Looking for kitchen ideas to make the center of your home the best it can be?

When it comes to the kitchen, it’s not just the food you choose to buy that counts; the kitchen itself can carry a heavy carbon footprint, from the appliances you use to the materials of which the kitchen is made. Check out these simple kitchen ideas that can revamp your kitchen with low-impact style and sensibility.

1. Non-Toxic Cookware

Non-stick cookware poses potential health risks, so be sure to replace any Teflon-coated cookware with ceramic-coated cookware. Ceramic coating prevents food from sticking to the plans and can stay stable at high temperatures, which means it will not smoke or fume to transfer toxins to your food.

Cuisinart’s Green Gourmet Cookware uses ceramic-based non-stick technology and is designed to conduct heat better. It is also made from 70 percent recycled materials and is backed by a lifetime warranty. Other worthy brands are Bialetti Aeternum, whose cookware is made of titanium and micro-particles of suspended silicate (main ingredient in glass); Original GreenPan, which features Thermolon non-stick technology that can withstand temperatures as high as 850 degrees Fahrenheit without emitting toxic fumes; Ozeri Green Earth Smooth Ceramic Cookware, made of German-engineered Greblon ceramic that is free of PTFE and PFOA; and ScanPan Professional Pans, which features a Green Tek non-stick surface and ceramic titanium coating that’s free of PFOA and PFOS.

2. Bamboo or Acacia Utensils

Bamboo or acacia kitchen utensils are becoming increasingly more popular in the kitchen. Wooden utensils are overall economical and lasting. They are delicate and less abrasive than plastic or metal utensils and offer a more home-like feel to the kitchen environment. Bamboo and acacia are highly-renewable. They grow and regenerate themselves quickly and can be harvested every 3-7 years as opposed to soft-woods, which take up to 20 years. They are also far more durable than other woods. Check out bamboo and acacia kitchen utensils and make the switch.

3. Countertops

There are a variety of options for eco-friendly kitchen countertops – it all depends on your taste. IceStone is the most popular recycled kitchen surface and is made of three core ingredients: 100 percent recycled glass, Portland cement, and pigment. It is safe and durable as well as comes in a variety of colors. Eco by Cosentino is 75 percent postindustrial or post-consumer materials. It has a nonporous surface and requires no sealant. Caesarstone offers a lifetime warranty to its residential customers. It is a nonporous surface and has a Greenguard certification. Teragren produces bamboo surfaces, which is a highly-renewable option and something that will stand the test of time. PaperStone Products makes a 100 percent post-consumer paper surface that is fused with petroleum-free resin extracted from cashew liquids. Coverings Etc. offers a 100 percent recycled glass surface material. Each shade signifies a single waste stream. What started as a graduate school project on sustainable design led to  Tiger Mountain Innovations and its Squak Mountain Stone, hand-cast slabs made from recycled paper and glass bound with low-carbon element.

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Photo Credit: nosha

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You may be a slave to the stove but you can also be a steward of the planet with new earth-friendly cookware developed by Ecolution.

Day in, day out, we use the stove – and of course, our cookware – to heat our meals and cook our snacks. But a revolutionary company called Ecolution has put green where we are not used to seeing it: in pots, pans and skillets. It has developed a Hydrolon non-stick surface which is made using a water-based process unlike traditional Teflon, which, according to Ecolution, uses harsh solvents to create a non-stick surface. The company claims the Ecolution surface is therefore safer for healthy, earth-friendly cooking and eating.

In fact, Ecolution has put an environmental mindfulness into what is often a routine chore. Let’s face it, we’ve all watched and waited for a pot to boil while letting our mind wander aimlessly, but Ecolution’s emphasis on the environment reminds us to consider that the earth is inhabited by an extended family of cooks, all sharing this great round green (and blue) earth.

The cookware, ranging from saucepans to griddles, are available at retailers like Amazon or Bed Bath & Beyond and suggested retail prices range from $31.99 for a 14-inch fry pan to an 8-piece green-colored (and green-minded) cookware set for $69.99. As part of its mission to promote eco-friendly cooking, the company has suggested some interesting ways to reuse or recycle your old pots, such as using them for camping, for your kids’ play kitchen or as planters. The Ecolution website provides a zip code-based search to find local charities where you can donate your old cookware or a place where the old pots can be recycled.

So vegans, meat-eaters and macrobiotics unite and cook green!

Editor’s note: Article by Anne Driscoll. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

Image: ginnerobot

The post Cooking Up a New Way to Be Green appeared first on EcoSalon.

While the government has yet to assess the safety of nonstick cookware, we the people have gotten word that Teflon is taboo. On a conventional stovetop, it only takes two to five minutes to exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart and emits toxic particles and gases that can expose us, our children and our pets to chemical dangers.

According to Natural News, Dupont denies that Teflon is unsafe for use in households, even though those fumes it gives off are well known to kill parrots and other pet birds. In fact, the company faces new charges from the EPA that it concealed research showing pregnant women exposed to the chemicals passed them on to their babies. It has also accused the company of hiding evidence it’s manufacturing plant had contaminated water supplies affecting 12,000 people. Teflon reassures customers of the safety of its products on its web site, saying that even the EPA doesn’t believe the cookware is bad for you.

We cannot rely on these companies to do the investigating for us – they’ve got pots and pans to sell. A better choice would be to seek out an iron or stainless steel pan you like. Unfortunately, that requires using oil which consumers try to avoid because of our national fat phobia.

Cuisinart might have the first, good alternative. It has introduced an eco-friendly nonstick line of cookware called Green Gourmet, shown above, which sells for $249 for the 12-piece set, $49.95 for a 10″ skillet. The nonstick technology is a petroleum-free, ceramic-based interior to conserve oil consumption and the coating is applied at a temperature one-half that of conventional nonsticks. The cookware is also free of PTFE and PFOA and boasts riveted stainless handles made from 70% recycled stainless steel. It also helps save energy via its anodized construction that provides superior heat conductivity. The company goes one further with by packaging the cookware in 100% recycled materials printed with soy ink.

Best of all, the cookware comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Now that’s green.

The post Teflon's Safety Claims Aren't Sticking: Go Green Gourmet appeared first on EcoSalon.