My New Cutting Board and a Kid's Craft Project

I was looking online for a green cutting board when I found Epicurean. I blogged about them here. I wanted to give them a try and my 8x6" Recycled Series board arrived a couple of days ago. In the meantime, I found a local shop, The Colorful Cook in Canmore, Alberta, that carries this line of cutting boards, so I can go buy more if I like them... and boy, I do likey!


They are made in Duluth, Minnesota, from recycled cardboard. They are resistant to heat and stains, are dishwasher safe, and kind to knives. I have used my board several times already. After an initial wash with soap and water, my daughter and I made a small fruit salad. The board did resist staining, and was super easy to clean up again with soap, water, and an air dry. I have already brought my old plastic board of the same size to the thrift store. And next week, I plan to go to The Colorful Cook to buy a 14x11" board. If you are looking for a green, healthy board, please check out Epicurean.


On a side note, there was a long piece of packing paper protecting our new cutting board. It was about the same length as my daughter, so instead of throwing it into the recycler, we got to work tracing each other, then we used markers to dress up Quin's new buddy. Thanks to Epicurean for an environmentally responsible cutting board and for providing us with a morning of inventive fun!

My New Cutting Board and a Kid's Craft Project

I was looking online for a green cutting board when I found Epicurean. I blogged about them here. I wanted to give them a try and my 8x6" Recycled Series board arrived a couple of days ago. In the meantime, I found a local shop, The Colorful Cook in Canmore, Alberta, that carries this line of cutting boards, so I can go buy more if I like them... and boy, I do likey!


They are made in Duluth, Minnesota, from recycled cardboard. They are resistant to heat and stains, are dishwasher safe, and kind to knives. I have used my board several times already. After an initial wash with soap and water, my daughter and I made a small fruit salad. The board did resist staining, and was super easy to clean up again with soap, water, and an air dry. I have already brought my old plastic board of the same size to the thrift store. And next week, I plan to go to The Colorful Cook to buy a 14x11" board. If you are looking for a green, healthy board, please check out Epicurean.


On a side note, there was a long piece of packing paper protecting our new cutting board. It was about the same length as my daughter, so instead of throwing it into the recycler, we got to work tracing each other, then we used markers to dress up Quin's new buddy. Thanks to Epicurean for an environmentally responsible cutting board and for providing us with a morning of inventive fun!

No More Teflon

I recently blogged about Ten Toxins here. At the top of the list is Teflon pans, something I have known for a long time but have not had a chance to tackle in our household until recently. Today, I bought a new pan at a local department store. I had seen it online and was curious, and was surprised to see it in this very mainstream chain store. It is a GreenPan. It is made of Black Forged Aluminium which is "designed for high performance and convenience". I think this is meant for people like me who can't quite get the hang of healthy but less-than-non-stick cast iron (I will be blogging about my cast iron pan soon...). While I like cast iron, and I plan to buy more in different sizes, I wanted to give this pan a shot. The store only carried the 8" pan, for some strange reason, but I did need to replace my 8" Teflon pan so I went for it. The normal selling price was $39.99 (Canadian) and it rang up $29.99, which is a decent sale price. The pan is made from a Thermolon non-stick coating which is free of PTFE, (Polytetrafluoroethylene,the chemical name for Teflon trademarked material) is heat resistent to 450C/850F (sheesh, that's mighty hot!!), and it doesn't release toxic fumes like Teflon can. It is manufactured PFOA-free (perfluorooctanoic acid which is in Teflon). The Thermolon coating is not supposed to break down over time or wear out over time.

I am excited to use my new pan, and will be sure to pass along my findings once I do. If all goes well, I may buy one more 12" one, to replace my current crepe making pan...

Green Cutting Boards - Epicurean

I have been a bit preoccupied with cutting boards lately. The common ones are made from either wood, plastic, or glass. I have something against the sound of cutting on glass ones. The plastic ones make me feel as if I am eating plastic fragments in my food. And the wood ones are supposed to be difficult to clean...

My research quickly left me confused. I kept ending up at various health department sites that contradicted one another. One would say that plastic harbors microbes longer than wood. Another would say that you should use a bleach solution on both wood and plastic boards, when another would say that bleach has no affect on the wood boards due to their composition. Another would say that wood has its own disinfecting quality that kills microbes. And as I kept reading, all I really wanted to find was a site that told me what was the most healthy board and how could I care for it. ORGANICALLY. I don't want to clean anything with chlorine bleach that I then eat off of. Call me silly. Many people do. As a vegetarian, I don't use cutting boards for meat, but I do use them all the time for bread (wood) and veggies and fruit (plastic) and I just want to know what it best. I was shocked that not one site mentioned toxins in plastic, since that is such a big topic right now. Does anyone know much about this?

What I did find to share was this video on how to organically clean a wooden cutting board (super easy!).


And I found a blog, Bright Seeker, that mentions Epicurean, a company based in Duluth, Minnesota (I am originally from Minneapolis). The have a Recycled Series of cutting boards! Bright Seeker is a long time user of Epicurean boards, which were normally made of Eco Select paper, but now they are also available made from recycled cardboard composite! They meet NSF approval and are stain and heat resistant, kind to knives, and they can be washed in the dishwasher. They range in price from $12 - $35 US. I am so excited and can't wait to write up a post on my new cutting boards!!

UPDATE: I emailed Karie Duff, at Epicurean, and asked her to read over this post to make sure I had everything correct. She said that the Recycled Series of cutting boards in not NSF approved, but the all of their other products are made from wood fibers from sustainable forests, so they have the NSF approval. And she pointed aout again that the Recycled Series can be washed in the dishwasher. Thanks, Karie!