Going Green ~ Creating a Non-Toxic Kitchen ~ Products I Love

In our efforts to have a "greener" and healthier house, we are ridding our kitchen of plastic, non-stick cookware and other toxic kitchen items.  We used to drink water out of plastic cups, plastic water bottles and plastic sippy cups.  We used plastic containers to store our food, plastic cooking utensils (spoons, ladles, and spatulas), and toxic non-stick cookware.

In my research I discovered that even plastic that is "BPA free" (bisphenol A) is still harmful.  When a product is BPA free it still has other bisphenols, which are equally as toxic if not more toxic than BPA.  In fact, many recent studies have shown bisphenol S (BPS) to be at least as toxic as BPA.  BPA is an estrogen-mimicking compound, and BPS has similar hormone disrupting characteristics.  However, BPS is more stable than BPA so it cannot biodegrade.  This means not only does it exist in our environment longer but it remains and builds up in the body longer.  There really is no "safe" plastic.

UPDATE 7.29.13: In conversations over the weekend, I realized I needed to add some information about plastic water bottles.  One of the most dangerous things you can do is drink out of a plastic water bottle that has been sitting in your hot car.  This produces similar effects as that of microwaving plastic, which is a big no-no.  The heat causes even more toxic chemicals to leak into your drink.

What we use instead:  (all of these items can be purchased at my Amazon store.

Klean Kanteen

I just got Emerson a Klean Kanteen water bottle from Pottery Barn Kids, and he loves it!  You can also buy them here!

Lifefactory Glass Water Bottles:

Stainless Steel Containers:

Pyrex glass bowls:

Pyrex Mixing Bowls with Lids
and
Pyrex Glass Containers

Silicone ice cube trays:

Stainless Steel, wood and silicone utensils

Le Creuset Cookware:

UPDATE:

We recently bought these stainless steal straws, and we LOVE them!  No more plastic straws in our house.  We use them for our green, green juice recipe HERE and our Low Glycemic Index Smoothies, recipe HERE.

I bought ours on Amazon: Coco Straws

Check out my other posts in the "Going Green" series and learn how to make your own shampoo and toothpaste:
Going Green - Homemade Toothpaste
Going Green - No Poo
Going Green - Homemade Non-toxic Household Cleaners

Healthy regards!!

Sources:
www.greenmedinfo.com
www.mercola.com

Going Green - Homemade Toothpaste

This post is part of my "Going Green" Series, in which we are making our own products in order to rid our home of chemicals and other harmful ingredients.  Read my other post from this series about making your own shampoo here: http://thrivenaturalfamilyliving.blogspot.com/2013/05/going-green-no-poo.html.

During my health coach certification I quickly learned to read the ingredients list on EVERYTHING!!  When I read all of the ingredients in my toothpaste, I was shocked!!  I mean look at this list below!!  You don't have to read it all...simply skim through it.  There are parabens, dyes, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Flouride, the list goes on.

Sensodyne original flavor

Active Ingredients:   "Fresh Impact" Potassium Nitrate 5% Sodium Fluoride 0.15% w/v fluoride ion 5% Potassium Nitrate and 0.15% w/v Sodium Monofluorophosphate (Extra Whitening) or Sodium Fluoride (Fresh Mint, 0.15% w/v; Baking Soda, 0.15% w/v; Cool Gel, 0.13% w/v; Tartar Control, 0.13% w/v; Tartar Control Plus Whitening 0.145% w/v; Original Flavor, 0.13% w/v), or Sodium Fluoride 0.15% w/v fluoride ion (Fresh Impact). Sensodyne Fresh Mint, Sensodyne Fresh Impact, Sensodyne Cool Gel, Sensodyne with Baking Soda, Sensodyne Tartar Control, Sensodyne Tartar Control Plus Whitening, Sensodyne Original Flavor and Sensodyne Extra Whitening contain fluoride for cavity prevention and Potassium Nitrate clinically proven to reduce pain sensitivity for relief of dentinal hypersensitivity resulting from the exposure of tooth dentin due to periodontal surgery, cervical (gum line) erosion, abrasion or recession which causes pain on contact with hot, cold, or tactile stimuli.

Inactive Ingredients:    Baking Soda: Flavor, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Silica, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Saccharin, Titanium Dioxide, Water.

Extra Whitening:   Calcium Peroxide, Flavor, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, PEG-12, PEG-75, Silica, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Saccharin, Titanium Dioxide, Water.

Tartar Control:   Cellulose Gum, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Flavor, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Silica, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Saccharin, Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate, Titanium Dioxide, Water.

Tartar Control Plus Whitening:   Cellulose Gum, Flavor, Glycerin, Polyethylene Glycol, Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Saccharin, Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate, Titanium Dioxide, Water.

Cool Gel:   Cellulose Gum, FD&C Blue #1, Flavor, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Silica, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Saccharin, Sorbitol, Trisodium Phosphate, Water. Fresh Impact: D&C yellow #10 lake, FD&C blue #1 lake, flavor, glycerin, hydrated silica, sodium benzoate, sodium hydroxide, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium saccharin, sorbitol, titanium dioxide, water, xanthan gum

Fresh Mint:    Inactive Ingredients: Carbomer, cellulose gum, D&C yellow #10, FD&C blue #1, flavor, glycerin, hydrated silica, octadecene/MA copolymer, poloxamer 407, potassium hydroxide, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, sodium saccharin, sorbitol, titanium dioxide, water, xanthan gum.

Original Flavor:   Cellulose Gum, D&C Red No. 28, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Peppermint Oil, Silica, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Saccharin, Sorbitol, Titanium Dioxide, Trisodium Phosphate, Water. 

(via drugs.com)

Even from a quick skim, I knew I wanted to use a more natural toothpaste.  Therefore, I started buying Tom's of Maine toothpaste, which still has some unfavorable ingredients like SLS plus it is expensive!  I quickly decided to make my own!!  It only takes a few minutes and is made with three simple ingredients: Baking Soda, Coconut Oil and Essential Oil  (I like Peppermint, but you can use Spearmint, Wintergreen or whatever you like).   I use a 50/50 ratio with the Baking Soda and Coconut Oil combined with several drops of Peppermint Oil.

In my most recent batch I used:

4 tsp Baking Soda (aluminum free)

4 tsp Organic Coconut Oil

10 drops Peppermint Oil (I now use Young Living Essential Oils)

Mix all of the ingredients in a sterile clean glass container.  (I bought this one at Target and really like it.  They have different color seals so you can differentiate between all of your homemade products).

I love it!  It will not suds up like regular toothpaste because of the lack of the cheap detergent Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, but remember that this is a good thing!!  It simply takes a little while to get used to the new feeling.

UPDATE 7.6.13 ~ I have started squirting a little Hydrogen Peroxide onto my toothbrush after I put the toothpaste on for a little extra whitening power.

Check out our other posts in the "Going Green" Series:

Going Green - Creating a Non-toxic Kitchen - Products I Love

Going Green - No Poo - A Homemade Shampoo

Going Green - Homemade Non-toxic Household Cleaners

Enjoy!!

Sources: Drugs.com and tomsofmaine.com