14 Toxic Kitchen Items You Should Declutter Immediately (and what to do instead)

I shouldn't be using this. This is so bad. I've been using this for years. Today I'm sharing 14 items that pretty much all of us have in our kitchen but I think you should declutter them right away. So all of the information that I'm going to talk about in this video, you can find it out online but I thought I would put it together in one video so you can have everything together and then I'm going to link all my sources below in case you want to do some additional research on your own. And I know this video is going to be a little bit controversial. I know some of you guys are going to hate it but I also know that some of you are really going to appreciate it and that you agree with me that knowledge is power. I personally am taking steps to remove all kinds of toxins as many as I can from my home. Obviously, I'm not perfect and you've got to do this in a sane way, you know, my channel is all about practical tips so I'm going to give you some practical things that you can do but I'm trying to remove these and I thought that the kitchen was a great place to focus on for a video because you know what? I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. Not only do I work in my kitchen, obviously, I'm eating a lot throughout the day and I'm eating several times a day. I'm preparing food and it's just really a place where I hang out a lot. And so I come into contact regularly with all of these kitchen items I'm going to talk about today. And it is widely known that our environment largely determines our health. So here are some things we can do in our environment to give us the best chance. And I've got some props because I'm going to show you some of the things. So the first item I had read about this a few months ago, but I didn't really internalize the information and then I saw a second article about it and I kind of sprung into action. I'm actually urgently decluttering these items and these are so bad and I'll actually I'm just going to show you because I know you have these in your home as well. Do these look familiar? These are the black nylon kitchen utensils and you know, these are great. They're lightweight. They're easy to use. But guess what? These are often made with recycled plastic and the plastic that goes into them comes from very sketchy sources like the interior of computers, televisions. But guess what happens? Do you see this tiny little scratch there? I mean, that's just one if I kind of tilt it you can see. What happens when you're using this in hot food? This is melting ever so slightly. It's getting into your food. Every time you cook with this it is damaging to your health because this has endocrine disruptors in them and I've talked about these before. These are so dangerous for you. You do not want to be eating food with this in there. So I am immediately decluttering all kinds of things like that and let me tell you what I'm going to be using instead. I'm going to be using stainless steel. I'm going to get a stainless steel ladle. I'm going to get stainless steel tongs. So this is a fish turner from OXO. This is great. The other thing I'm going to be using, and I use these already, wooden spoons. These are perfect. If you're worried about the steel scratching, use these. These do not scratch. Now this kind of brings me to my second point because it's about spoons. One thing I'm going to tell you is spoons. You want to make sure if you're using wooden spoons that you get them from a reputable company. They sell wooden spoons with a lacquer on them like a type of coating to make them shiny. You don't want to eat that either, right? So make sure that they're uncoated spoons and if you are truly worried about you know your spoons breaking or anything like that, just hand wash them. I actually haven't had any problems though. This wooden spoon is probably like eight years old and it's in perfectly fine condition. So I mentioned the black plastic and that being the worst for you. And so this kind of gets to the third thing and you all know this. We all have seen these. It is what they call those black sushi trays. I will put some on the screen so you know what I'm talking about. Essentially it's those to-go boxes that they sell. You can get packaged food from the grocery store, those ready-made meals. They come in these plastic boxes. This is not food grade plastic. You do not want to be saving this and using it. Okay, I get it. Maybe you buy it and you use it, but don't keep it. Throw it away. Recycle it. Get rid of it and don't reuse it. The other thing also along this black plastic, does this look familiar? This comes with certain things if you get catering, especially in an office. This stuff is not designed to be reusable. It is designed to be a single-use plastic because it's not safe. But guess what? A lot of us try to be a little bit more sustainable and we save it and we use it for years. Not good for our health. This next one I have talked about a lot and I told you all that I've been