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You are here: Home / Eat Better / A "Real Food" Food Budget / The Berkey Water Filter and Giveaway Worth $258!

A "Real Food" Food Budget News and Giveaways

The Berkey Water Filter and Giveaway Worth $258!

For the past few years my family had been filtering our water with faucet filters.  I have to admit, I got sick and tired of constantly replacing the filters.  Sick of changing them and sick of paying for them.

One of the reasons I started my series on a “real food” food budget is that my family has been on an extremely tight budget. We’re doing the best we can with what we have and at the same time working on being debt free.

When I first found out about my third pregnancy I immediately knew my water consumption had to increase.  If you haven’t had a chance to see just how much water I’m talking about, check out my post on a real food diet during pregnancy over at Keeper of the Home.

Unfortunately, our faucet filter had broken and without extra cash to go out and buy a new one, I resorted to drinking tap water. What I found was that in my first trimester of pregnancy I had a headache almost every day of the week. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing differently and started to eliminate certain things from my diet.

As soon as I eliminated tap water and started drinking bottled water, my headaches went away.

Toxins in our water supply

How foolish could I have been.

I live in Iowa, a top agricultural state in the country.  We’re surrounded by commodity crops and factory farms. Not only does our water supply get contaminated by pesticide and insecticide runoff from industrial fields but even worse, factory farm manure spills into our rivers and streams which leads directly to our water supply. A “clean water” battle that Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is constantly fighting for.

Iowa has more than 572 polluted waterways – the highest ever on record – and has suffered more than 700 manure spills since 1995.

I also live in the metro which means our water supply is also tainted by pharmaceuticals (including animal antibiotics from CAFO’s), fluoride, and chlorine.

Many people probably wonder, “how do pharmaceuticals end up in my drinking water?”

It’s estimated that almost half of all Americans take prescription drugs with 80% popping some sort of pill every single day. Their bodies absorb some of the medication but the rest of it is passed through and flushed down the toilet.

The wastewater is cleaned and treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants where it leads directly to our faucets. However, most treatments do not remove all drug residues where low levels of pharmaceuticals are tested to be present in our water.

The problem with bottled water

Besides being expensive and wreaking havoc to our environment, most bottled water is dead water.

Most companies bottle up tap water and filter it to the extent that it is void of all minerals including calcium and magnesium.

The Berkey Water Filter

After I realized the source of my headaches, I started buying 5-6 gallon jugs of bottled water a week. We were spending at least $20-$24 a month.  I wanted something that would be more cost efficient and healthier for our family.

Our solution was The Berkey Water Filter.

The Berkey is a gravitational based water filtration system.  It’s the best stand alone unit on the market and filters out just about everything while leaving the minerals our bodies need in the water.

The Big Berkey® system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces nitrates, nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove red food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.

I also received the fluoride filter.

I love my Big Berkey

My stand alone unit sits in my dining room.  I enjoy that the boys are old enough to get their own glasses of clean water.  Unfortunately, little brother likes to drink straight out of the spicket.

It stands about 20″ high and holds about 2 gallons of water.

My husband put it together pretty simply, however, we did seek out a youtube tutorial to make sure we were placing the filters correctly in the right chambers.  Once they were locked in place it was ready to go.

We filled it up once and drained it to make sure it cleaned out the filters.

The water empties from the top chamber to the bottom pretty quickly and what I most enjoy is that the filters should be good for about 2,000 gallons of water before having to be replaced.  Definitely a great investment to save your family money in the long run.

So how does it taste?  Wonderful – clean and pure.

My only complaint is that I wish I had received the Berkey Royal which holds about 3 gallons of water.

I find that we need to fill the top chamber nearly every day since I also use the water for cooking and to fill up water bottles now that baseball season has started for the boys.

The Big Berkey is a great unit for a family of 1-4 where the Royal is a much better investment for a family of 2-6.  Now that we’ll soon be a family of five, we’ll probably have to upgrade in the future.

So, in my honest opinion, the Berkey is a great solution for those on a budget and wanting the best in real food and health for their families.  A “real food” food budget solution.

The Big Berkey Filter System Giveaway!

Guess what, the great people at LPC Survival Ltd were not only kind enough to give me my own system (my thoughts and opinions are my own), but they’re going to give one of my readers one as well!

The giveaway starts today and ends on May 25, 2012.  Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


49 Comments

About Diana Bauman

Diana is a mother of three, proud wife, and humbled daughter of God. She finds the most joy meeting with Jesus in her organic gardens. She is completely blessed to be able to call herself a stay at home mom where she home educates her children, joyfully serves her husband, and cooks nourishing, real food, for her family. She loves connecting with people on facebook, google+, pinterest, and instagram.

