Free Up Your Spice Cabinet

Time for another review of eco-alternatives I LOVE: Gneiss Spice!

Gneiss Spice is organic, refillable, uses eco friendly packaging AND is super cute to boot with hexagon jars. 

It's an investment, and my collection has been built over a few years, but almost all of my spices are on my fridge instead of taking up space in the cabinets! You can buy it already in the jar with the label stamped into the lid, or you can buy jars and labels and spices separately, and purchase your refills in compostable packaging!

I use my fridge (which is not uniformly magnetic btw), but they also sell wall plates. Some people do under-cabinet mounts using knife plates!

Im thinking about switching all my loose leaf teas to this system as well 😉

There's no kickbacks for sharing my favorite "good things" with you, but when i find an eco-alternative that i just *love*, i want you to know about it too!

Full disclosure: i often buy my hexagon jars from other online retailers like this one. Honey suppliers are also a great source. Ive even found them cheap on poshmark! Ive found the little ones are 1.5oz. the large are 4oz, and the tall are 6oz. I buy my niodymium magnets on Amazon. I also sometimes use tack magnets to keep jars from sliding on my unevenly magnetic fridge. I usually end up paying ~$3/jar with magnet instead of $6. Sometimes i get them even cheaper! Because i have purchased jars from Gneiss in the past, i have labels, but you can purchase labels on their site without the jars, or if you have a label maker, that works too.

Update: i *did* switch my teas. I often buy my jars cheaper from other sellers, and these 6oz hexagon jars were taller and thinner my regular ones, but still great for tea 😁

I used some of my little ones for single serving teas from my sipsby tea subscription (one of the few subscriptions ive kept for years!) This particular set of jars came with jute cord and cardboard tags, which i love because my teas change frequently!

Travel: The Dominican Republic

 Punta Cana

My parents own a travel agency, and I've spent my life seeing the world. When asked where my favorite place to go is, my answer is and will always be "somewhere new." Needless to say, there's a whole lot of "somewhere new" out there waiting for me to discover. One of my favorite places to go is any all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana. There is something undiscovered about the Dominican Republic, and our experiences there are always fantastic. 

Mostly, we visit the D.R. to lay on a beach with a book and a drink, do a little swimming, and just enjoy some much needed R&R. One special thing I love to do there is photo packages- they're affordable and fabulous. I LOVE playing with the beach dogs- who are showered with resort food by just about everyone.

In 2019, there was a slew of negative press regarding tourist deaths in The Dominican Republic. The funny thing is that there were actually fewer tourist deaths in 2019 than in previous years- only the media coverage was different. A vengeful lover, a drug dealer turned baseball star who visited home, tainted alcohol in Mexican (yeah, not DR) resorts, and a few drunken accidents turned this hot tourist spot into a ghost town during peak season. 

I'm not saying this happened because The Dominican Republic's all-inclusive resorts offered significant competition to Florida resorts without the springbreaker and infighting connotations of Mexico, I'm just saying that the media coverage was disproportionate to past events and it benefited U.S. resorts...

Going Green: Bite Toothpaste review

There are areas of life that involve more plastic waste than others- namely hygiene. Shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, makeup, etc all come in plastic bag, bottles, jars, etc in the name of cleanliness. Short of making your own (which is timely, requires ingredients sourcing, and years of tweaking for a truly great recipe), we're kind of at the mercy of the marketplace.

In our house, the mightyfix subscription we use made switching to glass bottles for household cleaners easy. Meliora is a low-waste company, with refills in paper tubing for laundry detergent and spray cleaner. I buy my handsoap in bulk and refill glass dispensers (reducing my plastic from multiple plastic bottles to 1 gallon jug a year), but when it came to toothpaste...