making the switch and I have made the switch to glass food storage containers. And so the fourth one that you need to declutter from your kitchen, don't wait on this one. Just get rid of your plastic containers. I'm telling you these break down. If they're BPA free, great, wonderful. That's fine. But it doesn't matter because the plastic is still plastic. It is still breaking down. It's still getting into your food. And especially if you store things like tomato sauce, anything acidic, that is going to break down the plastic. The plastic is going to get into your food. You're going to be ingesting it. And let me tell you, microplastics, they don't come out. They are not able to be filtered out of our body. Additionally, if you have hot food sitting in those plastic containers, or God forbid you put them in the microwave, just very, very bad for your health. You do not want to be doing this. Just get yourself some glass food storage containers. I use the glass lock ones. I can link them. Those are actually microwave safe. They're oven safe. I know they're a little bit heavier, but you just want to think about your health and at what cost. Okay, this next one is also going to be controversial. But it is discussed and a lot of people do talk about this and I have completely gotten rid of this. Well, I would say mostly non-stick pots and pans and non-stick bakeware. Let me just show you this. My daughter picked this up at the thrift store. This stuff scratches so easily. And the funny thing is, you can see a scratch with your eye, but there are many more scratches that you cannot see with your naked eye. And that's where the leaching happens. This is where these toxic chemicals get into your bloodstream and into your body because you're cooking in here and you're eating out of here. So essentially when these pots and pans are scratched, just know that they're compromised. Now, I know that a lot of people like ceramic. Okay, so my husband got this from his work and this is a ceramic pan. He got this as like a gift for being there for five years or maybe it was a holiday gift and he was excited about it. You know, this is coated in ceramic. It's non-stick and ceramic is the new hot thing. Well, guess what? I can see that there are some scratches on here. So now I know that while this is a ceramic pan, it's got a coating on it and that coating is compromised. Additionally, I am pretty sure there are scratches I can't see. And the other thing that's concerning to me is this pan is no longer non-stick. Something has happened to it and now everything's sticking to it. I'm sorry if you have these pans. I saw someone online saying that they had these pans and that they replaced them every couple of years. I mean, that is so wasteful. Why would you want to replace your pan every year? I also don't know what's in the coating. I went on the manufacturer's website and they don't disclose that information. It's also not made in the U.S. Let me just give you an alternative. Let me show you this. This is all clad, okay? This is stainless steel and I have had this pan 25 years maybe. I think this was a pan that I either bought when I moved out of the house or maybe my parents gave it to me. Beautiful, shiny, perfect. I actually cooked an egg on it this morning and it didn't stick. There's a whole trick to that. But let me tell you, these will last forever. This is made in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Steel Company provides all of the steel for this pan. This is what you should be using. And if you don't want to use this, you can use cast iron. I have that as well. I have this really old cast iron pan. Now, cast iron is quite heavy. This is a bit lighter. But I have to say, the ceramic is heavier than the stainless steel. Just know when you're buying things that companies' main objective is to make money. And a lot of ways that they can make money is by cutting corners. So what happens when you cut corners? It gets passed down to us and it affects our health. They're not concerned about our health. They're concerned about their profit. I did a decluttering video recently and I shared this next one in that video and a lot of you said you didn't know. So I'm so glad I shared it and I'm going to share it again, just in case you missed that video. It's about plastic cutting boards. A lot of people like to use plastic cutting boards for poultry because it can easily be placed in the dishwasher. I get it. I used to do that as well. But what happens? When you're cutting, you get these little micro scratches or big scratches. I mean, you can see them. The plastic cutting board that I threw away was covered in scratches. Every time you cut your food on that cutting board, you are getting microplastics directly into your food. Then you're cooking it and you are ingesting those microplastics. Get rid of your plastic cutting boards. Switch to wood. Wood is antibacterial. It is very easy to clean. I have had my wood cutting board for years and years and years. You can't put it in the dishwasher. You can hand