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Comments

  1. elizabeth h says

    May 11, 2012 at 7:46 am

    Subscribed! I love your blog!

    Reply
  2. Jo says

    May 11, 2012 at 7:48 am

    I have learned so much from your site, Diana! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  3. Deanna says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Yay! Awesome giveaway and just subscribed to your newsletter!

    Reply
  4. Lora says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:21 am

    Great giveaway. Subscribed. I absolutely can’t stand the water in the area I live. If you leave a sink of soapy water sit over a couple hours to soak dishes it will turn slimy YUK. I buy a lot of bottle water but I do make sure I recycle all the bottles, but still not a fan of all the plastic.

    Reply
  5. Deborah says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:53 am

    Just subscribed

    Reply
  6. Ginny says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:54 am

    I’ve followed you for awhile on Facebook and now am subscribed to your newsletter. I enjoy your posts!

    Reply
  7. Sean Timberlake says

    May 11, 2012 at 11:06 am

    At first I read that as $25B, and thought, wow! You could put a dent in the national debt with that.

    Reply
  8. Judy Klemm says

    May 11, 2012 at 12:33 pm

    I love my berkey water!

    Reply
  9. MOlly says

    May 11, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    I am subscribed to Spain in Iowa and I like both on facebook.

    Reply
  10. Bobbi says

    May 11, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    I keep putting a Berkey on my save up for list but so far other costs have always taken precedence because they are more immediately necessary (like car repairs). I take heart though because at least it’s not on my wishful thinking list!

    Reply
  11. Brook Michalik says

    May 11, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    Wow–cool. Water is really hard where I live, and I’m getting a little tired of filtered pitchers. Winning this would be great.

    Reply
  12. Michelle says

    May 11, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    Loving your blog and ideas! sent your website to many friends.

    Reply
  13. Amanda says

    May 11, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    I’m excited to have found your blog and just subscribed. We would love this filter as we are in the market for one right now, and love the natural aspect of this one — and it is shiny and pretty! 🙂

    Reply
  14. Donna Yaeger says

    May 11, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    I just subscribed and would love to win. I’ve been reading your blog for over a year and really enjoy it.

    Reply
    • Patti says

      May 12, 2012 at 6:12 am

      I am a subscriber and so enjoy your blog.

      Reply
  15. Sue says

    May 12, 2012 at 6:01 am

    Subscribed and would LOVE to win. I, too, live in Iowa and also am a daycare provider and would love this for everyone.

    Reply
  16. Raj M says

    May 12, 2012 at 7:18 am

    already subscribed!

    Reply
  17. bunkie says

    May 12, 2012 at 8:53 am

    great blog! great giveaway! thanks!

    Reply
  18. judi says

    May 12, 2012 at 9:42 am

    oh diana,
    this giveaway has come at such a perfect time…i just hope i can win it! our distiller died and we’ve been purchasing the 5 gallon containers of purified water which is costly.
    thanks for the review, if i don’t win at least i have a direction to head for a great water filter.
    judi

    Reply
  19. Sherry says

    May 12, 2012 at 10:22 am

    This looks like a good investment…already subscribed

    Reply
  20. Steph says

    May 12, 2012 at 10:41 am

    Awesome giveaway!! We have been going through several gallons of bottled water a week as well and I am sick of it!! We have had getting a water filter on our “to do” list for a while but just haven’t gotten it done yet! Thanks for offering this out!

    Reply
  21. Rachael says

    May 12, 2012 at 10:58 am

    I am already a subscriber!
    By the way, I love your site. It has fast become my go to site for a realistic way to enjoy real traditional food. I am especially grateful for your rel food budget series! Thank you.

    Reply
  22. Jennifer says

    May 12, 2012 at 11:14 am

    I would love to enter to win, but I do not and will not have a facebook page. I do subscribe to you newsletter though and love it. I can’t progress on the rafflecopter until I like it on Facebook.

    Reply
  23. Jacqueline says

    May 12, 2012 at 11:31 am

    I’ve been wishing for a Berkey! What a great giveaway! I liked and subscribed to both. Thank you.