We tried all the toothpastes- traditional tubes with and without fluoride, jars of clay and baking soda based powders, charcoal tubes, etc. A lot of eco alternatives feel messy and dipping in powders doesn't feel super sanitary. The ones that come in traditional tubes still had a high waste factor. Enter toothpaste tablets. We tried the main brand, Bite., but there are other toothpaste tablet brands out there. These are preportioned pea sized toothpaste bits. You bite down and use a wet toothbrush and they get to foaming. Bite uses xylitol (like many mouthwashes) for killing bacteria, charcoal for scrubbing, cocamides for foaming action, and a touch of menthol for the minty clean feeling we're conditioned to. Their product ships in a glass jar the first time with refill packs that are not in a jar.

*will update with photos/vlog

Going Green: Girl Stuff *NSFW*

Most people who embark on a health journey eventually try to apply that conscientiousness to every part of their life, not just food. We buy primal pit paste, and mouth cleaning "dirt", try to get our cardio (i play kinect games for cardio fyi), and at least start with informed eating. A lot of us are also environmentally conscious. For women, there's this whole other huge facet of our lives to apply this too- our cycle.Today, I'm going to deviate a little bit and go full on *real* life by talking about a health-conscious aspect of my life that i think a lot of women think about, but don't necessarily talk about- menstrual care and products.

 Traditional feminine hygiene products are made with a whole lot of CRAP like bleach and plastic and other chemicals that we are smushing up against super sensitive skin in a warm wet environment. The absorbent materials used in them generally make them an ideal petri dish for breeding bacteria, which is why we all had to learn about Toxic Shock Syndrome at puberty. They're also designed to absorb for effectiveness, but being super absorbent means absorbing your natural lubrication along with the monthly mess. All that creepy stuff aside, they aren't super biodegradable so not exactly friendly to the environment when discarded, AND they cost a lot of money along with the pink tax (extra tax applied to products made for women). If you flush them they clog the plumbing, and if you put them in your bathroom trash...let's hope you don't have pets. So let's dive into...

Menstrual Product Alternatives

There are a lot of alternatives out there from fabric pads to semi-disposable rings, and i'm here to tell you what's available, what i've tried, and what i use now:

Blossum Cup- $12.95

• Menstrual Cups
• Menstrual cups are a cup that you insert up into your vagina to collect blood throughout the day rather than absorb it. They have a learning curve- if you get them inserted correctly, you don't even feel that it's there, but if you *don't* get it in correctly, they can slide, turn, and just be generally uncomfortable. i used it for a year's worth of cycles and I did eventually get the hang of them, but my biggest problem was with the cup sliding down. They do come in different shapes and sizes, but the general consensus is most people cut the stick off
• Brands: Diva, LilyCup (Intimina), Saalt, Lena, Cora, Blossom, MoonCupetc.
• Disposable Menstrual Disc
• 
• a soft cup works the same way as other menstrual cups, but it's designed as a ring with a loose, kind of baglike collection area which eliminates issues with slipping, and is meant to be used for a single day- ultimately disposable. Reviews say the rim is hard, but not uncomfortable. These versions tote "mess free intimacy"
• Brands: Flex & Softdisc
• Flat Fit SoftCup
• 
• There's actually a hybrid out there between a silicone cup and a soft disc with a rounded bottom. Reviews say it is way more comfortable, but messier at empty and probably better suited to someone with a light flow.
• Brands: Ziggy (Intimina) $39.95, NixIt $49.95
• *I bought a ziggy cup in August 2019, and they were running a 20% off sale. Code "Cup19" was also valid for $10 off (which is basically shipping) so i paid $31.89
• Period Panties
• 
• Period panties are like regular panties, but with a special wicking gusset in the crotch. They are all the rage among moms, and my current method which I've been using for about 2 years. You just wear them and go about your day, changing when appropriate (I only need one pair to get through a day, but a heavier cycle might require a change)
• Brands: Anigan EvaWear, Thinx, Knix, etc. There's a bunch out there, and many articles comparing brands. They average out ~$20-$30/pair
• Sea Sponges are also a thing, but they weird me out and i'm not going to review them here

Ive tried the first and last, and don't love the idea of the second which still gets tossed at the end of the week. If I try the third, I'll update this post, but my current system is working for me and that's super expensive for something i'll use once or twice a year.

