Also, the crockpot / slow cooker is extremely energy-efficient. A pressure cooker might be more energy-efficient than a regular pot, though, I think less energy-efficient than a crockpot.

Cast iron is known for it’s healthy non-stick cooking (we use olive oil when cooking) and you don’t have to worry about teflon flaking off into your food! (Cast iron is also known for putting iron in your diet…just from cooking with it!) I’m iron deficient so this works really well for me! As well with the cast iron you can purchase them at garage sales, etc all rusty without worry about the effects of the rust on your body. To clean them all you have to do is put them over an open fire and it will come clean! (after they’re clean initially you can cook with them as you do your other pots/pans and wash as normal)

When we cook with the oven we don’t worry about the “pre-heat oven to 400 degrees”, for example. We simply set the oven and put whatever it is that we’re cooking in the oven to cook. The food will start to cook as the oven is coming up to temperature and you will find you save on your electric bill as you don’t waste the first 10-15 minutes pre-heating your oven.

Just as a sidenote, any time you use your oven or stove top, we have found that food will continue to cook for more than 5 minutes after you turn off the burners, again saving you on your electric bill.

Microwaves, we have learned, are not a good way to re-heat leftovers due to health reasons (radioactivity, etc). We use our cast iron pans and re-heat our leftovers on the stove top. Yet another healthy alternative.

I’ve been enjoying what I’ve read from your site so far. It was encouraging to find other wife/mother people who share some of my ideals with whom I can connect.