Equipment Options
Here is a list of various tools you can use to prep, cook, and prepare foods and herbs with.
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I receive no financial incentive or kickback from recommending any item on this list.
I'm open to any and all suggestions when it comes to equipment options to help along your Detoxification journey.
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Food Steamer
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I recommend investing in a steamer as your primary cooking option next to a pot to boil food in. Steaming and boiling would be your 2 safest and most practical cooking options for your fruits and vegetables. The lower the temperature of your cooking, the less acidic the food becomes. Cooking with water helps prevent overheating and overcooking your foods to an extent. If you're not eating raw foods at the time, you will definitely appreciate a solid piece of cookware to cook your fruits and veggies in.
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This would be my recommendation of the best budget Steamer you can find in retail stores:
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Wait for a sale for this to drop down to $40. They sell these in-store so you don't need to purchase online. This is a decent enough size for steaming and you can also boil food underneath the steaming compartment to save time on cooking.
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There are definitely better steamers out there from high-end brands but those cost $100+.
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Avoid silicone baskets as they tend to melt pretty easily.
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You could opt for a Steamer Basket if space is limited in your home, but I find most of the handles for these baskets melt/break/get loose and present a huge health risk. Plus, I've read too many reviews of the feet for these baskets scratching the bottoms of pans or melting if they have silicone covering. It's safer to stick with an actual pan with the steamer holes that fits onto a sauce pan or pot.
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Frying pan
Any stainless steel frying pan would suffice to steam veggies with. You can find a pan at Target, Walmart, Ross, or Amazon.
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Use a small amount of water in the pan with your vegetables "sitting" in the water while they cook in order for the food to absorb all the water in the cooking process so that the nutrients are absorbed as opposed to being lost in the excess water of being boiled in a pot.
A lid would be ideal for cooking and steaming vegetables in a pot or on a frying pan.
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Always use a wooden/silicone spoon/spatula when cooking on your stainless steel cooking ware instead of metal utensils. Target sells cheap wooden utensils as do the various Dollar stores.
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Blender
Ninja Nutri Blender Pro at Best Buy - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ninja-nutri-blender-pro-personal-blender-with-auto-iq-cloud-silver/6460517.p?skuId=6460517
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Wait for the occasional sale for the price to hopefully reduce down to $80-$90.
I prefer these smaller Ninja blenders to the Nutri Bullets as you don't have to deal with gaskets getting stuck or breaking. I live in an apartment with limited counter space and I like the smaller form factor of this blender that fits behind another appliance on the counter. Cleanup is extremely easy and quick compared to your traditional larger blender with the blades at the bottom. You can truly clean the cup without worrying about cutting yourself on the blades as the blades are independent of the cup.
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You get two 24 oz cups which means you can fill them up with bananas and frozen fruit and blend each consecutively right after the other, giving you enough volume of smoothie to satiate you. You could refrigerate the 2nd cup and drink it an hour or two later if you're having the first cup for breakfast.
You only need to use the "Pulse" button for the fruit in the blender cups for less than a minute. Pulse for a good 5-7 intervals depending on the ingredients. Don't use the "Start" or "Smoothie" button as they're overkill. Pulsing also allows you to not wake up everyone in your apartment complex either as you're limiting the amount of time this appliance is on.
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Always get the 2 year "Accidental Geek Squad Replacement" warranty for $16. Planned obsolescence means that these things will spontaneously combust in 6-12 months, so always keep the box and receipt and head back to Best Buy for a return or refund within those 2 years to get another Ninja Blender.
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Juicer
If you can splurge for a Nama or similar $500 juicer, go for it. In all honesty, I do not recommend any Omega juicer (or even high end Breville's) as I've read countless reviews on how cheap the plastic parts are and how they break so easily. Plus, good luck getting a warranty claim on your defective parts in a timely manner.
If you had to get an Omega or similar juicer, I would recommend finding a lightly used Omega or other masticating juicer off of Craigslist or OfferUp. These $300+ masticating juicers always have parts that break that cost upwards of $50+ to replace on top of long shipping delays for said parts.
