AIR
Indoor air pollution can cause both short and long term health problems and symptoms including allergies, sneezing, itchy throat or nose, itchy water eyes, itchy skin, coughing, and much more. Breathing clean air is so important, and the Air Doctor is 100X more effective than ordinary air purifiers but priced more affordable than other professional air purifiers. We have one in our home that we run everyday.
WATER
Having a whole house water filtration system in our house gives us piece of mind knowing that we are filtering out the chlorine, lead, mercury, pesticides, VOCs and more that are commonly found in tap water. You can also add a UV filter to remove 99.99% bacteria and viruses.
We decided to take our kitchen water a step further by installing an under the sink reverse osmosis system. Apec is 100% U.S. made to guarantee safety and health. This system was recommended by one of the trusted docs that we follow. Apec is tested and certified by WQA to remove up to 99% of contaminants including arsenic, chlorine, lead, fluoride, heavy metals, bacteria, virus and 1000+ contaminants. Our water tastes amazing and we feel safe knowing the water we drink and cook with is free from toxins. This type of filter is such an easy and important step to removing many harmful substances that you would otherwise be consuming daily. This water filter removes so much that it is recommended to add minerals back into your water with a simple trace mineral supplement that can be purchased over the counter at most health food stores or online. Ask your doctor for recommendations.
If you aren’t ready to purchase a whole house filter yet, you can add a shower filter to help eliminate chlorine while you shower. We bought this for our shower before we had the whole house filter and we still use it.
Berkey water filters are one of the best and most powerful gravity fed water filters available. If you don’t mind filling it up with water every so often, this could be a great option. This water filter removes so much that it is recommended to add minerals back into your water with a simple trace mineral supplement that can be purchased over the counter at most health food stores or online. Ask your doctor for recommendations.
COOKWARE
Lodge is a household name when it comes to cast iron cookware. We use ours daily from frying up eggs to cooking up veggie fajitas. They are affordable and available at most retailers.
The Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven is great for soups and larger meals. The glass-like surface is heat tolerant and makes the cast iron rust-resistant. Clean up is easy with soap and water. Let soak if needed, use silicone or wood spatulas or spoons and remember not to use abrasive scrubbers. We love this soup pot and it is very reasonably priced compared to some of the higher end brands like Le Creuset. Works just as well in our opinion!
Enameled cast iron is great for low heat cooking such as soups, sauteeing veggies, and omelets. Clean up is fairly easy with soap and water if you let the pan soak before cleaning. Use silicone or wood spatulas on these and don’t use any abrasive scrubbers including SOS pads, the scratchy part of your sponge, or steel wool. We use a plastic scraper and then a coconut and bamboo scrubber.
These stainless steel pots and pans from HOMICHEF are made from 18/0 nickel free with no coating and free from toxic PFOA and PTFE.
These baking sheets are some of the best we have found. Norpro makes kitchen products out of 18/10 or 18/8 stainless steel. Many of these products are hard to find with less nickle in them. Norpro is our go-to company for a variety of kitchen bakeware and utensils.
Glass is one of the safer options for cooking and is great for baking bread and casseroles. We have often used Pyrex brand and they have been reliable and consistent. We use their glass 8×8 and 9×13 baking dishes and also their glass bread and pie pans.
FOOD PREP
These are the only knives you will ever need. They are guaranteed to forever, which means they can be passed on from generation to generation with no questions asked. Free sharpening for life. We’ve had ours for over 10 years now and we have an older bread knife that was passed down to us from Leah’s grandparents! I recently sent all of our knives to Cutco to have them sharpened and if they cannot be sharpened, they will send you a new replacement. Be extra careful after being sharpened, they do the job right! They do come with a hefty price tag but are worth the investment.
When it comes to cutting boards, we prefer solid wood. A solid single piece is best to avoid glues and any other possible toxins. We use a glass plate or recommend a glass cutting board for raw meat so bacteria does not set into the wood.ย Try to avoid plastic cutting boards as you will end up eating bits of plastic in your food. We use olive or avocado oil regularly to preserve and extend the life of our wood butting boards, but there are products out there that are good for this as well.
Norpro is our go-to company for these items, but any stainless steel that is 18/10 or less will do for both measuring spoons and cups.
A silicone spatula is essential for enameled cookware. This Tenta spatula is also made of 18/0 stainless steel for nickel free cooking.
Stainless steel utensils are great for cast iron (not enameled), stainless steel or other non-coated pots and pans. We prefer single solid pieces for durability.
FOOD STORAGE
Glass is a great option for storing food and leftovers. We often use Pyrex and they have been reliable and consistent. One issue that may come up is that the smaller round plastic storage lids may crack (as do they on Anchor and other brands that we have tried as well)ย but good replacements are silicon lids or beeswax wraps.
