With just a few simple kitchen tools, you will be on your way to preparing healthful, delicious meals for your family. Many of these are a good investment for your health and home. Some of them can last you a lifetime of use.

• A Blender. A blender is probably my most useful kitchen tool. I am really hard on my blender, as I use it almost every day. I was wearing out a blender about every three months. Then I bought a Vitamix. Though Vitamix blenders cost more than most, it is a good brand and has a seven-year warranty. Mine lasted over 15 years. I now have a Breville blender, and I love it as well. The Blendtec and the KTec Champ HP3 blenders are two other great brands.

If you soak hard foods (like raw almonds) in water overnight to soften them, they won’t be so hard on your blender when preparing.

• A Juicer. The Breville juicer is easy to use and reliable. I juice carrots, celery, and a cucumber in mine almost every day, but you cannot juice wheatgrass or sprouts in this type of juicer.

I tried the Green Star brand, but it wore out fairly quickly from overuse. Green Star was good for juicing wheat grasses and sprouts, but it broke easily and was very expensive. . I now use a smaller hand-cranked juicer for my wheatgrass and sprout juicing, and it only cost about $30.00.

The Hurom juicer works in the same way as the Green Star. One of my friends has the Hurom juicer and says it works great.

• A Food processor. Food processors are very useful for making large amounts of raw food or mixing dense or heavy foods, like hummus. Small ones work just fine for most jobs. If I was buying a large food processor, I would only buy a 10-inch one. My 12-inch has a gap that, in my opinion, doesn’t work as well.
• A Toaster or toaster oven.  (So you won’t have to heat up your large oven).
• A Paring knife and a large cutting knife.
• A Cutting board. Buy a cutting board that is dishwasher-safe, so that it can be sanitized completely.
• A Stainless-steel sieve.
• A Spatula and scraper.
• A Dehydrator. I use this to make raw food: breads, snacks, etc. It takes up a lot of room and is fairly expensive, but it is great if you wish to prepare healthy raw food recipes, where you can control how warm the food gets when you are dehydrating it.
• Glass, stainless steel, or lead-free ceramic baking dishes.

I prefer to use freezer  to oven  glass bakeware. Be careful about Pyrex dishes. The Pyrex company was bought by a Chinese company that changed the formula, and now some of the glass cookware has been exploding in heated ovens.[i] I look for vintage Pyrex at antique stores and estate sales, where you can find some really great kitchen equipment for a good price.

Regarding aluminum, please be aware that aluminum cookware can leach aluminum into your food. Aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.[ii]

I also do not use non-stick cookware. Studies show it releases toxins into the air when heated to high temperatures. “There’s a whole chemistry set of compounds that will come off when Teflon is heated high enough to decompose,” says Robert L. Wolke, PhD, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. “Many of these are fluorine-containing compounds, which as a class are generally toxic.”[iii] Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan, PhD, an environmental toxicologist at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center, explains: “At temperatures above 500°F, the breakdown begins and smaller chemical fragments are released.”[iv]

According to the Consumer Safety Group, Teflon and nonstick pans are dangerous to your health. “Dangers : Increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers, as well as thyroid disease. Higher levels of exposure have been linked with miscarriage and fertility issues or birth defects.
Findings: Teflon (brand name) maker DuPont has been found guilty in several personal injury and wrongful death suits, after the chemical was found to have tainted water surrounding the plants where they made their nonstick coating for cookware. A paper released in 2015 called the Madrid Statement was signed by over 200 scientists from 40 countries and presented evidence that Teflon, created in part by chemicals called poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), is carcinogenic. Additionally, these toxins were confirmed (both by independent scientists and DuPont’s in-house team), to be released by the nonstick pans after just 2-5 minutes of heat on the stove.

Regulatory Status: The EPA has ruled that a substance closely linked to PFAS, perfluorinated compounds, is a likely carcinogen. In 2005, the EPA fined DuPont for hiding information on the health hazards associated with PFAS. In 2010, the EPA launched a voluntary program to encourage manufacturers to reduce, and by 2015, eliminate these chemicals in their products. Though the Teflon brand name is no longer used, non-stick coated pans containing PFAS are still widely available in the cookware aisle. “ v

• A Water Purifier. I use a reverse osmosis water purifier that sits on my kitchen counter. Aqua Tru  is a countertop reverse osmosis water purifier that is certified to create bottled quality water from your tap. No plumbing or installation required.AquaTru  provides great-tasting pure water. AquaTru, which is reverse osmosis, takes out virtually all toxic chemicals in your tap water. Almost all public water supplies have chemicals added, including chlorine and sodium fluoride—both of which are poisons.CostBased on a typical family usage of 1000 gallons of drinking water per year, after 5 years with your own water purifier, you can save from over $100-$2800.

  When you purify your own water and use your own glass, copper or steel water bottle, you will also avoid contributing to the huge plastic problem with the disposable plastic bottles.
  

