is. As is typical the PTB (powers that be) back in the day they gave it a glowing report but when you see the data sheets its NOT a glowing report. 

Quote excerpt from your link

..... Glyphosate-based herbicides are widely used for soybean cultivation, and
our results also found that there was an additive estrogenic effect
between glyphosate and genistein, a phytoestrogen in soybeans.

Surprise surprise NOT! 

I'd be interested in the eye makeps, mascaras, lip sticks and foundations.  I have flund a relatively inexpensive hand lotion from Swanson's on-line vitamins.  Their label.

the wonderful paper towels I've used simply forever I learned while ago contain plastic.  good firestrters too

I have a few thoughts to offer.... I'm fairly knowledgeable in this area because I teach a green chemistry class. In fact, a major activity I have my students do is an analysis of daily products.  I have students now searching for altneratives to their shower washes, their deodorants, their shower washes, contact lens solutions, and more. This myth that ingredients in products must be safe since they are in readily available products is imply not true.  Molecules KNOWN to be toxic are regularly included in consumer products that are used on a daily basis.

1 - we have also gotten rid of a bunch of plastic from our home...  food storage... and other products too.  But it sure is hard to get away from!  Pyrex storage containers are our new fave...  

2 - NONSTICK - toss it to the curb!!!!!  We LOVE our cast iron skillet - it's fantastic... We also use stainless steel....  Our microwave broke, so we're no longer doing that quick-heat approach to food, which probably is a good thing as it means we're more mindful about what we're eating...  After the first month or so, we got used to it.  It's a pain for bedtime snack (homemade oatmeal - we cook a 3-day batch and reheat on the stove)... but otherwise, we barely miss it.

3 - I eliminated shampoo and conditioner.  Yup - don't use either one.  Sound shocking?  Well, after thinking about the plastic bottles... and the common ingredients, even though we were using hippee shampoo, we transitioned over to bar shampoo, which didn't work so well for me. I ended up with white flakes, and that was annoying. NOW - I use baking soda followed by a dilute vinegar mix.  Skeptical? I sure was, but I can tell you my hair is more fabulous than it ever was on shampoo - with or without conditioner.  It takes some getting used to, but I only wash my hair twice a week now, and it's much much nicer... More manageable... Softer... And it even lightened a bit - apparently, the sulfate based shampoos cause hair to darken - never knew that.  ANYWAY - long story short - easy way to get rid of a daily exposure to plastic contained products that often contain a long list of crazy ingredients like parabens and related.  PLUS - it's super cheap.  YES - it takes like a month or so to get it right and to transition... BUT - I've been doing it since January... and the only time my hair got funky?  I got sick on day three after my last hair washing... and didn't hair wash until day 5... and my hair was a little funky...  Baking soda / vinegar protocol returned me back to bouncy happy hair...  BAM.

4 - we went to bar body soap - hippie style. It comes wrapped in a wax paper... It smells super good (and you can get unscented)... and it lasts a long long time... You don't need much at all... And my skin is better than it ever was on bottled shower wash....  That eliminates another plastic bottle and a whole boat load of chemicals. It's also cheaper since the bar lasts a whole lot longer than the shower wash bottle... AND I feel better from an environmental standpoint... Most of the shower wash is actually water!

5 - fragrance - if your product is labeled with "fragrance" or "musk" - kick it to the curb....  Companies don't have to identify those molecules, and many (not all) are problematic from an endocrine disruption perspective, among other things.  

6 - what else... Well, there's a website put together by the environmental working group (google that), and they have darn credible information on a wide range of ingredients.  Check it out if you have time.  Do I think they are right on target?  Well - mostly. I don't agree with everything in there... but I do think it's a great resource for people to use in order to help identify products to seek out and products to kick out.

7 - stainless steel bottles for water forever!!!! Yes yes yes!  I have three different sizes - the little 12 ounce size, which makes it easy to stash in a small bag or whatever...  to the giant 24 ounce size...  PLUS - I - ahem - have this little hip flask for toting around certain types of beverages.  The great thing about a hip flask - no matter what you put in it - you can put it into a POCKET rather easily!!!!  nice shape - kind of flat... awesome.  Uhm - my kind of never contains water, though...  

8 - cosmetics - I don't wear makeup, but I know a lot about it...  One statistic I read recently was that more than half of red lipsticks contain LEAD!  LEAD!!!!  LEAD!!!!!!!!!  My thinking on cosmetics - especially anything that goes onto my lips ( I do use lip balm)....?  I should be able to EAT IT.  Those molecule based sunscreens? There are a few that are not so good.  One that jumps immediately to mind is OXYBENZONE - this molecule is used as a sunscreen.  Why do people like this type of sunscreen? Cuz you can't see it when you apply it. So, you don't turn white.  However, this molecule is a suspected endocrine disruptor, and when it is in a lip balm, you'll essentially be eating it.  It makes up SEVERAL PERCENT of a lip balm.....  Which lead me to quantify how much lip balm does a person apply in one application... It's around 10 mg.  So, that means something like one-half mg is consumed with eat application... If you're a person who applies multiple times per day, you could be essentially eating a few mg of this stuff every day!  Add that up - after a winter of chapped lips, you may have consumed 1-2 g of this stuff....  That's starting to add up, in my book.

This is a great thread, and I think it's cool that someone started it up....

I did kind of write a book - with about eight chapters.

Hope no one minds.

Good luck! These are good questions to be asking, I think!

PS - few other things - oil instead of lotion (takes very little - cheaper), no dairy, organic foods when possible and practical, no bottled water...  Probably a few more plastic minimizing things... but those are some of the big ones not listed above.