PureClayCooking

So many things are labeled “green” but are quite far from being truly eco-friendly. The pots and pans labeled ‘green cookware’ are no different. This disguise is so great that many of the pots and pans are painted green and therefore are even labeled “green” or eco friendly. To prove my point, just type ‘eco-friendly pots’ in a search engine, the results include green colored pots, while the fact is the green paint itself has toxic chemicals unhealthy for the food and the environment in many ways. Continue reading These Pots and Pans Are Healthy For Your Body and The Planet

As people are becoming more aware about the harmful effects of cooking food in conventional cookware, clay pot cooking is gaining popularity once again. Some would be surprised to know that cooking in clay cookware is as old as human civilization. It is evident from the ten-thousand-year-old artifacts from great and powerful civilizations – you can find cookware and utensils made from clay. 

Continue reading Clay Cookware: An Ancient Practice Becoming Popular Again

With so many toxic cookware in the market, it’s usual to choose an unhealthy cookware. Here’s a simple guide to help you choose the safest cookware for your family. 

The safest cookware should have the following three qualities: 

1. It should be free from toxins 
2. It should keep the nutritional value of food intact 
3. It should be environment friendly 

Continue reading The Safest Cookware must be Free of Toxins, Eco-Friendly & Cook Nutritiously –Which One is It?

When it comes to choosing the best rice cooker, you might have seldom heard of the one that cooks with air and water in earth, probably because the stores are full of conventional metal/ceramic pots for rice cooking that may be quick and convenient but with certain consequences. Metals are known to leach toxins and their harsh heat destroy delicate nutrients depleting the nutritional value of rice. This calls for an alternative and I am here to discuss exactly that. 

Among different types of materials mined, extracted and processed while poisoning everything and everyone that come in contact with them, then laden with chemicals that further contaminate food during cooking; there is a material that feels like a breath of fresh air. This is nothing but the earth itself – provided by nature for exactly this purpose, one might wonder. I am talking about unglazed primary clay (or pure-clay) harvested from earth’s surface that makes this natural rice cooker. 

The three basic elements of nature – air, water and earth come together to cook this healthy and naturally delicious rice: 

When cooking in pure clay pots, you don’t need any oils or additives to cook rice, all you need to add to rice is water (typically in the ratio of 1:2 or as per the instructions that come with rice). Most people are already aware not to use overly processed rice. Any other store-bought additives, like broth etc. only diminish the health value offered by rice. 

Pure clay rice cooker is an excellent retainer of heat – you don’t need to keep it on heat all the while it’s cooking. Once you get familiar with the actual duration of cooking, you can even turn the heat off before the water fully boils and the rice keeps cooking with the heat from pot – how amazing is that! That’s when you feel your rice being cooked with water and air from the environment in this natural material which is nothing but earth. 

In case you aren’t aware, the walls of these pots are breathable, they let out excess water so that your rice cook just the right amount of moist – soft and fluffy is what you’d call to describe the texture. Many even claim that the taste of rice is enhanced by cooking in pure-clay, or maybe that’s just the real and natural taste of rice that we never got to experience with those added toxins from metals and ceramics.

Such healthy, tasty and perfectly cooked rice makes these pots the best rice cookers – hands on experience is the key to enlightenment! 

How to make yogurt at home? But not just any yogurt, how to make delicious, thick and creamy yogurt right in your kitchen? This question can tempt your taste buds any time but the process of making it might seem daunting, a lot of times. Some of the common problems are yogurt turning out watery, runny or too sour or yogurt not setting at all! This makes most people turn to the store-bought yogurt which tastes good for sure, but with consequences.

The Additives in Store Bought Yogurt 

The store-bought yogurt gets its taste and texture from a number of additives and artificial sugars which may be good to the taste but are a lot less nutritious and even bad for health sometimes. The commonly used additives for thickening are gelatin (glue made from animal bones), pectin (a bio-polymer acid, lab-made ingredient), powdered milk etc. And it is usually loaded with unhealthy sugars and artificial sweeteners that can make things really bad for people who have type 2 diabetes. While real and all-natural yogurt is actually supposed to help with many health issues, this one with the additives does just the opposite.

 So, if one wants to take advantage of all the essential nutrients the yogurt can offer, it’s important that it is made at home using natural method, which is actually quite simple, if you know this secret:

The Natural Method of Making Yogurt at Home 

The secret to making the most thick and creamy yogurt is making it at home in a pure clay pot (yogurt maker set)!  Pure-clay pots are made from the highest quality natural clay (primary clay) that has no contaminants and is made by hands without using ANY additives.  These pots are Non-toxic — will make sure nothing leaches into your yogurt and contaminate it, and semi-porous — allow excess water to evaporate making the yogurt thick and creamy, naturally and WITHOUT any additives.

Once you have the pot, the rest is easy:

1. Heat the milk to just before boiling point (till small bubbles form on the surface). Turn stove off, and open lid and let it cool down for 30 mins or so, till you can put your little finger and hold it there for 5 secs. Now the milk is ready for the culture. 
2. Add yogurt culture.  
3. Set in the oven with the lid on and oven light on. 
4. Let it incubate for 6-8 hours and the yogurt is ready. 

The whole process takes less than 10 minutes hands-on time and the yogurt left in the pot gets thicker and creamery within few hours after fermenting. Also, no additives or sugars are needed and there is no nutritional loss (because the heat from the walls of the pot is gentle on the foods nutritional cells). By using this natural method, you will get healthy, delicious and creamy yogurt every time!

Ready to make your own homemade yogurt? Head over to MEC Store and get a yogurt maker today!

Not a few days go by without us hearing about children and adults having acquired one or the other life threatening diseases – because they live close to toxic industrial waste or a manufacturing plant releasing toxic gases. There are many products that look beautiful and attractive when they are placed in a shopping store. But in their journey from obtaining raw material to making the finished product, they pollute the environment in many ways. Metal and ceramic cookware are typical examples of such products. 

Continue reading Green Cooking: Starts With Eco-Friendly Cookware