I find it hard to believe that the EPA or FDA are still not truly looking out to protect the public from unsafe products. That is one reason I put this list together for you to use as a guide.

I know the kitchen is the heart of the home. I hope this helps you make your kitchen safer, healthier, happier and more productive.

If you like this information, you may love Nancy’s books. Here is a link to her author page with her #1 Best- Selling, Award-Winning Cookbooks.

copyright@nancyaddison2017

By Nancy Addison CHC, AADP

For more information go to: www.organichealthylifestyle.com

Like this article and leave a comment! Join in the conversation!

Sources: 

i    Gray, Theodore. (2011, April 26). “Video: They Sure Don’t Make Pyrex Like They Used To. A Change to Heat-Resistant Glass Has Had Explosive Effects.” Popular Science. Retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/gray-matter-cant-take-heat

ii  McDougall, John. “Alzheimer’s Again Linked to Aluminum.” Rense.com. Retrieved from http://www.rense.com/general37/alum.htm

iii  Schaffer, Amanda. “Nervous About Nonstick?” Good Housekeeping. Reprinted text retrieved from WebMD,   http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/nervous-about-nonstick

iv Ibid.

v    https://www.consumersafety.org/,  Consumer Safety.org provides consumers with information that can help them lead healthier, happier lives. ConsumerSafety.org strives to make information about recalls and safety-related news about drugs, medical devices, food, and consumer products accessible to everyone in a transparent, easily understandable way.

If you like this information, you may be interested in my award-winning books:
1. Diabetes And Your Diet (Winner, “Best Health Book of the Year, 2017” of the International Book Awards)

2. 2. How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian (second edition, Winner for “Best Specialty Cookbook of the Year,” 2017, Book Excellence Awards and Winner for Best Diet and Nutrition Book of the Year, 2017, by the Beverly Hills Book Awards!)

3. Raising Healthy Children, It is a cookbook and a health book. It was a double winner this year. It won Best Parenting Book of the Year and Best Family Book of the Year, 2017 in the International Book Awards.

4. Lose Weight, Get Healthy & Never Be On A Diet Again! (Finalist in the International Book Awards)

5. Feeding Tube Recipe For Optimum Health

6. Co-Author of Alive & Cooking; An Easy Guide To Health For You And Your Parents

copyright@nancyaddison2017

Leave a comment and join the conversation!

The information from Nancy Addison and Organic Healthy Lifestyle LLC is not offered for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease or disorder nor have any statements herein been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We strongly encourage you to discuss topics of concern with your health care provider.

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this article, book, podcast, website, email, etc. is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC, AADP. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.

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I consider it our sacred job to support and protect the precious soil and creatures that live here.

Butterflies and frogs are indicator species that show how healthy our environment is.

If our environment lacks these species, then we need to make it healthier and less toxic.

For this reason, I do three things I feel are vitally important for the health and well-being of my garden: plant flowers that attract pollinators, avoid using pesticides, and provide clean drinking water for animals.

When I plant my garden every year, I plant fragrant, pollen-rich, and nectar-rich flowers.

These will provide safe, nourishing food for butterflies and draw more pollinators to my vegetable, fruits, and herbs. This helps the plants produce more food, and it makes my garden more beautiful to be in.

This is now more important than ever, because many GMO plants and hybrid flowers like the “knock-out roses” have flowers that have no nectar.

Four species of large bumble bees are now extinct because they quite literally starved to death due to enormous areas full of flowers lacking pollen. I try my best to support the pollinators in our web of life: bees, hummingbirds, dragonflies, bats, and butterflies.

These fragile creatures do so much for the health of our environment, but they need our support. If you care about this, buy plants for your garden or landscaping that are rich in fragrance, pollen, and nectar.

Organic, native heirloom plants are always best. Heirloom plants have been handed down from generation to generation of gardeners in a region, so they have proven to do well in a particular soil and temperature.

If you inter-plant some of the flowering plants with your hedgerows, you will provide additional forage for pollinators of all kinds.

Stagger your plantings so there is enough food throughout the year.

Here are seven outstanding, nectar-rich flowering plants that attract butterflies and pollinators to keep your garden lovely, fragrant and environmentally healthy!

Butterfly Bush. The butterfly bush is a shrub that produces flowers of white, yellow, pink, and purple. The flower clusters are up to 15 inches long and have a delicate scent that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden. They require partial shade to full sun, and they grow up to eight feet tall. They are deer-resistant. They bloom from midsummer to the first frost.

Butterfly Weed. The butterfly weed is a pest-free perennial wildflower which is great for saving time and money. Its beautiful flowers are orange, red, and yellow. They grow about three feet tall and bloom from spring to early fall. With full sunlight and enough water, this easy-to-grow plant will produce beautiful, nectar-rich flowers. Monarch butterfly larvae prefer this food.

