Reviewing The Big Berkey System

June 21, 2025 Sarah

When we moved to the island, Kirk had picked up a Big Berkey to run our water through. We had good well water there, and once we had the house’s water redone, the Berkey wasn’t needed. It ended up sitting in its box, unopened, for 6 to 7 years. We moved it with us to West Virginia. Our well water here isn’t great. It is extremely hard. We knew that moving here, we’d need to remodel the water system in the house. We do NOT drink the tap water here. It’s been tested, and while in theory it is “safe” for consumption, too many people locally warn about drinking it straight, blaming chronic kidney stone issues on it (though that is up for discussion if that causes them). So we don’t even give it to our dogs. You can see the hardness of the water even in cold water; it leaves a heavy bloom on pots and glassware, especially when canning. My black kettle was white after the first run.

We are saving for the remodel of the water system, and once done, it should be great. But until then, bottled water is our answer. Buying it, though, isn’t cheap, and with the water so hard locally, most people buy water to drink. By Sunday every weekend, many stores are fully sold out of the 5-gallon carboys. It leaves me nervous as well, for if we can’t get water, what do we do? I had already had one weekend where I went to three stores to find water.

The average price is $15 for the bottle the first time, and approximately $8 for each refill when you return your empty bottle. I am unable to lift the full bottles due to my arm injury from last year, so one of the boys must accompany me to load them into a shopping cart, into the car, and then into our house.

That alone was enough to get me off my rear and find the Berkey Filter box.

After blowing off the dust, I opened it up.

The current model hasn’t changed much. You can buy a stainless steel spigot, however. That is nice to have less plastic. I might upgrade it.

The directions are IKEA-level in terms of complexity, but I eventually figured it out. It came with four filters, but you could opt to use only two at a time, and use two plugs. I decided to try this way first. The filters supposedly treat about 6,000 gallons of water, an average four-person family that is about 2 years. We shall see.

I added the first fill of cold tap water. At first, it barely drips through. I left it overnight, and the water had gone through nicely.

I drained it as instructed and refilled it. We went and ran errands, came home to it having drained, so it was much faster the second time.

I decided to purge it a third time, just to be sure. It’s no different than using any filter; you need to rinse it, essentially, before using the water.

Then, with it ready, we proceeded to test and compare the water. A basic science experiment, if you will.

I ordered a water testing kit. We tested three times: Well, Berkey, and as a test control, bottled water.

Our water had been tested twice before, by plumbers, but I wanted to do it myself, as I hadn’t seen the results in person – just what I was told.

The strips are very easy to use; lining up the colors can be interesting, and you might second-guess yourself at first. It gets easier, though.

Well Versus Filtered:

What I wanted to know was: What is in our water, and does the Berky improve it?

The Results:

Our issue lies in the hardness of the water. All three samples came back with 0 for Free Chlorine, Iron, Mercury, Total Chlorine, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Manganese, QAC, Flouride, Sodium Chloride, and Hydrogen Sulfide.

Hardness: 250, 150, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
Total Alkalinity: 240, 180, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
Carbonate: 240, 240, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
PH: 9,6, and 5 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)

So yes, the Berkey did help with the hardness in general. While it can’t compare to the bottled water, it does help. I will test it again in a week to see if it lowers further as the filters are used. I have no issues giving our dogs this water and using it to cook with, make ice, and so on. The water comes out clear of the Berkey visually. Not Carbonate clouding the water, until it settles.

The test kit also tested beyond the basics:

It’s reassuring to know that your water, straight from the well, is free of nitrates and nitrites.

No Tin or Nickel as well.

Sulfates are something the Berkey doesn’t affect, and even our bottled water had the same reading, so I am choosing to ignore it. It doesn’t seem to be considered a huge issue, that the most significant risk is getting GI issues if not used to it.

I feel safe using the Berkey for now, which helps with our water consumption, and I also feel a lot better about our well water in general. I don’t fear drinking it now, though it is brutal on appliances. Once we have a water system in place, I will feel better about that.

And my hair will undoubtedly feel better. That is probably what I hate most about the water here – my hair never feels clean due to the hardness.

~Sarah

Fresh Pico de Gallo

June 5, 2025 Sarah

Pico de Gallo or Salsa Fresca is either done well or is horrible. There is no middle of the road. The fact is, freshness matters. You can purchase it in plastic tubs at the grocery store, but it’s worth the time to use fresh ingredients and do the chopping and dicing yourself. The taste and aroma are worth all that extra work. What you buy in a tub has been sitting in it for a long time, and the onion often gets a very harsh flavor. Some brands add preservatives, which give a harsh taste.

