A Sustainable Kitchen Saves Money, Protects Your Health, and Protects the Environment

The kitchen is one of the most used and important rooms in many homes and living spaces. Cooking and preparing meals, storing utensils, and housing drink and food prepping appliances are the primary uses for kitchens. Unfortunately, the kitchen is also home to various items that are often not eco-friendly and were not designed with your health in mind. 

From cookware with toxic chemical compounds to endocrine disrupting chemical laden plastics, the modern kitchen is rife with opportunities for your health and the health of the environment to be impacted. Luckily, there is a way to safeguard your health. More companies than ever are producing products that take the health of people and the environment more seriously. Products are coming out everyday that aim to replace those that are toxic or poorly manufactured with safer more well thought-out designs and materials.

People shouldn’t have to worry about their household products impairing their health or giving them health problems. People shouldn’t have to put up with low-quality health and environment damaging products simply because they think there isn’t a better alternative.

Benefits of a Sustainable Kitchen

Retrofitting your kitchen with products that are eco-friendly helps ensure your health is not impacted by poor quality products. It is important to remember that in general, eco-friendly products are naturally better and safer for you and your families’ health. Reinventing your kitchen with eco-friendly products helps protect your health, the environment, and encourages businesses to follow more sustainable practices.

Having eco-friendly cookware, for example, is an excellent step toward reducing your exposure to unwanted chemicals and substances. Food comes into direct contact with cookware while it is being prepared and unwanted legacy compounds can find their way into your food during preparation. Another important step is reducing your consumption of single use plastics. This can be accomplished in many ways. Choosing to invest in appliances that reduce your dependance on single use coffee cups and lids is one method that is healthier, more eco-friendly, and can save you vast amounts of money over time.

The products featured in this article are by no means an exhaustive list. They are a good starting point intended to help you have the maximum impact on your efforts to invest in your health and the health of the environment. There are always things to improve on and steps to take but taking small steps is often the best way to go about it.

Cookware and the Dangers of Non-Stick Coatings

For decades, the cookware market has been dominated by cookware that is known as non-stick. As the name implies, this type of cookware is designed to prevent food from sticking to the cookware during use. This is accomplished by adhering a slippery coating to the surface of the pan. While the invention of non-stick cookware has made cooking and kitchen cleanup faster, there is a less appealing side to non-stick cookware. 

The main negative aspects of non-stick cookware originate with its manufacture and repeated use. Traditionally, non-stick cookware coatings are often made using Teflon, a material containing the element Fluorine that is very resistant to bonding with other substances. Unfortunately, as good as non-stick coatings are at their job, they can pose potential health risks to people, pets, and the environment.

Legacy chemical compounds in the non-stick coating can be released in various ways. The most obvious and immediate method of release occurs when the coating is damaged. Non-stick coating can be damaged by metal utensil gouging or scraping. Natural release of the compounds over time occurs due to the natural expansion and contraction of the cookware during heating and cooling. 

Chemical compounds released by non-stick cookware coated in fluoropolymers have dangerous impacts on human health. Polymer Fume Fever is the name associated with the expose to fluoropolymer chemicals, this dangerous condition can be mild or severe depending on the exposure environment. Additionally, some of these compounds have been known to be fatal to some pets. 

Creating a Sustainable Kitchen with Health Conscious Eco-Friendly Cookware

There are several alternative options to cookware for someone looking for a healthy more eco-friendly cookware option. Among the best options to replace non-stick cookware are cast iron, ceramic, and stainless steel. While each of these non-stick replacements have their own unique benefits, they do not all fit all lifestyles.

Cast Iron Cookware, The Rustic Choice

Cast iron has been used in kitchens for decades, and for good reason. Simple yet elegant, cast iron cookware has even heating and heat retention, unmatched durability, and – with a good season – a non-stick coating that is safer than fluoropolymer coatings. Cast iron is not the lightest material to cook with however, the weight of the cookware might put some cooks off.

Ceramic Cookware, You’ve Got Sand in Your Pan

Ceramic cookware is very similar to Teflon in appearance and performance. Most ceramic cookware has an eco-friendly coating applied to the cookware base to increase the non-stick properties. Another benefit of ceramic cookware is lightness, compared to other cookware such as cast iron and granite, ceramic is very lightweight. The ceramic coatings are more eco-friendly and less energy intensive to adhere than fluoropolymers.

Nickel-Free Stainless Steel, The Safer Steel

Not all stainless steel is made equal. There are various stainless steel types or “grades” that indicate the material properties of the metal. The most healthy and eco-friendly of these grades are those corresponding to stainless steel that is nickel-free. Choosing cookware made from these stainless steel grades reduces your exposure to the element Nickel a well known human toxin.

Kitchen Appliances and the Environment

Kitchen appliances were created with the goal of simplicity and efficiency in mind. Since the dawn of human society, people have been working tirelessly to make life easier when performing everyday tasks. Unfortunately, in recent decades, there has been a shift to quick, cheap, and convenient methods of accomplishing daily activities. Eating and drinking is one such task that has become completely entrenched in the world of fast and cheap. 

