A friend of mine, who knows we’ve been trying to get pregnant for nearly two years, suggested a Midwife and Hormone Specialist for me to reach out to. So far what my OBGYN has suggested or done for me hasn’t seemed to make a difference so I scheduled the phone call and I filled out a bunch of questionnaires. Based on all of the information I shared with her, about my current situation and my health history she ordered bloodwork to test for MTHFR, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, gene mutations. The bloodwork came back that I am indeed Compound Heterozygous, having two mutations, C677T and A1298C.

Since I am Compound Heterozygous for MTHFR i’ll be getting a methylation panel blood draw. In the meantime she sent me a protocol from MTHFR.net that includes lifestyle recommendations as well as one for pregnancy. The list of suggested supplements, dietary and lifestyle changes is quite long. In an effort not to get completely overwhelmed I plan to progressively make changes over the next few months starting with decreasing some environmental toxins. Lead is found in some ceramic and non stick cookware. It is also known to have negative effects on the developing brain and neurological health.

I’ve noticed that my non stick pans, that I cook with often, have many scratches, changes in color, and look like the coating has come off. It’s my assumption that whatever has come off of those pans has likely ended up in our food. Learning about the negative effects of lead on the body, the fact that my pans have literally been deteriorating in front of me and my lack of ability to keep my food from sticking to my stainless steel pans left me in the market for new cookware.

I recently earned a $1000 shopping spree at Nordstrom but the closest Nordstrom to where we live is about a 5 hour drive. The times I was going to be close to one I would have also had my three year old tagging along with me and anyone who has shopped with a 3 year old knows it’s not exactly the ideal “experience”. Plus the only thing I really wanted at the time was new black Frye riding boots and one pair of boots wasn’t worth the 5 hour drive with a 3 year old. I opted for gift cards and thought i’d save them for when the time was right, instead of just blowing it all on random clothes and shoes that I don’t really need. Shortly after my gift cards got emailed to me I got the MTHFR results.

Perfect timing!

HERE'S WHAT I WAS IN SEARCH OF:
1. A pan that eggs wouldn’t stick to like glue
2. Cookware that doesn't have toxic metals that we would end up ingesting
3. A dutch oven that would replace the ceramic one I dropped and busted into many pieces on my in laws kitchen floor at their ranch house

After doing a little research myself and asking friends what non toxic, non stick cookware they use I decided on Green Pan and Le Creuset.

GREENPAN
The Greenpan frying pans are stainless-steel with a ceramic non-stick coating called Thermolon™ which is made from a sand derivative and doesn’t release toxic fumes when overheated.

LE CREUSET
Le Creuset because, let’s be real, it’s Le Creuset. Enough said. If more had to be said it would be that the enameled cast iron cookware is durable with a nonreactive sand-colored interior and a crack and chip-resistant exterior.

Now that the over used and abused non-stick pans have been tossed stay tuned as new low oxalate, detoxifying, fertility boostin’ recipes come to life in these brand spankin’ new pans, dutch oven, and braiser.

Let the journey to low toxicity cooking and baking begin!

Old School Modern Mama,