wash it. Perfectly fine. I learned this one recently and I actually think I knew it, but I had forgotten. Aluminum foil. I did not realize how bad aluminum was for your body. They also sell aluminum pans. You don't want any of that. You do not want to get that into your bloodstream, into your body. When aluminum leaches into our food, it can be very harmful. Think about when you're making your lasagna and you stick your foil on top and it gets right into that lasagna. Especially with things like tomato or other acidic food, that really causes the aluminum to leach into your food. So they do say not to even use aluminum with those kinds of foods, but lasagna is the number one thing I think we use aluminum foil for. I don't have a solution for this. I've just been cooking my stuff without a top on it. And then when I do store my food in like a Pyrex dish or something like that, I have a cover, like a reusable cover for them. This next one is something that you come into contact with, I would say at least three times a day. You're putting it directly in your mouth. Can you guess what it is? It's your silverware. Now, obviously, I'm not going to tell you to declutter your silverware, but I'm going to tell you a couple things. Because what starts small, you know, just one little bite here and there, and then it's every day, and then it's every year, it really builds up over your lifetime. So a couple of things, and I'm talking about spoons, serving spoons, knives, all of that. You do not want silver plated silverware. Especially if it's old, because what happens is that plating comes off and then you're being exposed to toxins. Another thing, I will link this article below, but I read this whole investigation into the industry, and what's really interesting is these manufacturers of cutlery and silverware and things, they don't want you to know where their metals come from. They also don't want you to know where it's manufactured. Lots of manufacturers are hiding this, and a lot of this is coming from China and they're downplaying it on their website. You may see things that say, designed in the U.S. It's not really made in the U.S. The best brands for silverware are the ones manufactured in the U.S. and the ones manufactured in the EU. Those two areas are best known for their safety standards. Also, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India, I learned, are also good places where you can get silverware from. So what I saw, and this is the best quality that you should look for, it is a 18% to 10% blend of stainless steel. I'll link some of the options that they're recommending in case you're in the market for silverware. I hate to say this next one because I just bought it and I've been very excited about it, but I had a clue after I bought it and I should have put two and two together. Probably you'll be mad about this one. I'm mad about it as well because I really want to use this and it's my air fryer. So when I brought it home, and I don't know, tell me if you notice this if you have an air fryer, it off-gassed. I could smell it for about a month. I even had it in a cabinet and my whole kitchen smelled. And I was thinking, wow, this smells really toxic and I'm breathing in these fumes. What is this? I didn't realize the air fryer basket has a non-stick coating and they spray this with these chemicals so that your food doesn't stick to it. I've looked into this. They sell these liners that you can use so that your food isn't touching the actual basket itself. But guess what? The liners are coated in those same chemicals, even if they're made of paper. And then the worst part about the air fryer is when you're cooking, sure, you're worried about those chemicals getting into your food, but then the air fryer is also heating up and then it's kind of putting out into your kitchen and then you're breathing those chemicals as well. And I found out that those chemicals contain PFAS. I will put what PFAS stands for, but these are absolutely chemicals you do not want. Now again, take from this video what you would like. I understand it's not going to be feasible for everybody to just run out and replace everything. I know it's a lot. So I'm just going to share these things because this is what I've learned. This is what I'm doing. And I'm not going to kill myself here, but I'm going to try to get a little bit healthier where I can. I know a lot of you guys use this one. I don't use it, but I just I had to put it in the video because it's also got a lot of plastics that could be getting into your food and it is the single use coffee cups, you know, those little ones that are stored in plastic. They do have aluminum ones that you can buy. Those are reusable and they work in the machine. They're probably not the best either because they're made from aluminum, but I would think they're better than plastic. You just don't want hot water passing through that plastic. I also think those are wasteful anyway. I mean they do build up in the landfill. For me, I'm just going to continue to use my good old