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So many people buy juicers only to use them for a week and realize the cleanup is a chore and stop after a week or two. If you can find such a person selling an expensive juicer, then get that. If you're worried about the cleanliness of buying a used juicer, use a dishwasher to clean the washable components and you're good to go. Ideally you would find a $300+ juicer for less than $100.
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If you do decide to purchase a new juicer, I'd recommend getting it at Best Buy with an additional 2 year warranty. This way when the juicer eventually breaks down within 6-12 months, you can return it for a gift card amount of your purchase price, allowing you to purchase another machine to get back to juicing in no time. Compare this ease of returning a broken machine to relying on a manufacturer to honor their limited warranties. Good luck even trying to get ahold of a live customer service rep at Omega or Breville and not having to shell out shipping charges for replacement parts on hold for months on end.
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I've read countless reviews on every juicer on Best Buy's website. They all have major issues, including both centrifugal and masticating varieties. Whether it's too loud, too much juice left in the pulp, plastic breaks off into the juice, juice leaks out, or the engine dies within 2-4 months. It is sad to see no single manufacturer can make a juicer actually work properly for under $150.
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Upon all of my research, these 2 juicers at Best Buy had the most favorable reviews for under $150:
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1) https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ninja-neverclog-cold-press-juicer-charcoal/6535802.p?skuId=6535802
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The Breville I listed has a larger chute allowing you to throw in larger pieces of fruit and vegetables, saving you time in having to do prep work. That's something to consider, as having less prep work will absolutely help incorporate juicing into your lifestyle long term.
If you can't afford a new or used juicer, then focus on just getting a new blender (like the Ninja blender listed above for $70 plus $16 warranty during a routine weekly sale).
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Air Purifier
Getting quality air in your home is a must, especially when you live in a smog-filled city inside an apartment that's 50 years old. An air purifier is a must for those dealing with allergies from congested lymph systems or from homes with mold.
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The best bang-for-your-buck air purifier (and the one I'm currently using) is the Levoit Core 300-P. It retails for $100 but wait for a routine sale where it comes down to $85 or even $80 (during Black Friday). Use a vacuum to clean the filter every month to retain the longevity as they sell for $25 each. Vacuuming the filter allows one to get at least 5 solid months of use out of it, making your total yearly expense for clean air at just $50 not including the air purifier unit itself.
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Best Buy link: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/levoit-core-300-air-purifier-white/6462880.p?skuId=6462880
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Tea Strainer
OXO Good Grips 3 inch mini strainer: https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-3-Inch-Strainer/dp/B001713L84/ref=sr_1_2?crid=W3NCKE3VOI6S&keywords=oxo+mini+strainer&qid=1661375265&sprefix=oxo+mini+straine%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-2
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This little guy fits perfectly over your mug and allows you to easily strain your boiled tea blends of all the leaves and roots. Simply put the strainer on your mug and pour your tea blend from your sauce pan into your mug.
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Sauce pan for boiling tea: Simply use any 3-4 quart stainless steel pan or pot you can get from Ross, Target, Amazon, or Walmart. You don't need a lid to boil the tea.
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Knives
You don't need the most expensive, sharpest, and state-of-the-art knives to cut up some fruits and vegetables. Any knife you find at Ross or another outlet store would suffice.
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Best Buy has this Cuisinart set that routinely is on sale for $15 and the reviews are good:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cuisinart-12-pc-knife-set-multi/6709101.p?skuId=6709101
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Spice Grinder
This spice grinder at Best Buy is a solid option for grinding down our herbal tea blends so that we easily drink them down in some water:
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https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cuisinart-spice-and-nut-grinder-silver/9340082.p?skuId=9340082
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The Cuinsinart spice grinder from Best Buy doesn't have the 2 year extended warranty option to purchase, but the Amazon link does. These grinders will definitely fail before 2 years (due to planned obsolescence), so it pays to spend the extra $6 here.
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