How to Calm Your Nervous System at Home, According to an Expert

Most of us know the feeling of doing everything "right", eight hours of sleep, a quiet evening, no obvious crisis, and still waking up depleted. According to Dr. Carli Axford, founder of the Spinal Flow Technique, that's because sleep and true rest are not the same thing, and the difference comes down to what the body is still holding.

In the first part of our conversation, Dr. Carli explained what somatic healing is and how the body stores stress, often for years, as physical blockages along the spine. Here, she turns to what we can actually do about it: why rest so often fails to restore us, and the simple, practitioner-free practices anyone can start today. Her book, Awaken Your Spinal Flow, is out from Hay House in May 2027.

You've talked about how rest doesn't always feel restorative. Why can someone sleep eight hours and still wake up depleted? Because sleep and true rest are not the same thing. Most of us are carrying years and years of stored tension, layer upon layer of stress the body never got to release, and while all of that is held in the spine, the body stays in fight-or-flight. We close our eyes and sleep, but the blockages are still there. That river of energy that's meant to flow from the sacrum all the way up to the cranium and back again can't move freely; it's interrupted, stuck, working in segments rather than as one connected system. So the body rests without ever truly connecting, and the deep repair that's supposed to happen overnight simply can't take place.

This is why a person can do everything "right" and still wake up heavy and depleted. It's not a lack of hours, it's a body that's still braced, still holding, still running on survival. The abundant energy that lives inside us is what leaves us feeling rested, restored and genuinely energised, but we can only access it when the flow is connected and the blockages have cleared. Sleeping with a stressed, stuck body doesn't restore us. Real rest comes when the body moves out of survival mode, the river flows freely again, and the whole system can finally move as one.

What are a few simple, accessible practices someone could try at home today to support their nervous system? Nothing requiring a practitioner. Everything we need is already inside us and we have three tools that we can use to access this, breath, touch and movement, and the body knows exactly what to do with them. The first practice is simply to listen. Rest both hands on your belly or your heart, close your eyes, and notice what's there, with no judgement and nothing to fix. Your body speaks in sensation, your heart in feeling, your mind in thought, and most of us have never stopped to hear them. Is your body whispering, or is it screaming? Where? Gently ask what it might be telling you and whether there's one small thing you could change to give it what it needs. This is where all healing begins, because the body is always talking to us. We've just forgotten how to listen.

The second is to shift into the healing zone, and this is the switch that takes you out of stress. Rest both hands on your lower belly, let them sink in, and breathe into that place beneath your hands, in through the nose for a count of four, out slowly for a count of six. That longer exhale is the one signal that moves the body out of fight-or-flight and into the state where healing can actually happen. The third is to activate the base of your spine with movement: lying on your back with your knees bent and hands on your lower belly, gently rocking your pelvis forward and backwards, letting soft breath and motion return to the lowest part of your spine. This is where the river of cerebrospinal fluid begins its rise, and even a minute of gentle movement invites it to flow.

If someone has only five minutes a day, what's the single most effective thing they can do to support their nervous system? Start by shifting into the healing zone, hands on your lower belly, breathing in for four and out for six, letting the exhale grow longer than the inhale to bring your body out of survival. Then, once you've settled, let the breath begin to travel. On each inhale, draw the breath all the way up your spine from the very base to the top of your neck; on each exhale, let it flow all the way back down again. You can let your spine gently move with it too, softly rising as the breath climbs, softening as it descends, so the breath and the spine are moving together as one, up and down, up and down. It's a simplified version of the full practice I teach in my forthcoming book, but even in this small form it's powerful.

This is the most valuable five minutes you can give yourself, because it does more than calm you. It invites the river of cerebrospinal fluid to flow freely up and down the spine, clearing interference and easing the blockages where stress gets stored. When the breath and the body move as one like this, even for a few minutes a day, you're not just relaxing, you're restoring the natural flow your whole nervous system depends on, and teaching your body to work as one connected whole again.

For someone who feels "wired but tired" at the end of the day, what would you recommend they try before bed to actually downshift? That wired-but-tired feeling is the signature of a nervous system that's been running on adrenaline all day and doesn't know how to come down, exhausted underneath, yet still buzzing on the surface. The mistake is to lie down and expect sleep to do the settling on its own. It won't, because the body hasn't yet received the message that it's safe to let go. So before sleep, you can do a short practice I call The Spinal Rest. Lie down, rest both hands on your tummy, and begin the 4-6 breath, in through the nose for four, out for six. As your body settles, gently reflect on your day: what worked, what you can learn from it, what you might need more of, and how you'd love tomorrow to feel.

