Let me start this off by making it clear I am definitely not a professional baker, but I do a lot of baking.  In talking about eco ideas with another mom, she suggested using Parchment paper over Aluminum foil… I’ve been testing it out, and what a great suggestion!  Though do know ahead of time, they do bake the food slightly different, and parchment paper can only be used up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit.

Be sure to use the Unbleached Totally Chlorine Free Parchment Paper, there is a great one I use made by If You Care.  Benefits of use:

• No heavy metals or toxic Teflon coating on your food (evidence seems inconclusive of the risks with using aluminum while baking food, though admittedly sounds minimal)
• No grease needed – the non-stick coating on the paper is silicone and is non-toxic when incinerated (you would almost thing silicone is a plastic, but it, in fact, is not – it is a natural element found in sand, quartz and rock… and after oxygen, it is the most abundant element on earth)
• Creating Aluminum Foil causes local erosion and deforestation, pollutes water sources, disrupts ecosystems and products air pollution.  The If You Care parchment product I mentioned is FSC Certified (Forest Stewardship Council)… FSC is an international non-profict organization which promotes responsible management of the world’s forest.
• The unbleached means no chlorine is dumped in our lakes and streams, or the creation of dioxins.
• Can be reusable.
• The parchment paper is also recyclable.

Better than parchment or aluminum is non-toxic bakeware, which I will be investigating further another day, but glass and stainless steel are good options.  Until I go shopping for those, I need to use parchment for today.