Linsday Dahl

The Huffington Post recently wrote a damning article about DuPont’s role in hiding the horrible health impacts of Teflon, a common material used in pots and pans across the United States. And with the flurry of press that resulted from uncovering this truth, there was one fact left consumers looking for safer, non-toxic cookware options. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly every American has this toxic substance in their body, including infants and children.

And now we want solutions, we want to make small but meaningful choices in our homes to protect ourselves. The good news is we can. Each dollar we spend is a dollar towards our new, safer economy.

Finding Safer Pots and Pans

Calphalon (Jury is out)

The popular company Caphalon introduced a “safe” non-stick pan in 2013, that uses ceramic rather than PFCs (a good thing). What concerns me about this brand however, is their website states definitively that non-stick coatings (PFCs) are safe and goes as far to say that the FDA and EPA have raised no concerns about the coatings. Here’s the kicker: the EPA and FDA don’t have the authority to ban or regulate these chemicals under our broken federal laws and there are endless studies showing harm from PFOA and similar chemicals. I emailed the company asking about the safety of their non-stick pans and they went as far to say that PFOA coatings on pans were of no concern. So at this time I cannot confidently recommend Calphalon pots and pans.

Unidentified Non-Stick Coatings (Avoid)

Some other brands that claim to have safe non-stick pans are using similar fluorotelomer coatings, raising red flags for health and safety. Make sure your non-stick pans don’t use fluorotelomer coatings of any form, and encourage companies to fully disclose all of the chemicals used to make their non-stick coatings. If a company fails to tell you what is in their product, consider that a red flag and move on.

Ceramic finish non-stick, Lead-free ceramic and Enamel-based cookware (Safer)

All of these are safer options, but have some downsides. Debra Lynn Dadd wrote up a good description of the difference between some of these pans; the main difference is that the ceramic non-stick finish wears off after a couple of years and needs to be replaced (a hassle and has an environmental footprint).

Stainless steel, Cast iron (Safer/Best Options)

Based on the best available information, simple stainless steel and cast iron cookware is your best bet. Stainless steel is easy to use, lasts a lifetime, is non-toxic, has no finishes and is relatively non-stick if you use the right oils and fats when cooking. Cast iron is even better for non-stick alternatives because a well-seasoned pan can be just as effective (if not more) than Teflon, minus all the health effects.

• Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet (Made in USA) – $27.00
• Cuisinart Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set – $48.00
• Kirkland 13-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set – $174.00

For a great article on how to care for your cast iron skillet, check out Lori Alper’s blog here.

Small choices like switching out your cookware can be very meaningful. Jane Goodall said it best,

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.”

And after you order a safer set of cookware, tell Congress you want new laws that protect consumers from harmful chemicals.

Locate your Senators and Representative

Address:

ex: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500

Originally published at LindsayDahl.com

Does your family struggle with the crazy sugar load of Halloween? It seems like Halloween has turned into all treat with little tricks!

My friend and her husband were struggling with all the sugar and the temptation of Halloween, so they invented The Sugar Goblin: The Return of Tricks for Treats. This concept is so cute and wonderful I wanted to share with all my readers, whether you are a parent, aunt, or have friends with kids.

An interview with Crystal Boyle: Mother, Entrepreneur and Creator of The Sugar Goblin

Q: Who is the Sugar Goblin?

A: The Sugar Goblin is our family’s favorite Halloween tradition. It’s an adorable plush green goblin and a book that tells his story. Here is how it works: The Sugar Goblin is a little night time mischief maker who (with mom and dad’s help) plays little tricks on the family in the days leading up to Halloween. After the crazy Halloween sugar craze is over kids choose some treats for themselves and trade the rest to The Sugar Goblin for a small toy. Tricks for treats!

Q: Every great idea has a great backstory. How did you come up with it?

A: We have three young kids who love Halloween. A couple of years ago my oldest daughter had accumulated a huge stash of candy by the time the season was over. It’s not just the trick or treating. I felt like every event we went to in October handed out tons of candy. My kids feel like they own that stash of candy so it’s a huge struggle to help them eat just a little at a time. They want to keep it in their rooms and eat it for breakfast!

I want Halloween to be about dressing up and carving pumpkins, not arguments about eating nerds before breakfast. We came up with the Sugar Goblin as a fun tradition for families and a way for parents to encourage some moderation. Sugar Goblins appear once you read the story about how the goblin village is running out of candy. These sweet little creatures survive on treats and they are all out. Then your goblin shows up a few weeks (or a few days) before Halloween and plays a little trick each night.

My kids were instantly captured by the magic of it. They race out of bed to discover the tricks and happily give up a huge portion of the candy to save the village. The night after Halloween the Sugar Goblin takes the candy and goes back to the forest where he lives. He leaves a little toy to say how grateful he is (he may or may not leave the snicker bars for me).

Q: Give us your best tricks for using the Sugar Goblin

A: I have three kids so my house tends to be a mess anyway. Sometimes I just throw a few stuffed animals around or dump out some blocks and blame the goblin. He has Velcro hands so you can easily hang him anywhere. Today my husband woke up and nearly scolded the girls for dumping out some cereal, but it was actually the goblin. Usually one day right before Halloween I do a bigger trick. I toilet paper the bathroom or I use scotch tape to cover the kids bedroom doorways. You can also find lots of trick ideas on our website.

Q: The Sugar Goblin can help families with food allergies or parents who want to avoid food dyes, how?

A: One of the biggest reasons I created the Sugar Goblin was to deal with the total disconnect between what we know about chemicals and harmful ingredients in food, and what we feed our kids. For most of the year my kids know they can’t eat candy with food dyes or other harmful chemicals. But on Halloween it feels like all bets are off. At every event they attend in October they are handed candy by the handfuls that we would never bring into our home otherwise. They feel like they own the candy because it was given to them for their hard work of trick or treating!

Sometimes by then end of October I am so burnt on saying no that we end up breaking all our food rules.  Plus their taste buds are destroyed.

The first year we had the Sugar Goblin we finally got to do all the fun things associated with Halloween without all the power struggles.

I can tell my kids the Sugar Goblins really like all the red candies the best, but they can keep some chocolate for themselves.  Its also been really helpful to families with food sensitivities or allergies so they can have a fun way to take away the candy the kids can’t eat otherwise.

Q: Can the Sugar Goblin just stick around all year?

A: Yes! I mean, not to rant or anything, but the amount of sugar filled treats handed out at school, after sports, and at parties drives me bonkers. Last year I brought him out a couple days before Easter. He just did a trick or two and the kids assumed his stash was getting low. I think I’ll get him some bunny ears next year!

Originally published at LindsayDalh.com.