The consumption of fast foods and drinks has had an enormous impact on the health of people and the environment. Food made in this industry is not only unhealthy but oftentimes wrapped in single use plastics that end up damaging the planet long after the food is done damaging the person who ate it. More often than not drinks are served to customers in plastic cups that are meant to be discarded upon completion of the drink.

To get around this issue of plastic pollution and negative health impacts, we can turn our attention back to the inventions designed to increase your at-home efficiency. Coffee and espresso machines can serve as complete replacements for out-and-about coffee stops. Craving a soda? Instead of choosing a soft drink with questionable or dangerous ingredients why not make your own using a SodaStream?

DIY’ing your creature comforts helps reduce your exposure to the harmful compounds in fast food and helps keep those same compounds and plastic waste out of the environment. As an added bonus you can enjoy your own creations while saving money in the long run.

Creating a Sustainable Kitchen with Health Conscious Eco-Friendly Appliances

The main positive health and environmental impacts come less from which appliance brand you choose and more from the act of not contributing to single use throwaway culture. With that said, there are brands that are more noteworthy than others as they actively follow all environmental regulations and often seek to reduce their impact on the world. 

Coffee and Drink Appliances [Selectable]

Starting the day off with a delicious piping hot coffee is a must for many people. Instead of heading to your favorite drive-thru coffee establishment you can enjoy a quality cup of java from the comfort of your own home. Additionally, since you are your own barista you can choose whatever flavors or add-ins you like. Perhaps you prefer tea? Investing in a quality water kettle will change your tea game forever. Unwind after a long day with a nice DIY soda that is healthy and reduces your environmental impact.

Cooking and Baking Appliances [Selectable]

What fun would life be without being able to enjoy a delicious meal? Whether enjoyed with friends and family or in solidarity, a freshly cooked meal is one of the best parts of life. Investing in a few at home cooking and baking appliances can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of your favorite foods. Not only do these devices allow you to make meals more efficiently, they offer the benefit of the feeling of satisfaction you get from creating a mouthwatering meal yourself.

Creating a Sustainable Kitchen with Health Conscious Eco-Friendly Storage Containers

Every kitchen needs containers, storing food and drinks, transporting meals to work, and giving family and friends homemade food gifts are just some of the roles containers play in the kitchen. Plastic containers are difficult to compete with, mainly due to the remarkable properties of plastic. It is important to note that while there are great plastic alternatives for containers sometimes plastic is the best solution. Just be sure to avoid plastic with known toxins such as BPA and the much less talked about BPS.

One of the most common sources of environmental pollution are plastic shopping bags. These bags are an excellent resource for ferrying produce and other goods home from the store. Unfortunately, due in part to their outstanding physical properties they pose a great risk to natural ecosystems and wildlife. Luckily, there are much more eco-friendly options available today. Reusable shopping bags made from more natural materials are simple, lightweight, and more durable than plastic or paper bags.

Food and Beverage Storage Containers [Selectable]

If replacing poor-quality plastic containers is your goal, investing in a higher quality material is the first step. Glass and silicone are excellent options to retrofit your kitchen with. Glass has the benefit of not imparting any harmful chemicals or toxins into your food or beverages while silicone is less likely to break and is more lightweight. While plastic is not the most ideal material, there are different qualities to plastic and some are much better than others.

Reusable Produce and Bulk Bags [Selectable]

When shopping at grocery stores it is easy and convenient to use the plastic bags offered by the store when getting produce or items in bulk. Many businesses are moving to “compostable” or “biodegradable” produce bags and, while this is a positive change, those bags still take a long time to degrade. The best solution for a change is to choose high quality reusable produce and bulk bags from a company committed to sustainability.  

Creating a Sustainable Kitchen with Eco-Friendly Kitchen Essentials and Accessories

No kitchen would be complete without a wealth of kitchen essentials and accessories. Kitchen essentials and accessories range from cooking utensils like ladles and spatulas to egg timers and manual citrus juicers. Any changes are beneficial and making changes can inspire you to make further changes in the pursuit of creating a more sustainable kitchen.

Sustainable Kitchen Essentials [Selectable]

Kitchen essentials covers many different products and product types so we’ll focus on the most important. Kitchen cutlery is one of the most vital essentials to have. What’s the point of a delicious meal if you have no utensils to eat it with?

Another essential set of kitchen tools are cooking utensils. While many utensil types exist, some are better than others for your health and the environment. Additionally, certain considerations exist when choosing the ideal cooking utensils such as what type of cookware you are using them in.

Sustainable Kitchen Accessories [Selectable]

Kitchen accessories make cooking and general kitchen tasks much easier! Tools such as rotary cheese and vegetable graters and citrus juicers are very helpful tools to have around for accomplishing various cooking tasks more quickly and efficiently. Since these products are so versatile and useful there are many that are made from low quality materials.

Making Connections

Investing in eco-friendly products that keep your health in mind is an excellent step toward creating a more sustainable kitchen and a stepping stone to a more sustainable eco-conscious life. The benefits of investing in eco-friendly products and living as sustainably as possible reach far beyond yourself and your family. Not only do you and your loved ones benefit, the environment will have a bit of pressure taken off as well. If enough individuals choose to invest in their health and the health of the environment, we can have a profound impact on the course of the world.