I want to give you some quick, valuable information on slow cookers that I wish I had known years ago… but didn’t and learned the hard way.
As soon as I found this out, I ditched my old slow cooker ASAP.
There have been tests that show that every single ceramic slow cooker on the market may leach lead. (1) Also, if they get scratched, it’s worse. Even if a slow cooker brand says it was tested for lead at the time of manufacture, they can leach lead over time. (1) This is why you want to avoid all slow cookers with a ceramic insert – which is almost every brand out there.
We don’t want lead in our food and we don’t want lead in our bodies. As I write about in my new book, Food Babe Family, heavy metals can be especially harmful to children and babies. Exposure to heavy metals during childhood has been linked to ADHD, behavior problems, and learning disabilities. (2) So we especially don’t want our children to be exposed to lead. If you’re a family and have little kids, it’s really important to stop using these types of slow cookers and just throw them out. They aren’t safe for anyone.
Let me show you the safe slow cookers I use instead:
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1) 360 Cookware Slow Cooker
I’m am so excited to find this company, 360 Cookware. They use stainless steel for the pan in their slow cookers. I use the 2.3 Quart version (pictured), but they also have larger 4 Quart and 6 Quart sizes. This smaller size is perfect for my family’s oatmeal every morning from the Food Babe Family cookbook. This is what we eat for breakfast almost every morning, so this slow cooker gets a lot of use.
Get 25% OFF slow cookers at 360 Cookware with the code FOODBABE. This code is good for cookware and bakeware, which includes their slow cookers!
It’s also great for keeping dishes warm when I’m out on the morning with the kids and don’t have time to make lunch when I get back. I just stick the food in here with some water and let it steam to stay hot, so it’s ready to go when we come in from our morning activities. It’s absolutely incredible and has made my life so much more efficient. I can’t recommend this slow cooker enough. It has four different settings for the heat, which is great too. One time I put it on 4 (which is the highest setting) and it was boiling the water in there. That’s pretty amazing.
2) Wolf Gourmet Multi-Function Cooker
The other stainless steel crock pot I own is from Wolf. It’s got to be the Mack Daddy of all slow cookers, because this one is huge! It’s 7 Quarts, so it makes giant stocks and I can put a whole chicken in here. I use the Wolf when I’m making meals that are really large, such as big pots of soup and chili. This time of year, I use the Wolf to make homemade Hot Apple Cider from my new Slow Cooker Meals In Minutes BONUS recipe guide.
If you pre-order my new cookbook by FRIDAY, I will send you over 50 BONUS slow cooker recipes for FREE right now:
- Over 50 Family-Friendly Slow Cooker Recipes
- Easy to follow with quick prep times for speedy meals
- Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, Sides, Desserts!
- “Food Babe Approved” Slow Cooker Buying Guide
- Tips & Tricks For Cooking With a Slow Cooker
CLICK HERE: Pre-order Food Babe Family and get your slow cooker guide today! – (Expires Friday)
My New Cookbook Is Here!
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I can’t wait for you to have this Slow Cooker Recipe Guide with over 50 slow cooker recipes (Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks & Desserts) to make your life easier and more efficient!
Xo,
Vani
P.S. If you’d like a personalized signed copy of Food Babe Family, your order needs to be in with Park Road Books by this Friday too! Here’s the link to get a signed copy. You’ll qualify for the Slow Cooker BONUS recipes too, so win-win!
Great info! Thank you! Can you just insert a stainless steel pot into the base of any slow cooker brand? I wish I could afford one of your recommendations, but unfortunately, it’s not in the budget for me at this time! Always looking to avoid as many toxic exposures as possible, though!
Just use an instant pot on slow cook mode insert is stainless steel
Crock-Pot, the brand that started it all, states that it doesn’t use any lead in the glazes used in its ceramic liners.
I had two of my Crockpot brand crockpots tested by Tamara Rubin & they both tested negative for lead.
Could you cite what tests were done and by whom?
What is your current opinion on Vitaclay? I believe I learned about that here and love it for cooking rice and other side dishes, but don’t use the slow-cooking function very often.