Pros & Cons

 Mostly, I use the panties which are incredibly easy and go in the washer. There really isn't a mess to deal with, and they're super comfortable. The downside is that they're kind of a real investment, they aren't cheap and ideally you want a pair for every day of your cycle. You can wash them in a sink or shower and hang dry if you're on vacation so that's not really an issue, BUT these are a no go for swimming and less than ideal for intimate activities. This is why I still occasionally use a cup, because sometimes you can't or don't want to wear your period panties. A cup is great for swimming, and I recently used mine for poorly timed boudoir photos. The pro is you can generally leave the cup in place throughout your day, with minor adjustments when you use the restroom. The con is that any actual interaction with the cup tends to be at least minorly messy, since you legit have to push it up or fish it out of your body with your fingers. The mess isn't necessarily cycle fluids, but let's just say you want to clean under your fingernails when you're done. 

Updates & New Tags

This post is just a general update on the direction of the blog. I've been working on a lot of lifestyle posts, and you're going to see some new tags- "Going Green", "Travel", "Parties", and "AIP" among them.

When I started this blog, i was full steam ahead on battling food allergies and general health issues. The blog is mostly about healthy, flavorful, conscientious eating, but every now and then i like to throw in a tidbit about parties and motherhood, because this is real life and we all have something to learn from each other.

I'm going to share with you products, services, and recipes that I love, with full disclosure that I don't get compensated for sharing anything (if ever i do, i'll let you know ;) )If I share a product, it will pretty much always be a product that I've used and have experience with. If I share a recipe, it's going to be one I've cooked (and probably tweaked). If I share a vacation, it's one that I have personally been on, and I will do my very best to give credit to the interwebs where it's due.


"Going Green"
I've been switching to skin friendly and environmentally friendly alternatives for everyday products since i was 18. The older I get, the more successful I get at making meaningful changes for the environment, lowering our footprint one change at a time. I'm going to start sharing how and why I do that, what changes came easily and which ones we're still struggling with. I believe that little changes can have a big impact, and I want to help you make little changes too!

Travel
My parents own a fee-free travel agency- Elliott Excursions- based out of central pennsylvania, with agents across the country. We didn't have cable tv or air conditioning growing up, and we didn't care- because we were raised in an environment that gave us the world. I've been on cruises on every coast of the U.S. and the Adriatic Sea. I've flown to Iceland, The Dominican Republic, and soon- Guatemala. When our sun was born, we gave his nursery and adventure theme complete with a compass rose on the ceiling- he'll have stamps in his passport from Canada and Central America before his 4th birthday- seeing the Pacific Ocean, The Great Lakes, and finally the Atlantic in that order. I've been traveling on a budget from childhood, but my favorite place to visit will always be "Somewhere New." I'm happy to share those experiences- and spend savvy tips- with all of you.


AIP
When I switched this blog over to The Copper Kitchen 3 years ago, my allergy issues were in remission. One baby, a broken bone, several injuries with NSAID regimens, and a series of mommy/toddler co-infections with antibiotics have landed me right back in the auto-immune fight. Autoimmune issues are generally forever- a glitch that causes the immune system to be over active and attack our own bodies. For almost all of us, that means severe full spectrum inflammation around joints and organs, usually affecting pain levels and energy levels significantly. For me, it also means crazy skin reactions, like cold urticaria (my immune system reacts to being cold) and dermatographia (skin writing disorder- scratches light up red and puff up like puffer paint). It also affects my eyes and adrenal system. The food portion of this blog exists largely because i used diet to control my autoimmune issues in the past; my hope is get them under control with diet again. Auto-immune protocol diets (and similar diets like GAPS and paleo, which i used before) are not necessarily fun- they can be very restrictive, often expensive, and just more labor intensive than fast carbs with no limitations. Auto-immune diets are basically anti-inflammatory diets; they remove major allergens, sugars, grains, nightshades, etc. I've altered my diet for my autoimmune issues probably a dozen times since i first started struggling 15 years ago, so it's not as difficult for me to do as for others, but I'm going to share what makes it easier, how i deal, and how hard it really can be to look fine and be horribly chronically sick all the time. Diet modification can and should be a lifestyle change, but when we're feeling healthy, it's easy to slip back into what is easy and comfortable.