When you eat out and get homemade, it’s heaven on a chip.

And if you make it? You can customize it: Don’t like heat? Then use a green bell pepper. Don’t like cilantro? Leave it out. Or use flat-leaf parsley.

Allow it to sit for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld before eating, or even better, overnight.

It’s delicious to take the pico and add it to a pat of butter, saute the veggies until the moisture is worked out, then add whisked eggs and cook them. A delicious breakfast!

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion
4 Roma tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
½ bunch cilantro leaves
3 limes
1 tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

Peel and dice the onion.

Trim and dice the tomatoes.

Seed the peppers and dice.

Rip off the leaves of the cilantro, wash, and spin in a lettuce spinner till dry. Finely dice up.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Squeeze the limes and add with the salt, tossing gently until mixed.

Put in a glass storage container and chill for a couple of hours or overnight before enjoying.

~Sarah

Clean Living · Recipes

Protein Pizza Bowl

May 9, 2025 Sarah

It has all the flavor of pizza without the dough. It’s easy to pull it together before one serving or multiply it to make more servings. Mix each serving for best results. In a few minutes, you can have lunch or a snack with plenty of protein and low calories.

Protein Pizza Bowl

Ingredients:

½ cup 4% cottage cheese
¼ cup pizza sauce
½ tsp dry pizza herb blend or Italian seasoning blend
¼ cup shredded mozzarella
3 slices of natural pepperoni

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix the cottage cheese, pizza sauce, and seasoning in a small bowl.

Spoon into an oven-safe baking dish.

Top with the cheese and the pepperoni.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Serves one.

Nutritional Stats:

20 grams of protein / 262 calories

Notes:

I used Lactaid brand cottage cheese to avoid “dairy issues” that sometimes happen to me. I am somewhat lactose intolerant, and while it doesn’t stop me from eating it, having gentler options helps a lot. Otherwise, stick to a simple brand. Avoid ones with thickeners and binders. Daisy is usually a solid choice.

For best results, find a brand of pizza sauce that doesn’t contain sugar or is very low in sugar. It’s worth seeking out the higher-end brands, like Rao’s, in grocery stores. It lasts in the refrigerator, so enjoy it.

I used custard bowls, which were big enough; a bigger single-serving bowl would be handier.

~Sarah

Clean Living · Recipes

Baked Berry Oat Pancakes

May 7, 2025 Sarah

Could you make these on a griddle? Possibly, but baking gives time for the oats to cook fully.

It’s a quick way to feed multiple children, and they do not need syrup on top, so they are easy to eat out of hand as you run to school.

Baked Berry Oat Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup greek yogurt*
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups oat flour, gluten-free if needed*
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
¾ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F, and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together.

Add the oat flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix.

Gently add in the berries.

Knock out ¼ cup portions on the tray. You may want to make two trays’ worth if your tray is smaller.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until done, golden on top.

Eat warm, or transfer to a cooling rack.

Made about a dozen.

Notes:

*To make oat flour, grind old-fashioned oats in a blender and then measure out. See here for gluten-free oats, if needed.

*You can use plain greek yogurt, or any flavored one, strawberry works well.

~Sarah

Clean Living · Recipes

Protein Chocolate Mousse

May 5, 2025 Sarah

Four ingredients and a couple of minutes of prep = a dessert with 16 grams of protein per serving.

Yes, it does have added sugar from maple syrup. If that is an issue, consider using sugar-free maple syrup if you want it keto-friendly. I went with locally produced West Virginia maple syrup.

The dessert isn’t very sweet, has a nice dark chocolate flavor, and doesn’t taste like cottage cheese. It’s nice and thick, so make sure you buy a cottage cheese with a clean ingredient list and that it isn’t watery (which is why I go for 4% and not 2%).

Protein Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage cheese, 4% fat
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Add ingredients to a high-speed blender (I used my Vitamix 5200). Start processing on low and increase the speed until the mixture is smooth and fully blended. You will likely need to scrape a few times and keep blending if using a regular blender.

Scrape with a spatula into two custard dishes.

Chill for an hour before serving. For best results, eat the mousse the day it is prepared; if storing, cover it and consume within three days.

Serves 2.

~Sarah