It’s 2025, and we’re still figuring our kitchens out. Here’s a little help to manage those nasties.

1. Get rid of the nasty materials you cook your food in.

The dosas/crepes that you get in no time have a cost attached to it. It is through Teflon that minute plastic and other chemicals enter your food. It’s a hazard for your health! Once you avoid it for a long time, you won’t be able to stand the smell of a hot Teflon pan on the stove. You’d know it! Same goes for microwaves and air-fryers. It’s best to stick to your old ways cooking.

2. The thing about oils

Oil helps in giving flavour to your curries but with time, it takes a toll on your veins by ruining your cholesterol. Use a hint of oil and add a dash of water to cook your veggies/curries. Switch to filtered oil brands (we heard Rujuta Diwekar say it) or wood-/cold-pressed oils (preferably in recycled cartons/glass bottles for better protection of the ingredients). Secondly, once you fry something in oil, try not to use the same batch of oil again. 

3. Swap the spices 

Find a good resource through which you can get organic/natural spices. It’s something you use daily in your kitchen. I often explore nearby farms whenever I’m travelling to find reliable spice sellers. I once happened to tour the spice market in Delhi and was surprised to find many sellers (on the inner circles) that deal with ‘cleaner spices’. Explore. Explore. Explore.

4. Say no to ‘fridge’ food 

Whether you’re working or whether you respect every grain present in your fridge, if it’s there for 24 hours, it’s not good for you! From kneading a fresh dough for your rotis to cooking rice and consuming it in the first three/four hours, eating fresh is a habit that changes the algorithm for your body.

5. Keep an eye out for mold 

It’s an art to pick healthy ingredients and tools for your kitchen but guess what, even the healthiest foods rot. In fact, they rot much faster. So, keep an eye on your kitchen stock. Sieve your flour. Sun-dry your grains (don’t let it go too dry under the hot sun. An hour and a half is fine). I was disgusted to find worms in an organic rice bag that I had ordered from a luxury ‘organic’ food brand.

Moreover, taste those nuts and seeds (they should not taste bitter and oily). Keep your stock to a minimum so that you don’t have to finish the ‘expired’ food. Even pearl millet flour goes bitter after a couple of days. 

6. Opt for healthier alternatives 

A chilly sauce without MSG makes sense. Noodles made locally with healthier ingredients make sense. Coarse salt makes sense. Filtered oil over a refined one makes sense. Sourdough bread over white bread makes sense. Locally made cheese with less ingredients is healthier than that commercial cheese that doesn’t go bad ever! Keep reading the labels for toxic elements, and switch for better. 

7. Mind those habits 

Little habits in the kitchen further help you to remove bad bacteria and other nasties from your kitchen environment. A scrub that you might use to wash your utensils can’t be floating in soapy water all day, all night. Dry it after use. Change your kitchen linen once a day. Say no to aluminium foil. I ask my tailor to make mul tissues that I can use and wash.

Lastly, those insulated water bottles: wash those after use. Also, consume your idli batter in a day or two. Don’t keep it for a week. The nutrition levels go down day after day! Your tiffin lids, the strainer you use when serving tea—everything needs to be checked over time. Lastly, wash your chopping boards yourself and change them whenever you spot black patches.

8. Say no to plastic

Getting rid of plastic isn’t easy. You got to practice consistently to steer clear of it. Replace the plastic ones with glass/steel. A wooden spoon is better than a plastic, black-coloured spatula. Also, try to lessen your ‘outside’ food orders so that there is less chance of food coming in plastic/cardboard. Microplastics. You got to tackle it and how.