drip coffee maker. The next one is parchment paper. I also did not know this one, but again, coated in those same chemicals. Don't ever use this next one. I don't know if you do. I stopped using it years ago. And if you do use it, I'm going to give you something that you can do instead and you're going to love it. The microwave popcorn bags. Oh my gosh. These are so bad for you. What they do is they put their popcorn in this bag and then they coat the bag with these chemicals, again containing PFAS, and these chemicals prevent the popcorn kernels from sticking. And then you cook it on a high heat. It infuses the popcorn with the chemicals. It's called PFOAs is what it is. These have been linked to cancer. They've been linked to liver disease. And not only do they spread onto the kernels, you open it, you take a big whiff, you're breathing them into your lungs. Let me give you a simple way to make your popcorn. I've been doing this for years. You do not need a popcorn maker. All you need is a burner and a pan. So what I do is I take a heavy bottom pan. It doesn't even have to be that heavy. I would say my pan is the eight cup size. I coat the bottom in olive oil. I let it heat up for two to three minutes. I have it on medium heat, maybe a little medium high. You want to get it hot. You put the lid on. Then once it's heated, you can just tell when you put your hand over it, it feels like the oil is hot. You go ahead and stick your kernels in. I usually do about half a cup of popcorn kernels. Put the top on. Give it a good shake. Within a few seconds, you're going to hear that first pop. Go ahead and kind of shake it as it's popping. And before you know it, your whole pan is going to be filled with popcorn. But the key is don't take the lid off. Keep the lid on and just keep shaking it. And then when you don't hear the kernels popping anymore, similar to like the microwave version, you shut the heat off. You're done. Pour it into a bowl. Add your butter. Add your salt. Delicious. So I have this next one and I'm not going to do anything about it because, I mean, this would be a big undertaking. And I've always wanted this, so it's even more depressing. But I've been hearing a lot that gas stoves are the source of a lot of lung disorders and can cause problems. And to make matters worse, I was thinking, okay, well, I will just turn on my fan and that should help. But then I saw that something like 80% of fans aren't ventilated to the outdoors and I took a look at my fan. I honestly don't think that it goes to the outside because I live in a row house and there's no window anywhere in sight. So just be careful with your gas stove. Try not to have the burner on and you're standing over it for a long time. If you're cooking something, maybe just stay a little bit away from it. Not the end of the world. It is what it is, but just wanted to mention that one. Okay, we're getting there. So the next one is certain drinkware and I will say glass, of course, is generally safe. We all know that that's made from silica, which is kind of a part of sand. However, there is some glass that has been painted and painted in paints that contain heavy metals like lead or cadmium. You will often see this and I've seen this along the rim of your glass. So if you have those fancy glasses that have the gold along the rim, what's in that paint? So that's one thing when it comes to drinkware. But the other thing I'm going to say is your water bottles. I think that drinkware is probably the most important here because when you think about how many times we're drinking out of a glass or drinking out of some sort of receptacle, that could be hundreds of times a day. And a lot of these water bottles, if you use the plastic ones and certain metal ones, they will leach into your water. Especially if you leave them, like we've done this, if you leave them in a hot car. If you've got a plastic water bottle and it's sitting in your hot car, that is melting and going right into the water. So you just need to be very careful about what you're drinking out of. I hope I'm going to say this right, but it's the borosilicate glass. That's actually been shown to be the safest glass because that doesn't leach contaminants into anything. I think that's what they use for Pyrex as well. Okay, guys, those are my 14 things that I think are toxic things that are in your kitchen. They're in my kitchen. I will be decluttering them. I am decluttering them. I urge you to do the same. And I will say this is a video in a series on this topic that I've been doing. I think this is the third one. If you like these kinds of videos, just let me know in the comments below because I will do more of them. This is a personal interest of mine. I've been researching food and health standards for years and years. It's a little bit what I do in my day job. So just let me know and what I'll do is I'm going to link the playlist featuring the other few videos I did on this topic. Okay, guys, thank you so much for watching. I hope you have a great day and I'll see you next time.