Trying to get all the plastic out of the kitchen is really hard!!!

[delia_peterson]

OK, here goes my ignorant questions. Why dont you use plastic in the microwave? And do you store food in the freezer with any plastic items? I am learning sooo much from ya'll.

 

[big brown horse]

I have a little sticky that say "no plastic in the microwave" on the microwave...I just put it there recently. Actually we have been trying to avoid using the microwave all together lately...just to see if we can do it. I have a tiny pot with a lid that I have been using to heat all left overs that need to be heated, say for lunches.

I think heating plastic releases the toxins it contains.

Ok, I will attempt to fry my eggs in the cast iron skillets I have. They are well seasoned and I usually have no problems with them sticking when cooking other items.

I'm going to look for a wooden spatula today for other things.

Would you guys say that high end non stick pans are still dangerous?

School lunches: Well I hate to use anything that goes into the trash, but plastic is something I am really trying to avoid touching my daughter's food. Glass is just a big no no when it comes to dragging it to school. I figured wax paper was my best bet until I can find something else that is reusable. She already has a ss thremos/water container and a cloth napkin and lunch bag.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Oh yeah, I still use freezer bags. try wrapping a roasting chicken in butcher paper

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I don't think the brand or the high-end nature of the non-stick pan is going to make a huge difference. Seems to me that a non-stick coated pan is kind of like a plated metal . . . eventually the surface treatment will degrade. It may take longer with the fancier pan, but coatings are rarely permanent. I would opt for a solid material pan instead. I would try to use the nonstick pan as infrequently as possible.

With plastic, you want to be mostly concerned with using it around heat and chemically active substances . . . um, I mean foods and beverages (like strong acids or bases). Some plastics are more likely to leach under various conditions. In general, the colder the plastic is, the less likely it will leach.

 

[Blackbird]

Instead of leftovers with wax paper in bowls you could use canning jars, same with the freezer, I know someone on here was talking about having 'freezer boxes' which are basically glass or ceramic containers. Same someone was saying something about rubber-banding the lids on. Wonder where the thread is..

 

[big brown horse]

Good idea, I have about 3 fridge boxes. Canning jars, that is a really good idea too.

I was thinking about going to the Army Surplus to find food storage containers made out of ss for my daughter's lunches. I am trying to think what they would have used before the turn of the century... Didn't Laura Ingalls use a pail with cloth wrapped sandwiches? Yeah, that is what I'll send her to school with!!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Actually you can buy stainless steel "to go" containers for your lunches etc. I used to have the link, but I bet if you googled it you would find some.

 

[freemotion]

Have you seen those Japanese lunch boxes, I think they are called Bento boxes or something like that? They are plastic, but pretty cool. I am not sure the school will take kindly to kids bringing in glass, but I'd sure try it. Maybe the boxes come in stainless....I bet they do. Once, doing a search for something else, I came across some blogs with pictures of kids lunches in these boxes....they looked SOOOO good, I wanted one for myself!

I do use some plastic, I am trying to reduce it a LOT, though. I still use ziploc bags in the freezer a lot, but am freezing more in canning jars, too.

Costco has a coupon right now for glass refrigerator boxes with lids, and I got some at HomeGoods with plastic lids. I don't mind the lids, since they don't touch the food. I love the clear glass in the fridge, since I can see everything at a glance.

I have been talking about making a sandwich wrap by applying beeswax to a piece of cotton cloth, but I so rarely bring a sandwich anywhere, I just haven't. Maybe this will inspire me to get it done! You just wipe the cloth down after using it. Some have velcro, but I would just use a rubber band or tie it with a ribbon or string. I rarely use standard bread sizes. Every other lunchbox item can go into containers.

As for eggs in cast iron, BBH, use a Griswold if you have one rather than Lodge, and pre-heat it. If I put my small Griswold on the burner at 3 for 5-10 minutes, then when I am ready to cook my eggs, I turn it up to 5 for a minute, it is NON-STICK!!!!! I just clean it by wiping it out with a dry cloth. Done.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and I solved the non-stick pan issue by not using it anymore. DH still does, but once I learned how to cook eggs in a cast iron pan, I stopped. If the fumes can kill caged birds in your home.....well, isn't that why they used to bring a caged canary into the mines years ago?

I have heard that they are safe up to 400 F. But "they" say a lot of things are safe that I don't believe anymore....

 

[miss_thenorth]

Personally, I wouldn't want to send glass to school with my kids. I'm not a big fan of cleaning broken glass out of their lunch pails.