Keys of Heaven. Keys of heaven are a brilliant scarlet red that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. This bushy plant grows at least three feet tall and makes a lovely border. It needs full sun. It will grow in early midsummer in hotter climates, and it will bloom all summer in cooler climates.

Joe-Pye Weed. The Joe-Pye weed is a large plant with nectar-rich, pink flowers. It is a butterfly favorite. It can produce many seeds that you can replant in more areas of your garden.

Sunflowers. Sunflowers come in many varieties. They are extremely easy to grow and are incredibly rich with nectar. They will keep blooming all summer long until the first freeze. They will reseed if you allow them that freedom. The best part is that they will provide beautiful flowers for your home all summer long.

Asters. Asters are a perennial flower that brightens up late-summer and fall gardens with its star-shaped blooms. There are more than 175 species found in North America with a huge variety of colors to choose from. They smell divine.

Dragon Flower. The dragon flower is an easy-to-grow perennial with gorgeous white or cream-colored flowers. They are very nectar-rich and will attract a wonderful array of life to your garden. The Monarch butterfly is particularly fond of these flowers. If you plant them with dill, which the Monarch butterfly caterpillar loves, you have a fabulous combination to help the Monarch butterfly.

A few more plants to add are marigolds, zinnias, violets, lilies, red penstemon, and crocuses. You can grow berries in your garden, or herbs such as lavender, sage, parsley, and dill. Butterflies love dill for their caterpillars.

I have some of the most beautiful Monarch butterfly caterpillars in my garden when I plant dill amongst my flowers. You can also plant female yaupon holly, poplar trees, and redbud trees. (Make sure your gardener knows to leave the caterpillars alone and safe. Some may think it’s their job to kill them.)

To make your garden non-toxic and healthier, stop using pesticides! Pesticides kill our pollinators, poison the environment, destroy vital nutrients in the soil and the food we grow, and can cause nerve damage to anyone exposed to them. Their runoff pollutes our water, too.

Avoid using pesticides in your yard or garden.

On the environmental side, the weed killer, glyphosate, has virtually wiped out milkweed in Midwest corn and soybean fields, a major factor in the dramatic 20-year decline of monarch butterflies that depend on milkweed for food and reproduction.

It’s also important to provide safe, clean drinking water for all the wildlife, including the pollinators. Every living creature needs water to survive.

I put a drip on my birdbath, so it has a ripple which is easy for pollinators and hummingbirds to see. The ripple also prevents mosquitoes from breeding in the water, because mosquitoes only lay eggs in still, standing water.

I also put water on the ground to help the local wild animals have enough water to drink. It’s a web of life, and I try to support all the precious parts of that web that God gave us.

With these organic, healthy gardening tips, I hope you have a healthy and lovely garden!

Over the last few decades, a handful of agrichemical giants have acquired 65% of the world’s seed supply, so I recommend buying organic seeds you like, in bulk, and keeping them for your own personal use. I buy them to use for growing my sprouts, which I put in my salads.

Here are a few organic, non-GMO seed companies I recommend:

Heirloom, Organic, Non-GMO Garden Seeds – Salad, Salsa, Fruit, Herb, Vegetable – Collection of 16 Non-Hybrid, Open Pollinated Seeds: Zucchini, Kale, Beet, Tomato –

Mountain Valley Seed Company

$21.99

100% CERTIFIED ORGANIC NON-GMO Culinary Herb Set – 12 popular Easy-to-Grow Herb Seeds by Zziggysgal

$13.99

Heirloom Garden Vegetable Seeds NON GMO Easy Growers

Veganseeds

$15.95

*100% USDA Organic* Highest Quality Non GMO Herb Seeds – Elegantly Designed Variety Packets and Instructions For Home Cooks – Product of U.S.A. – HOME CHEF HERBS – Ideal For Indoor and Outdoor Growing – No Gardening Experience Required – Start NowHome Chef Herbs

$14.95

Herb Garden – Organic Herb Seeds – Non GMO, Heirloom, Non Hybrid – 10 Culinary Varieties Including Basil, Cilantro, Fennel, Parsley and More

Rebel Gardens

$15.99

I like Arbico Organics – A Garden Supply Company.

Notes: I made a short organic gardening video if you wish to view it, click here.

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Nutrition expert, gourmet chef, raw food chef and acclaimed author: Nancy Addison talks with Charlotte Ammerman while they are in Nicaragua hosting rejuvenation retreats for people who would like an adventure and learn about the healing diet they can incorporate into their own life for a healthier lifestyle.

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Author, Chef, Speaker: Nancy Addison is the Stunt Woman in the Movie  “Courage”

“Courage”  premiered in Ft. Worth, TX.  Great Texas musicians, like Stephanie Urbina Jones and John Inman are some of the actors. Making the movie was really great fun for Nancy.

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