We’re Going Green and Loving It!

We’re going green and loving it!.... So why … you ask … would I write this kind of post here at Cooking Tip of the Day? … I’ll tell you… because the detergents that we clean our kitchens, dishes, pots and pans with …can affect our health…. So what better tip to post than a tip about going green and getting our kitchens safe and healthy?

So let’s start about the WHY…. so why go green? I’m sure I was like many of you … very complacent about the green movement… after all… that was for tree huggers and radicals… what did I have to worry about?… everything I purchase at the grocery store has been tested and controlled by the government I have grown up to know and love… I couldn’t believe just how wrong I was.

Did you know… that there’s been a sharp rise in cancers since the introduction of harsh chemicals in the household?... and it’s no wonder… did you know that chlorine bleach is a registered pesticide?

It’s no surprise to find sharp rises in skin conditions and asthma too…. what with chlorine bleach, ammonia and formaldehyde in the very products we use to “clean” our homes, dishes and eating utensils…. I just had no idea… well… I had an idea .. just never really thought about it… I knew I couldn’t tolerate chlorine bleach and ammonia.. so much so … certain cleaning chores fell to Warren since I just couldn’t handle doing them..

Expense… a lot of green products in the grocery store end up being more expensive than the grocery store brands.. so we end up making a choice… weighing cost to what’s really healthy for us… and in this economy.. expense unfortunately becomes the deciding factor on what we purchase. It doesn’t have to be… there are affordable alternatives… products that are actually cheaper than the grocery store brands and safer for us.

Did you know there are actually products that are made from botanicals that can kill 99.9% of household germs like staph, E.coli and the H1N1 virus?…. germs that lurk on surfaces in our kitchens… surfaces we eat from and touch. Products that do the job without chlorine bleach, ammonia, harsh fumes or harmful residues…. AND they’re gentle enough to use around children, pets and food.

Recently we ran out of our usual dishwasher detergent and Warren ran out to the store to get some… the store closest to us… didn’t carry the brand we had been using.. so he bought another national brand… the brand was, in fact, one I had used previously for years… funny how after you use something day after day you begin not to notice smells and tastes… YES… tastes… and when you haven’t used it in a while and go back to it… all of a sudden you notice things… our dishes and silverware smelled from bleach! I couldn’t believe it! I almost gagged when I opened the dishwasher after I had run it…

There are products that are so safe… and yet still as effective or in most cases, more effective than the usual grocery store brands … that they don’t require child safety caps. When my son was little it was a constant worry that he would get into our cleaning supplies… we were very vigilant to make sure they were out of reach…

A friend of mine introduced me to a product line of fabulous green products that are actually cheaper than the regular brands… and I love them! I’ll never go back to those harsh chemicals again…

So I would recommend you think about what cleaners and detergents you use … especially in your kitchen… surfaces you place your food on… think about what you’re ingesting… think about what you are exposing yourself and your family to…

It just makes sense to get the harmful chemicals out of the house AND save money... it's a no-brainer!

If you want any additional information about safer products for your home.. drop me an email and I’ll get you more information.. cookingtipoftheday at gmail dot com