Then, once you feel settled, let the breath begin to move through your spine. Inhale for a count of four, drawing the breath all the way up from the base of your spine to the very top; exhale for a count of six, letting it flow all the way back down again. Up on the inhale, down on the exhale, slow and unforced. With each round, let yourself sink a little deeper: into the bed beneath you, into that flow moving up and down your spine, into the innate intelligence that is you. This is the place of peace that has always been inside your body, and as you connect to it, the whole system settles as one, and true, restorative rest can finally reach you.

These daily practices are a starting point, but your work points to something bigger: the idea that the body has its own innate capacity to heal. That's the heart of your forthcoming book, Awaken Your Spinal Flow. What's the core idea you most want readers to take away from it? If there's only one thing to take from the book, let it be this: the body already holds everything it needs to heal. We're each born with an innate intelligence that knows how to repair, regulate and restore, and healing isn't about adding something from the outside. It's about removing what's been blocking that intelligence from flowing, and reconnecting to a capacity that has been there all along.

The Healer's Journey is where we remember that the healer we've been searching for is not someone else, it's ourselves. Pain, symptoms and exhaustion do not show us that something is wrong with us; they are messages, and once we learn to read them and release what we've been carrying, we get to come home to a body that feels calm, light and free. I've watched that happen for tens of thousands of people, and I wrote this book so it can happen for many more.

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It’s Hot. Here’s What We’re Actually Drinking to Stay Hydrated

At a certain point in summer, your emotional support water bottle starts to feel a little uninspiring. The days are hotter, we are outside more, and between workouts, travel, beach days, and simply existing through a heat wave, staying hydrated suddenly requires a little more attention. The NIH recommends drinking extra fluids during hot weather, but that does not mean every sip has to come from the same bottle of lukewarm water you have been carrying around since breakfast.

This summer, we are mixing things up. There is cold pressed fruit hydration straight from the fridge, an electrolyte formula made for the days we are actually sweating, coconut water we will never stop buying, and even a beauty focused drink that makes hydration feel suspiciously close to skincare.

Consider this our current summer hydration rotation.

Pressed Hydration+ Watermelon Dragon Fruit

This is exactly what we want waiting in the fridge when the temperature starts climbing. Pressed Hydration+ Watermelon Dragon Fruit brings together coconut water, watermelon, dragon fruit, lemon, and lime with six essential electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and chloride. There is also 450 milligrams of L glutamine in the formula.

What makes it especially right for summer is that it drinks more like something you would genuinely crave on a hot afternoon than a traditional sports drink. It is bright, fruity, and best served cold. We would grab this after a workout, throw one in a beach cooler, or reach for it during the afternoon slump when plain water simply is not inspiring anyone.

Best for: Hot afternoons, post workout hydration, and anyone who wants their electrolytes to taste like summer.

Gnarly Hydrate

For the days when summer involves considerably more activity than lying beside a pool, we are reaching for Gnarly Hydrate. This one is firmly rooted in performance, with a full spectrum electrolyte formula designed around sustained activity and sweat. The current formula includes sodium, potassium, and magnesium, contains no artificial colors or sweeteners, and is NSF Certified for Sport.

That makes it the one we would pack for a long hike, outdoor workout, bike ride, or any summer adventure where you know you are going to come back considerably sweatier than you left. The flavors also make it considerably more fun than the typical serious sports nutrition formula, with options including Orange Pineapple, Raspberry, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Lemonade, Salted Margarita, and Piña Colada.

Best for: Hikes, outdoor workouts, long active days, and the people who actually earn their electrolytes.

Pique B•T Fountain

This is hydration for the person whose wellness routine has somehow merged completely with their skincare routine. Pique B•T Fountain combines electrolytes and minerals with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, positioning hydration as part of a broader beauty from within ritual.

We like it because it brings something completely different to the hydration conversation. This is not the packet we are necessarily grabbing before a marathon. It is the one we mix over ice in the morning because we already think about moisture everywhere else in our beauty routine, so why stop at the bathroom cabinet?

Best for: The beauty obsessed, morning wellness rituals, and anyone who likes their hydration with a side of skincare.

Harmless Harvest Organic Coconut Water

There are trends in hydration, and then there is coconut water, which we will happily keep coming back to every summer.

Harmless Harvest remains one of our refrigerator staples, whether we are drinking the original organic coconut water straight from the bottle or reaching for one of the brand's other variations, including coconut water with watermelon and sparkling coconut water.

There is something about an ice cold bottle after being outside all day that just hits differently. We also love using it as the liquid base for smoothies or pouring it over plenty of ice with a squeeze of fresh lime when we want something that feels a little more intentional than opening another bottle of water.

