Ack! Lead!

I guess I should have seen this one coming. In our seemingly never-ending quest to live more naturally and to keep ourselves healthy, we have discovered that our beloved dishes and our oft-used crockpot are made with lead. Yes, friends, even though there are other ways to glaze ceramics, the ones in our kitchen are made with lead.

The West Bend crock pot isn't as big a deal to me, really. In a few weeks, we'll buy a Moroccan Tagine from Le Creuset for slow cooking, and that should do the trick. Le Creuset's cookware is all as safe as can be, and it's a joy to use. The prices reflect this, however, and I highly recommend working at a Le Creuset store part time to get their wonderful discounts.

The dishes, though.... Ugh. I absolutely love my Corelleware dishes with the oh-so-hippie pattern. I'm fairly certain they're Corelle's Blue Danube, but I'm not positive. Blue Onion and Old Town Blue also have similar patterns, and the descriptions seem to be used interchangeably from time to time (especially Blue Onion). I have loved these dishes all my life, and I was ecstatic when my mother bought new dishes years ago and gave these to me. Yes, I've used them for decades.

So, what am I to do? Well, we'll slowly be buying new Fiestaware dishes (which are all lead-free) to replace these, and I figure I'll eventually sell the Corelle ones to finance that expenditure. I think they may be worth at least a little. I'm sure I'll keep one or two, though, for decoration and sentimentality. I might also purhase a Blue Danube trivet or something that isn't meant to touch food. We'll see.

Sometimes, I wish I didn't know as much as I do. I figure a lot of us feel this way. I remember when I could blissfully wander through my life with nary a thought about lead, aluminum, SLS, etc. Oh, those were the days. Or, were they? Of course, we're better off knowing (and doing something with that knowledge), but it often makes life a bit more difficult (and sometimes more expensive). Still, I'm glad I can do something to avoid at least a few of the toxins in our everyday lives. In that vein, I don't mind a small amount of adversity. Knowing what I know and choosing to do nothing wouldn't make me a monster, but I'd certainly never feel right with myself. How could I? Keeping my family healthy trumps all. Even my utterly cool-looking dishes.