What’s really in your kitchen?
I talk a lot about food because I think it’s so important to fuel our bodies in a responsible way. The foods we choose to consume have a profound impact on the quality of our lives. All in all I think WHAT we cook is more critical than HOW we cook it. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore what we use to cook our food completely. There’s a lot to learn around this topic, and we’re going to start with our kitchen appliances! Particularly if you are planning to replace one of your kitchen appliances soon, it may be helpful to learn more in order to make the best choice for your family.
General tips for choosing kitchen appliances
Using kitchen appliances you already have will always be the most sustainable and environmentally friendly option. However, you may choose to replace some important pieces you use daily for health reasons if you decide what you currently have isn’t optimal for your family. Or since many “modern” options available are designed to be replaced instead of lasting for generations, it may be time to replace some of your existing pieces. Everyone has a different threshold for what is acceptable to them and their families. I hope you can use the information provided here with your best judgment. There is no pressure to choose the exact same options that I choose.
Oven options
When given a choice between a toaster oven and standard-sized oven, the toaster oven is often the better choice. A toaster oven is smaller so it requires less energy and is quicker to heat up. We meal prep and are usually cooking a lot at one time so the toaster oven is rarely an option. To minimize the impact of using your standard-sized oven, you can try and cook multiple things at the same time. You can also try to minimize the amount of times it has to heat up during the week. Try not to turn your oven on until you’re ready to cook something. From an energy-use perspective, it’s better to add another few minutes to the cooking time than to wait for your oven to reach the cooking temperature. After you’re done cooking (if it’s the winter) you can also leave your oven door open to help heat the house.
Slow cooker options
You may have heard that slow cookers, or crockpots, leach heavy metals into your food. Typical slow cookers are ceramic. The glaze used in the ceramic production process can contain lead and cadmium, among other heavy metals. When your food is cooking for a long time at a high temperature, it can cause these metals to leach out of the cookware and into your food. This is particularly true with acidic foods and beverages like coffee, tomatoes, lemons, etc. It’s important to note that all ceramic products tested by the FDA have been below the allowable limit for heavy metals. However, if you use a ceramic slow cooker often, it’s worth considering your exposure over time.
We currently have a ceramic slow cooker that I bought after college in 2017. We use it frequently and it is on the list of things to replace with a safer option one day. Because we have made so many other meaningful changes and our current slow cooker still works well, we are not in a rush to buy a replacement.
If you have an older slow cooker (from the 1970s or 1980s), these older models have a higher risk of high concentrations of heavy metals because they were produced at a time when there were less strict regulations. It may be worth looking into a replacement if you’re not comfortable with this. Additionally, children can be affected by lower concentrations of heavy metals, particularly related to their development. If you have children, it may be worth looking into a replacement as well. If you’re also not ready to replace your crockpot, you can consider using it less frequently to reduce how often you’re exposing yourself to potential heavy metals. Another option is to consider not cooking acidic foods in it to reduce your exposure.
Auxiliary kitchen appliance options
For any auxiliary kitchen appliances like a coffee or espresso maker, an air fryer, a food processor, a blender, etc. there are a few guidelines we can follow. If you’re dealing with anything hot there is a concern of additives leaching out of plastic and into your food or beverage (more research into how this happens is coming in Part 2!).
I’m not at all saying you have to purge all of your plastic appliances. In fact, we still regularly use a plastic coffee maker because that’s what we already have and it still works well. Our food processor is also plastic, but we try to use it only for cold or room-temperature items. Our goal is to be responsible. To us, sometimes that means using an appliance that’s not “optimal” because we don’t want to throw it away when it still works well. For you, it might look completely different, and that’s okay!
Non-stick appliance options
If you see any appliance that has a “non-stick” coating, you will want to do some more research! “Non-stick” coatings typically contain PFAS materials, also referred to as “forever chemicals.” Some PFAS materials have been proven to be harmful to humans, but many PFAS materials don’t have enough data to prove one way or another. Many people choose to avoid all PFAS materials due to this concern, whereas others are okay with the risk. If you do want to avoid PFAS, it may be best to opt for stainless steel.
The microwave controversy
Microwave ovens are a very controversial topic, but first I want to explain how they work. Essentially the various parts inside a microwave cause electrons to quickly transfer from one component to another, which creates microwaves. Water molecules in the food you are heating up absorb the microwaves. This causes the water molecules in the food to vibrate, which causes friction and heats up your food.
Now think back to when you learned about the electromagnetic spectrum and the different types of radiation (see diagram and video explanation below). You’ll see microwaves listed here. Visible light and anything lower in energy, like microwaves, is “non-ionizing” radiation. This means it cannot alter or cause damage to cells or molecules. Anything higher in energy than visible light is “ionizing” radiation. This means it CAN alter or cause damage to cells and molecules. This is why we wear sunscreen when exposed to UV light, and why precautions are taken if you need to get an X-ray at the doctor.
The FDA is responsible for regulating ALL radiation devices, regardless of where they fall on the electromagnetic spectrum. It is well-known that burning of skin or cataracts can develop if people are exposed to high levels of microwaves. There is an FDA standard that limits leakage of microwaves from the oven over its lifetime, which is “far below the level known to harm people.” However, the FDA admits that not much is known about low levels of microwave exposure over time.
Should everyone throw out their microwaves?
There has been a lot of chatter recently, especially in the holistic space, about EMF (electromagnetic field) radiation and the dangers of it. This includes the suggestion that everyone should get rid of their microwaves because it changes the quality of your food and is poisoning you. In my opinion, the verdict is still out on whether or not microwave ovens are harmful to our food or us.
I personally choose to use a microwave because it helps me eat healthier. We meal prep because it saves us time and ensures we’re fueling our bodies the way we want to. We use the microwave to heat up our prepped meals because it saves us time in our busy schedule. Particularly at work, a microwave is the only option to heat up my lunch. I believe I’m still making the best choice for me by bringing my own healthy food to heat in a microwave rather than buying something unhealthy in the cafeteria.
Microwaves may still be dangerous. If you want to limit exposure, you can move to a different room while your food is heating up. Another option is to not open the microwave mid-cycle, but wait for it to beep and turn off itself (although I cannot confirm I do this every time!). Maybe you’ll find that it’s easy for you to go without using a microwave. In that case, great! We really don’t know the impacts of long-term use and exposure. Getting rid of your microwave may be the best option for you. For us, we will continue using a microwave and taking measures to protect ourselves from any harmful radiation.
Appliance swaps
While I tried to cover the most popular kitchen appliances, I’m sure I missed a few! As you can see from the above, we are not using the most safe or most healthy options discussed for a lot of these categories in our own home. I provide a range of options and our honest personal experience. I understand it’s not practical or responsible to entirely purge your home and purchase new, more expensive options. Please prioritize swapping what makes the most sense for you and your family based on your eating habits and routines without judgment of what others in different situations are swapping for their families. If you have a particular kitchen appliance swap that I missed or that you are particularly grateful for, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
SOURCES:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924457/
- https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/resources-you-radiation-emitting-products/microwave-ovens
- https://interestingengineering.com/science/how-do-microwave-ovens-work
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/12/08/563808879/can-your-ceramic-cookware-give-you-lead-poisoning
