Healthy Home Products - Part 1
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These days some people would describe me as a health nut. And I would take that as a compliment, because I actually am.
After decades of yoyo-dieting and really not caring about the quality of food I ate, I also didn't care about the kitchen tools I was using at home.
Everything was plastic because it didn't break. That makes life easier with 3 little active boys running around the house. Was it a smart decision though?
In hindsight, it wasn't. I chose convenience over health. I do regret that, but back then I didn't know better. Hey, I always made sure that the plastics were BPA free. Little did I know, that they just replaced BPA with BPS, which is equally as bad.
In the low carb community, people do not only talk about macros, quality of food, keto junk food, fasting etc., they also talk about everyday products that could impair our health. Everyday products that are designed to make our life easier at the expense of our health.
The first products that fell victim to my new standards where non-stick frying pans. I wrote about Teflon in this blog. It is scary to think, that the fumes that can kill birds are considered harmless for humans. Apparently they can cause headaches, a sore throat, and congestions. And yet they still assure us not to be concerned. I don't buy it. The frying pans had to go.
What are the alternatives?
After trying a cheap cast iron pan (it had a wobble), I decided I didn't like it. It was heavy and looked weird after I gave it a good scrub.
The next option was carbon steel. But watching reviews it seemed too high maintenance. It involved cooking potato skins. We don't have potatoes or potato skins.
In the end, I opted for ceramic frying pans. The first one lost the non-stick property quickly, but the Green Pan is perfect. My pots are still in good shape, but should I replace them, I will get the entire set.
These are easy to clean, non-stick, and I don't have to worry about toxic fumes.
For the first year or so of my keto journey, I kept enjoying Diet Coke. I opted for the Stevia sweetened version which is actually only sweetened with Stevia. They are technically keto compliant, but if you want to heal your body, reverse auto-immune and metabolic diseases and keep inflammation at bay, you want to quit diet pop. I had to give up diet pop.
My luck, I was the proud owner of a SodaStream. But I hated that the bottles were made from plastic. SodaSteam also has version with glass carafes. So my old SodaStream was gifted and I got a new one. This has been a game changer.
I make two different kinds, depending on how much electrolytes I need.
- 2 packets of TrueLemon or TrueOrange. 10 drops of liquid monk fruit and a splash of Keto Chow electrolytes. The new infusion flavours are also excellent. Be sure not to get the lemonades. They are too high in carbs.
- LMNT electrolyte mix. I use orange, raspberry, watermelon or citrus. The citrus salt gives me heartburn, if I drink it later in the day. I have developed quite a taste for salt. These mixes taste better than any store bought pop. Seriously, give it a try.
Fair warning, once the powder is added (both versions, but more so for LMNT), the water quickly bubbles up and out of the bottle. It makes quite a mess. So either you add the powder ever so slowly or you develop Ninja level speed skills to screw on the lid. It is actually a funny sight, when I prepare to drop the powder into the bottle with one hand and screw on the lid with the other. In the sink, because I am not always fast enough. The reward is delicious home made pop.
I used to carry a plastic water bottles everywhere. I would sip room temperature water all day long. Chemicals from the plastic bottles leached into my water for decades. All these bottles are now gone. I replaced them with a few Contigo stainless steel bottles (yes, the lid has some plastic, but the water is not in constant contact with the plastic) and glass bottles. Mine have a silicone sleeve. Clumsy me dropped one of the glass bottles on ceramic tile flooring. Surprisingly, it didn't break.
It didn't take me long to see many people in the low carb community using Yeti drink ware. They are fantastic. When on the road, I use the 18 oz coffee mug, at home I us the 14 oz tumbler with the lid that has a straw hole. I don't use the supplied plastic straw, but silicone straws instead. The best part about the Yeti mugs, they are dishwasher safe. None of my other insulated bottles or mugs are, and it always annoyed me.
Plastic straws had to go too. And paper straws, I don't even want to know what yucky chemicals hold these together.
My first purchase was a set of silicone straws from our local grocery store. Silicone is safe to use, even in hot liquids. These ones open and can be cleaned easily. They are my favourite to use with my Yeti tumbler. Silicone straws don't make any screechy noise like stainless steel straws. I cannot tolerate that noise. That might be a medical condition.
For on the road I got telescopic stainless steel straws and also a set of normal length straws. I prefer the normal length ones over the telescopic ones. The telescopic straws just didn't work well after a few uses. With these reusable straws in my pocket, I never have to worry about ending up with paper straws. Bonus, when we eat out, stainless steel straws are great to stir in my TrueLemon. Remember? No more pop for me.
Unlike plastic, silicone cook ware is safe to use, even for baking. So, all my plastic kitchen utensils went into the garbage. Some were slightly melted from the heat of the frying pan. Yikes. I did get the set linked below. I also bought molds for treats, reusable bags, muffin forms, and even measuring cups. All made from silicone.
My latest discovery were collapsible silicone containers with lids that are also made from silicone. I can use them to freeze leftovers or ready to eat portions of my chicken cheese stew. From the freezer to the the microwave or oven. No extra dishes, no extra cleanup. I tried another set (not linked below) that came with plastic lids and so thin, one collapsed on me with contents spilling over the counter. I was not impressed.
Glass is safe, but it is also heavy and breaks easier. So far I was lucky, nothing broke yet. I did get a set of glass bowls that also came with handy lids (made from plastic, but not in contact with my food. And the glass (not the lids) is microwave safe.
But they are cumbersome. They are nested in the cupboard, and when I need to use the third or forth from the top, there is some heavy lifting involved. I kept some or my Tupperware, because the other family members complained. But it bothered me to still have plastic in the house, so I bought a set of stainless steel bowls. They can't go into the microwave, but are very light and easy to handle. They also come with plastic lids (not in contact with food).
This is my first blog with recommendations. The links are affiliate links to help keeping this website online. Please share this blog with friends that might also want to want to learn about healthier products.
Final thought: To improve health, diet is the most important thing to change followed closely by fasting. But we also want to pay attention to toxins in our home. Just giving us an edge.
Written by Roxana Soetebeer
Published: March 19th, 2022
Anthony G. Jay PhD
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