Enjoy Baking Without The Chemicals

Do you love to bake? I do, but not because I enjoy being in the kitchen. I love to bake because I am able to satisfy my sweet tooth with baked goods that I know are full of healthy ingredients. 

But baking isn’t only about using clean, real ingredients. You also have to be careful to use baking tools that won’t seep toxins into your food. 

There is some misinformation out there about what cooking tools are safe. For example, the FDA will tell you that silicone baking tools are generally safe. But tests show that it is safe at room temperature; there is little to tell us that baking at high temperatures is equally as safe. 

Toxins in Bakeware

Years ago Teflon was all the rage. Nobody wanted their food to stick to their pans, so the chemical polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE), also known as Teflon was added to cookware in 1961. Sure it made it easier to cook, but adding chemicals and heating at high temperatures turned out to not be a good combination. 

It’s important to realize where PFTE came from.  It was discovered when a chemist was working with refrigerants, such as Freon, and discovered PFTE made metals slippery.

When heated at normal cooking temperatures, Teflon is found to be dangerous to birds. So be careful if you have a bird as a pet. When heated to just under 400 degrees, Teflon pans release chemicals into the air that can cause flu-like symptoms in humans. And forget about if your pans chip or flake as they age as you can actually ingest the chemicals.

Keep in mind that PFTE is not the only dangerous chemical in cookware. Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA are also used to make non-stick pots and pans. 

Health hazards include:

• Liver toxicity
• Testicular and kidney cancers
• Hyperthyroidism
• Decreased immune system
• Neonatal toxicity
• Disruption of the endocrine system

Here are a few things that I recommend if you want to bake without worry:

Stainless Steel Cooling Rack

Stainless steel is safe and it will last you forever. These stainless steel cooling racks are stackable and they are not coated or treated with anything. I like these particular ones because they are collapsible, so they’re easy to store when not in use. 

Natural Stone Muffin Pan

Natural stone is great because, while being safe, your food is sure to cook evenly. And for this muffin pan, you will not need to use any liner; your cupcakes or muffins are easy to remove. Just be careful not to use soap to clean (the stone will absorb the soap). 

Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

Again, you won’t have to worry about your food when you use stainless steel. These stackable mixing bowls come as a set of six in various sizes. They are perfect for mixing, but they have a million other kitchen uses. 

Ceramic Pans

Ceramic is another material that is safe for cooking. This cookie sheet and cake pan from GreenLife are ceramic with non-stick coating. They are manufactured without PFAS, PFOA (compounds linked to adverse health effects), lead and cadmium.

GreenLife uses a coating is called Thermolon, which is derived from natural materials. That means it’s free from any toxins and 100% safe for your family. And just by doing some research and reading reviews, food easily slides off these pans; no need to worry about sticking.

What are some of your favorite baking tools? I’d love for you to share in the comments below.

Leann Forst, MBA, CHC — Family Health & Cancer Coach

Leann is a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, holding a Master’s degree from Drake University and a Bachelor of Science from Upper Iowa University. Leann is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. And she is an award winning author of 2 books “How to Get Your Kids to Beg for Veggies” and “100 Ways to Lose Weight”.

Born and raised as an Iowa farm girl, she moved to Texas in 1998 where she lives with her husband and 2 kids.

As a wife of a brain cancer survivor, Leann has a special interest in anti-cancer nutrition and detoxification. She works with individuals and groups, and speaks regularly at hospitals, schools and organizations to teach people how to attain optimal health by getting to the root cause of chronic and inflammatory conditions, while using healing modalities such as essential oils. Click here to get Leann’s free report, “37 Cancer Facts You Should Know…But Probably Don’t”. And take Leann’s Nutrient Deficiency Quiz here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

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