This is Day 50 of the Green in 365 series!
In addition to plastics, another material that we need to be wary of using in our kitchens is aluminum. There are several reasons why we should try to reduce aluminum use in our kitchens:
1. Aluminum is a non-renewable resource, meaning that when we use up the earth’s supply of aluminum, it’s gone. The earth cannot make more aluminum.
2. Elevated levels of aluminum in the brain may be connected to an increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease. (source) Other health problems related to aluminum may be kidney disease, bone and brain disease, breast cancer and more, although these links are unproven.
3. We are exposed to aluminum every day through our environment, so it is probably wise to eliminate aluminum in areas that we have control over, our kitchens and our homes.
You may wonder how to know if your metal baking pans, mixing bowls or sauce pans are made out of aluminum or not. Aluminum is a lighter colored, and lighter weight, metal than stainless steel, and stainless is almost always labeled on the bottom of a pan. If you have a metal pan without a label, you can probably assume that it is aluminum.
6 Easy Ways to Get Aluminum Out of Your Kitchen
• Use glass baking pans, ceramic casserole dishes, or stoneware instead of aluminum for cooking and baking.
• If your muffin tins are aluminum, be sure to use unbleached muffin liner cups.
• Replace aluminum pots and pans with stainless steel (but not non-stick pans! We’ll talk about that later this week.)
• Reduce your use of aluminum foil as much as you can, and purchase recycled aluminum foil when possible.
• Switch our your baking powder for aluminum-free baking powder, I use Rumford brand.
• Get rid of aluminum water bottles and switch to stainless steel or glass drinking cups instead.
Also, although aluminum is a non-renewable resource, it’s also one of the most recyclable materials, because almost 100% of recycled aluminum can be made into another aluminum item. So, when you do use aluminum in your kitchen – food and beverage cans – make sure they go in the recycling bin and not the trash!
What other products containing aluminum have you removed from your kitchen?
Find all the Green in 365 posts.
More Green Kitchen Tips!
Get rid of plastic and Teflon too!
Top Photo Credit:Rawich/FreeDigitalPhotos
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