Mighty Fix Eco-Alternatives Video Review

Ignore my sweaty summer mom look, and check out some of the products I've received in my Mighty Fix (eco-alternatives subscription box).

Mighty Fix is a subscription box from Mighty Nest that sends you eco-alternatives to everyday pollution in your life- alternatives to plastic bags and bottles, lunch solutions, environmentally friendly cleaning products, etc- helping you change your lifestyle one item at a time.

I don't get a kick back for this video, I just believe in the product and thought I'd take advantage of my clean kitchen to *show* you some of the fixes I've received in the past two years, so you can see that they are everyday alternatives that you will realistically adopt in your life.

https://mightynest.com/the-mighty-fix
Code: FIX99FORAYEAR

*I DO get a small kickback if I send you a referral email, and it does allow me to customize your first item when you subscribe
Items like:

• Collapse-It Food Storage (shown in video- i received the medium 4 cup size)
• Silikids Silicone Coffee Mug (I didn't show this, but i do use it- standard travel cup in teal)
• 5 Piece Food Hugger Set (shown in video)
• E Cloth Window Pack (shown in video- i received 2)
• Stasher Storage Bag (not shown- This a silicone ziplock alternative, DH uses for toiletries)
• Edgy Moose 10" Fabric Bowl Cover (not shown- I use this to rise bread)
• To Go Ware Utensils (not shown)
• Stainless Steel Straws (I didn't show this, but we use them a lot and have repurchased- set of 4)
• Meliora Laundry Set (shown in video- detergent and stain stick- sample size is half size)
• Swedish Dish Cloths (shown in video- received 2)
• Healing Balm (shown in video)
• Duralex Glass Food Storage (shown in video received a small square and small rectangle)
• Magic Mud Toothpaste & Preserve Toothbrush (shown in video)
• Bambu Bar Board (shown in video)
• All Good Lotion (not shown)
• Moso Charcoal Bag 200g (not shown in video, its a charcoal bag for odors)
• Silicone Spatula and Spoon (this was actually the blue handles on the counter in the video)
• Tidy Dishcloths (not shown)
• LunchSkins Set (shown in video- i received 2 in sandwich and snack size)
• Spray Bottle Set (shown in video- Meliora)
• Bees Wrap Set (shown in video)
• Dryer Balls (shown in video- i believe i received 3 of them)
• Flip & Tumble Produce Bags (shown in video- set of 3)

Iceland

My parents own a travel agency, and I've spent my life seeing the world. When asked where my favorite place to go is, my answer is and will always be "somewhere new." Needless to say, there's a whole lot of "somewhere new" out there waiting for me to discover. In March, we ticked off a bucket list destination with 

Reykjavik, Iceland

Why Iceland? Iceland has quite a few big draws, and we only got to touch a few of them, because this volcanic island is actually quite large! From hotsprings to waterfalls to old folklore, Iceland has something for everyone!

What did we do?

• Geothermal Hotsprings

You have quite a few options in regards to hotspring experiences in Iceland. The most popular is the Blue Lagoon, which features manmade facilities, reservations, and comes with a fairly hefty pricetag ~$120/person. We opted to forego the full on tourist experience and opted instead for The Secret Lagoon in Fludir. I had my reservations going in, but rest assured I have zero regrets about the selection. The Secret Lagoon is a bit out of a fairytale. When I describe it to people, I tell them it's like a farmer happened to have a hotspring and opened it to the public. The hotspring was left natural with a volcanic sand bottom, mini geysirs, and horses grazing in the countryside. A quaint farmhouse on a hill rounds out an enchanting and largely private experience. We came as part of a tour, and our group consisted of about 15 people. While the air outside was cold and rainy, the water was perfect and had hot spots and cooler spots for your preference. A snack bar provided reasonably priced fish and chips and libations in safe containers for enjoying in the hotspring. I fell in love with a sommersby elderflower cider. The pricetag here is $28 ($14 for seniors and free for kids) and I was completely head over heels with the entire experience. We took fewer photos here since they seemed somewhat discouraged (but no one yelled at us or anything).

