Cooking Methods

Being a busy mommy, like most of my friends, convenience screams yes, yes, yes.  The more back to the basics that I seem to become the more I see the need for good things to take time.  We live  in such a fast paced, give it to me now society that it is almost impossible to slow down. It can be difficult to remember in the hurried fashion of traffic, soccer games, and dance lessons that in the book of Genesis even the Lord shares how He rested.

While rest is extremely important, short cuts in the kitchen to get that rest are not always the best way.  One short cut that our country has adopted is using the microwave. Chances are that you have one in your kitchen, and that you use it just about everyday. Almost two years ago I took mine out of the kitchen.  It changed my life. 

I decided to do this of course because of the health issues.  Using the microwave destroys the nutrients in our food, changes the chemical composition of the food making it not safe for consumption, and it creates an extremely strong electro-magnetic field that is damaging to our over all health. I'll talk more about EMFs at another time.

When I removed the microwave I learned how to cook again, how to really cook.  I started making more things from scratch.  My patience level increased dramatically.  I firmly believe that the microwaving of food as a means of reheating or cooking adds emphatically to the impatience of our culture.

Strange as this may sound when I am somewhere where there is a microwave being used I can smell that the food was cooked in it. It absolutely turns my stomach upside down.  The same food cooked in an oven versus a microwave smells completely different to me. I'll put links at the bottom to learn more about the dangers of microwave cooking.

My closest friend in the kitchen is the food processor. If you don't have one, invest in one. They make so many jobs so much easier. I also love my blender, especially since I got the Vitamix. I highly favor my toaster oven for reheating.  Pampered Chef sells a small stoneware pan that fits right inside.

I just finally got rid of my non-stick pans. The teflon non-stick coating is highly toxic. Once the pans reaches the heat index of 446 degrees Fahrenheit toxins are released. Within five minutes most pans reach 721 degrees Fahrenheit. Those toxins in small amounts can kill birds.  Think of how many we inhale over the course of our lives.

I replaced my non-stick pans with cast iron. Dr. Mercola has a line of ceramic cookware, but I can't afford those right now.  I'd like to acquire some more stainless steel pans as well.  While I know some metal leaching can occur with those two choices, I feel confident that they are much safer then teflon coated pans.

Another thing in my kitchen that I replaced were my cutting boards.  I switched from plastic to bamboo. Plastic materials have something called phthalates. These phthalates are chemicals that can cause and have caused :

Declining sperm

Increase in testicular cancer 

Early puberty

Bamboo is of course a natural material. It's very hard, and sturdy. It has all natural antibacterial properties as well.  Bamboo cutting boards are easy to clean, and come in all sizes.  I purchased mine from Walmart.  I'm sure there are better ones out there, but for now mine are working just fine.

Along with taking out the plastic cutting boards I have removed most (not all) plastic ware, cups, plates, bowls, and containers. I have placed most things, not everything, but most things in glass jars that I've collected though groceries. I simply recycle the glass jars that I buy food in from the store. Many of these jars have turned into drinking glasses as well.

I hope that this has proved helpful to you.

Microwave Articles:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/11/05/microwave-food.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/11/05/microwave-food.aspx

Teflon Articles:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/08/01/nonstick-cookware-part-one.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/04/19/nonstick-cookware-part-two.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/03/06/non-stick-cookware-continues-to-prove-its-toxicity.aspx

Plastic Articles

http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2007/05/23/The-Plastic-Poisons-That-Surround-You.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/03/31/chemicals.aspx