    Reply
  24. Marlo S. says

    May 12, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    I subscribe to your blog. Love it, thank you. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Mare @ just-making-noise says

    May 12, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    We love our Berkeys!! We bought the small one for traveling in the states and decided to bring it back here to use in the small house for visitors. We will FOR SURE be bringing that back with us when we visit in the fall. I don’t know what we would’ve done without!! Then we have the next size up (3 gallons) which was a gift from HCF. We usually only have to fill it up once a day (at night before we go to bed we fill it up), but now that I am drinking more water… I find myself filling it up about half way mid-day. We have a filter at our sink for cooking at such, so we use the Berkey for drinking and tea. I LOVE it. I am always sharing about it with other missionaries. All of them drink dead water and complain of fatigue, constant thirst, aching bones and a few other symptoms that are signs that the body is not getting minerals it needs and pulling it out of its own bones. Crazy huh?! Water is supposed to be refreshing, energizing and cleansing. I remember drinking dead water for the first year we were here… HATED it. We were putting in sea salt in our water to have minerals and quench our thirst. It helped, but the water still tasted dead and plastic!!

    Okay, enough babbling :o) Hope you are feeling well Mama!! Excited about your girl??

    Reply
  26. Pearl says

    May 12, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    I’ve subscribed to Spain in Iowa. Great give away.

    Reply
  27. Susan Jonell Roragen says

    May 12, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I already subscribe to your blog.

    Reply
  28. karen says

    May 13, 2012 at 9:38 am

    I already subscribe via email!

    Reply
  29. Megan Bell says

    May 13, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    I already subscribe to SII by email! 🙂

    Reply
  30. CJ says

    May 13, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    This would be excellent to have!

    Reply
  31. kelly tillotson says

    May 14, 2012 at 12:17 am

    excited about the giveaway–here was the link to my pin:
    http://pinterest.com/pin/10273905370263230/
    *kelly
    [email protected]

    Reply
  32. Leann Lindeman says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:26 am

    I subscribed to receive your emails!

    Reply
  33. Vicky Carlson says

    May 16, 2012 at 2:24 am

    I subscribed to A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa via Email.

    t42vek20 at gmail dot com

    Reply
  34. Vicky Carlson says

    May 16, 2012 at 2:29 am

    Just wanted to say thank you for the chance to win and having this awesome giveaway!

    Reply
  35. Amanda says

    May 16, 2012 at 7:18 am

    So excited I found your blog via a friend. Great!

    Reply
  36. jenny says

    May 16, 2012 at 8:02 pm

    thanks!

    Reply
  37. Claire says

    May 17, 2012 at 7:29 am

    We have been going through several gallons of bottled water a week as well and I am sick of it!!Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  38. Vicky Carlson says

    May 18, 2012 at 11:04 am

    I’ve been sharing everyday on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/vickykoen/posts/224738737629398

    Reply
  39. Rust says

    May 19, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    My 5/19 Fb post https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/timeline/story?ut=76&wstart=1335855600&wend=1338533999&hash=7476916846257816761&pagefilter=3

    Reply
  40. Rust says

    May 19, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    My 5/19 pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/225461525065556125/

    Reply
  41. Brittney says

    May 20, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    This is AWESOME! We have super high chlorine here… Without a filter our bathroom smells like a hot tub after bathing and you can smell it if you sniff a glass of water. It’s pretty bad! Right now we are using a Brita, we would love to own a Berkey!

    Reply
  42. Rust says

    May 20, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    daily FB entry https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/411400762226694

    Reply
  43. Jen says

    May 20, 2012 at 11:48 pm

    I subscribed to your emails.

    Reply
  44. Rust says

    May 22, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    my daily FB post: https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/461818473833904

    Reply
  45. Rust says

    May 23, 2012 at 8:28 pm

    my FB post for today https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/316806158399945

    Reply
  46. Rust says

    May 24, 2012 at 8:36 pm

    daily FB https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/182697511855669

    Reply
  47. Jamaise says

    May 24, 2012 at 8:59 pm

    I subscribed 🙂 Great, healthy giveaway! I caught it 43 minutes before the end!

    Reply
  48. 4HungryBunnies says

    February 26, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Ooh, we have a 3 gallon Berkey water filter that my parents so generously bought for us. I fill it every night. It’s awesome!! We have to keep it pushed back on our portable dishwasher though to keep it from my toddler. I don’t enjoy having a lake in my kitchen. (;

    Reply

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My family of 7

I’m Diana – mother of five, proud wife, and daughter to an amazing God. Here you’ll find an encouraging community seeking to nourish our families both physically and spiritually. You’ll find us in our kitchens, gardens, and homeschool rooms pursuing a simple life in food, faith, and family.

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