• The Golden Circle

We booked our golden circle excursion through Arctic Adventures, and had a marvelous time. Our tour group was small, our guide friendly with great English, and the sites mesmerizing. We stopped on both sides of the techtonic fault in Pingvellir/Thingvellir, had plenty of time to marvel at the geysir fields of Strokkur, and a breathtaking view of Gullfoss waterfall (although it was too icy to hike down under the falls).

• Petting Fluffy Icelandic Horses (Careful- They bite!)

Our tour guide stopped at one of several tourist stops for petting and feeding Icelandic horses. They really do look like fluffy ponies, and- while friendly- are definitely accustomed to receiving the treats from the honor system kiosk. I got an eager nibble, but couldn't bring myself to be too upset by their adorableness.

• Northern Lights Excursion

Northern lights are one of those bucket list items that are elusive and spectacular. We saw lots of fabulous pictures at the museum, but weather was not on our side on our tour. We got one teensy barest pale ribbon, enough to know we had seen one, but definitely not the show we hoped for. This is a bucket list item we'll just have to try at another polar destination!

• Reykjavik City Tour

Parliament building. The large boulder on the sidewalk is a monument to civil disobedience

We booked our trip with Gate1 Travel at a steal of $800/person for airfare, hotel, full breakfast, city tour, and northern lights excursion. Reyjavik is fairly small and walkable, so the city tour really helped us orient ourselves for the walking we would do later. We stopped at the Leif Erikkson church, The Perlan Museum, and The Northern Lights Museum. We saw the harbor, the pond, parliament building, student campus, and relation to our hotel. After the tour was over, we took a self-guided walk through the very beautiful and unusual cemetary in downtown Reykjavik. 

• Experiencing Icelandic Cuisine

At the Strokkur Geysir Center, there were lots of places to eat. This large dining hall had a cafeteria style and gorgeous open floor plan. We opted for stews which came with bread and butter and 1 refill each.

Our mint chip icecream was blue

If you haven't gathered from this blog just yet, our house is a foodie house, and we LOVE to eat delicious food. It's great to immerse yourself in a culture through cuisine and Iceland had some unique experiences we were thrilled to try (and others we weren't quite brave enough to taste).

Our very first taste came at Café Loki while everyone was touring the church. Their menu is clearly designed to give tourists a taste of Iceland and EVERYTHING was a little unusual and VERY spectacular. We tried several types of rye bread in Iceland- several of which are quite sweet- and topped them with cheeses, smoked lamb and salmon, mashed and pickled fish, and even tasted rye icecream. This is also where we got our first taste of fish jerky, which smells how you'd expect and is served with butter and is very oddly satisfying.




Breakfast included at the Hotel Blu Saga each morning was a wide array of both continental breakfast items, traditional items like eggs and sausage, and a curated buffet of Icelandic meats and cheeses and thick skyr yogurt.

Our only breakfast complaint was there was not a single place in Iceland that served and American-sized cup of coffee. haha.

Speaking of coffee, to say licorice is a popular flavor in Iceland would be an understatement and we had black licorice cappuccinos in a little coffee shop on the square.








 I insisted on stopping at the Icelandic Street Food shop for "fast food" bread bowls of traditional Icelandic meat stew and fish stew which were fabulous. The shop also offered little cakes.

The Icelandic Street Food shop was designed as Icelandic "fast food", but there were some seats inside. We had a seat at the bar against the window. You can see there was an array of tiny desserts available as well

We also did a flight of Icelandic beer at the Icelandic Craft Bar.

We did, of course, try a famous Pylsur lamb hotdog. It wasn't anything terribly special, but we enjoyed the experience.

