As some of you may have seen on social media, I've recently been in Thailand... and what's my favourite thing to do on holidays? Read books on food and health of course! Maybe you're the same? I think it's the only time I have the time and space to really get stuck in, highlighter out and notebook ready. Of everything I read while away, one topic kept coming up over and over - the dangers of BPA (found in plastics), and how most of our BPA exposure comes through our diet. This is something I've known for a very long time which is why ALL of our products are 100% BPA free, and in fact to really make sure, all our products are completely plastic free. We've been insisting on this since we started manufacturing back in 2012, way before this was a mainstream topic. But honestly it's not something I've given airtime to in awhile... but after the recent reminder, I am back on the warpath, for me, but also for you!
As quoted by the Environmental Working Group, "BPA acts like estrogen in the body. It disrupts hormones, affects brain development and metabolism, and harms the reproductive system. Evidence suggests the developing fetus and young child are most at risk, but adolescents also appear uniquely vulnerable. BPA has also been linked to cancer, heart disease and other serious disorders."
That's scary right? But here's the good news... over and over again, sources say the best way to reduce you and your family's exposure to BPA is to cook more at home and consume less packaged foods. Simple as that! Even restaurant meals often contain higher BPA levels than homemade. I know I'm evangelical about this, but honestly the benefits of home cooking just go on and on 🙌.
Here's a few more things you can do to help:
🌟 Reduce the use of cans, including canned drinks. For me, canned tomatoes, beans and coconut products were my main reliance on cans, but since using my slow cooker so much in recent years, I've drastically reduced my use of canned tomatoes (instead using fresh) and canned beans (now using dried) - the slow cooker does such a brilliant job with raw ingredients, and also frozen ingredients like veggies (which are a great alternative to canned). Click here to check out all my slow cooker content.
🌟 Never heat your food in plastic - always transfer to glass or stainless steel. It's also best to store your food in glass containers, especially anything liquid, hot or acidic. Many products you buy at the supermarket are packaged in glass, such as mustard and passata - I keep these jars to store small amounts of leftovers, homemade sauces, smoothies etc. I also stock glass pantry canisters - you can check them out here.
🌟 Use glass or stainless steel for portable drinks including water, especially if they're hot, like tea and coffee! You'll never see me without my stainless steel smoothie tumbler - click here to check it out.
Of course there are more things and I'd recommend looking into it further, but the above three are the big hitters in the kitchen! Remember, all the alyce alexandra products, including our ice cream moulds, spatulas, reusable straws, ice cube moulds, dariole moulds, bar moulds, baking mats etc are 100% BPA free and 100% plastic free, being made from food-grade silicone. Our beautiful measuring cups, spoons, food warmers and dough scraper are also 100% BPA and plastic free, being made from stainless steel. Ensuring these standards comes at considerable cost to us, but it's the right thing to do. Because if it's not good enough for my family, it's not good enough for yours.
