Here is an article with a different twist on keeping your holiday kitchen safe! This is from the environmental working group and titled “Jane’s Holiday Kitchen”.
Her three tips are
- Choose foods low in added chemicals and pollutants
- Use non-toxic cookware (cast iron, stainless steel or oven safe glass)
- Store and reheat leftovers safely (in this case meaning not in plastic)
Read more about it here.
I try to do this as much as possible. I use primarily glass storage in the refrigerator, although I still have plastic bags there too. I don’t put plastic in the microwave.
I’m still working on getting plastic out of my freezer. One option is to wrap food in wax paper before putting it in a plastic bag. I froze roasted tomatoes again this year in plastic bags – but at least I waited until the tomatoes were cool to put them into the bags.
If it all seems overwhelming, do like I do and just take on a little at a time.
If you are inclined to think it doesn’t matter, think of this: we get far more chemicals in our diet and in our home and work environments than our parents or grandparents ever did. While a little may not be a problem, it all adds up. Even relatively “safe” compounds are hard for your liver to clear when the volume increases.
We can’t control all the chemicals in our world, so it does make sense to control what we can. And voting with your dollars can help change practices over time.