 Our final food stop was a full 8 course Icelandic tapas style dinner at Tapas Barinn. We started the night out with a shot of brennivin and an amuse bouche of lamb with licorice sauce before indulging in smoked puffin, artic char, lobster, blue ling, lamb with butterscotch sauce, minke whale, and a dessert of white chocolate skyr mousse.

We had cocktails at Apotek

What else is there to do?

• Pagan Folklore & Museums
• Viking History & Museums
• Glacier Tours
• Whale Watching & Fishing Expeditions
• Hiking

Some things you may not know about Iceland:

• Iceland is on the pricey side. Not necessarily to a point of out-doing big cities, but definitely a little sticker shock. Cocktails are priced around $30 and a cheap meal is $15-$25 per person. Deals can be found if you're willing to hunt.
• Because Iceland is a geothermal hotspot, they've harnessed that energy for everyone. Heat is free, and produce is grown in geothermal greenhouses. 
• Wifi is widely available and usually free. Our tour bus was it's own wifi hotspot in the rural countryside of Iceland.
• Sheep are kind of a big deal. They're free range and the wool industry is regulated. We didn't see any though...Also, puffin season is in the summer, so you can do northern lights or puffins but not both. 
• Licorice is a thing, like a really big thing. There is every manner of licorice flavored candy and dessert. We bought black licorice, licorice candies, licorice coffee, licorice chocolate bars, and several licorice flavored liquors (brennivin, topas, opal).
• Buy your liquor at the airport. it's just easier.
• While most people do speak English to some varying degree, and tourist items (like menus and museums) have things written in English, not everything caters to English speakers. Road signs are not in English, and ingredients list are usually not in English. 
• Geothermal public bathhouses are a thing that we totally missed out on. Apparently, if you ask about a pool at your hotel, they will direct you to the public bathhouse and a $10 visitor card to use for the week. These are essentially multiple gigantic hot tubs ala the prefect tub in harry potter. 
• Reyjavik looks so much bigger on the map than it feels in real life. We walked everywhere. it was March, and we didn't freeze.

What did we WEAR?

We live in Pennsylvania which means we have four seasons where we live, and most are temperate. After much research, we packed (and wore) layers. Our layers usually consisted of thermal underwear, a sweater/sweatshirt, and a warm coat. I brought a hooded ski/parka style jacket and my husband brought a wool coat. We also had lined caps and snoods. I brought fleece-lined leggings. Honestly, we were totally fine, and often ended up shedding/foregoing layers. That's kind of the point of layers. With heat being basically free, every building was very warm, often bordering on too warm. 

Souveneirs

What did we BUY?

Wool is THE big product there, so we bought wool socks for everyone, and a coveted wool blanket for my in-laws, who spent the week snowed in with our toddler in Pennsylvania while we were having a fabulous time in Iceland. We also picked up a Xmas ornament with lava rock- a tradition my mother instilled in me- but What do you brink a toddler from Iceland? I pondered this in shop after shop. Sure, I bought him tiny wool socks. Sure I bought him a tiny Viking ship, but the perfect gift? The perfect gift was a new rubber ducky for his collection- a puffin rubber ducky.

We also brought back a lot of alcohol, because collecting liquor from around the world is a hobby. In addition to the national drink of brennivin, we brought back BIRKIR- liqueurs with birch branches inside the bottles, and ocean moss liqueur, and rhubarb and crowberry, and vodka filtered through volcanic rock, and multiple snippets of licorice liquors. You can also see here that we brought back Icelandic chocolate (including Easter chocolate), ocean moss tea, fish jerky and rye breads.

We had a fabulous time in Iceland, and it had a unique beauty we really appreciated getting to see. I could sit in a geothermal hotspring all day every day, and actually grew very fond of Icelandic food in our short time there. Both IcelandAir and WOW do extended layover in Iceland to promote tourism. This means that if you're flying to Europe on one of these airlines, they typically have a stop in Iceland and you can choose to extend your layover for up to a week without changing the price of your ticket, which is very cool. I highly recommend the experience.