A Cleaner Kitchen

Angela Flotken advocates for making small changes over time.

- By Sydney Loughran Wolf

Twelve years ago, when Angela Flotken was expecting her first child, she began to take a deeper interest in her health and wanted to know more about the food and kitchen items that she was buying at her local grocery. She began researching ingredients, the biodegradability of packaging, toxins in manufactured items, and just about any other item that she was using or consuming in her daily life. Since then, Flotken’s taken her research one step further by launching The Better Have, a wellness blog on which she writes about clean, healthy living. By researching and personally testing products, she’s helping others leapfrog these time-consuming tasks.

“Small changes add up,” says Flotken. “Educating people about changes they can make over time eventually makes a big difference.”

Here, she shares smart, simple methods for making better choices in and around the kitchen.

1. THINK LOCAL

Fruits and vegetables from conventional farms, even after washing, may contain a surface residue of pesticides and chemicals such as glyphosate. Flotken suggests looking for the USDA Organic label or buying from a local farmer who doesn’t use pesticides. “The Tower Grove Farmers’ Market is great for this,” she says. Another option is to join a community-supported agriculture network, which provides seasonal local produce in weekly drop-offs.

2. CHOOSE AN ALTERNATIVE

Many nonstick pots and pans are made with PTFE (the chemical abbreviation for Teflon), a toxic chemical that the EPA has found to be persistent in the environment and the human body. “When nonstick pots and pans reach a high heat, chemicals leach into the food cooked in them, so avoid using all nonstick surfaces,” Flotken says, citing cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and lined copper as safe alternatives. She looks for the All-Clad brand when shopping for cookware.