Best for: Beach bags, morning walks, smoothies, and the coconut water loyalists among us.

Plant People Wonder Hydrate

Okay, technically we are not drinking this one. We are chewing it.

Plant People's Wonder Hydrate takes the electrolyte category in a completely different direction with a sugar free, lychee flavored gummy. The formula includes electrolyte minerals such as magnesium and potassium, along with vitamin C and prebiotic fiber.

We would not swap these in for actual fluid intake, obviously, but as an addition to a summer routine, the format is undeniably convenient. No shaker bottle. No powder mysteriously accumulating at the bottom of your tote. Just a hydration adjacent supplement you can keep at your desk or throw into a carry on.

And frankly, we appreciate any wellness product that understands we do not always want another powder.

Best for: Travel, handbags, supplement maximalists, and anyone officially over mixing things into water.

Loonen

And then there are the days when what we really want is just very, very good water.

Loonen takes a more considered approach to bottled water, starting with spring sourced water that is filtered, tested, and bottled exclusively in glass. The brand currently offers both still and sparkling versions.

We particularly like the sparkling bottles for summer dinners, long lunches, and those late afternoons when we want something cold and fizzy without opening another functional beverage. Add citrus, fresh mint, or cucumber and suddenly drinking water feels significantly less like a task.

Best for: The dinner table, poolside lunches, and anyone whose preferred beverage aesthetic is very nice European hotel.

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The Case for Getting Hot on Purpose

The wellness world is always chasing the next breakthrough. A newer device, a more complicated protocol, another habit positioned as the missing piece of the longevity puzzle.

And yet, researchers and physicians keep returning to one of the oldest wellness practices around: sitting in a very hot room.

Sauna has become a recurring subject for experts including Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Susanna Søberg, and Dr. Stacy Sims. Their areas of expertise differ, but the reasons for their interest tend to overlap. Regular heat exposure may support cardiovascular health, recovery, stress resilience, and several of the systems involved in healthy aging.

What makes sauna particularly compelling is that a growing body of research is beginning to explain why humans may have continued seeking out intentional heat for so long.

Sauna is not a shortcut to longevity or a replacement for exercise, sleep, or a nourishing diet. But it may be one of the simplest ways to give the body a manageable challenge, then allow it to recover.

Your Heart Is Working, Even While You Sit

A sauna session may feel passive, but your body is doing plenty behind the scenes. As you heat up, your blood vessels widen, circulation increases, and your heart rate rises to help regulate your temperature.

This does not mean sauna replaces cardio. You are not building muscle, strengthening your bones, or improving endurance in the same way you would during a workout. Still, the cardiovascular response is one reason researchers have become so interested in regular sauna use.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick often points to Finnish research linking frequent sauna bathing with lower rates of cardiovascular and all cause mortality. In one of the best known studies, men who used a sauna four to seven times a week had a lower risk of fatal cardiovascular events than those who used one once weekly.

Other research involving both men and women found that more frequent sauna use was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality. Regular sauna bathing has also been linked with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

These studies are observational, so they cannot prove sauna caused the results. Still, the findings are consistent enough to explain why heat exposure keeps showing up in conversations around heart health and longevity.

The Heat Is Part of the Point

Sauna gives the body a manageable amount of stress. This is often called hormesis, which is the idea that a small challenge can help the body adapt and become more resilient.

Exercise works in a similar way. You stress the body, recover, and gradually become better equipped to handle that stress again.

Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Susanna Søberg have both spoken about deliberate heat exposure through this lens. Researchers are especially interested in heat shock proteins, which help cells respond to stress and maintain normal cellular function.

One study found that sauna exposure affected genes involved in the heat shock response, though scientists are still learning what that may mean for long term health.

The practical takeaway is that hotter is not always better. A sauna should feel challenging, but it should not leave you dizzy, nauseated, or completely drained. You are not getting extra benefits for staying in longer than your body wants you to.

Sauna May Matter for Brain Health Too

Some of the most interesting sauna research involves the brain.

A long term Finnish study found that men who used a sauna frequently had a lower observed risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Another study involving nearly 14,000 people also found an association between regular sauna use and a lower risk of dementia.This does not mean sauna prevents dementia. Researchers are still trying to understand why the relationship exists.

One possible explanation is the connection between heart health and brain health. The brain depends on healthy blood vessels and steady blood flow, so habits that support the cardiovascular system may also matter for cognitive health over time.

The science is still developing, but it suggests sauna may offer more than a temporary sense of relaxation after a workout.

Traditional Sauna or Infrared Sauna?

Most of the longevity research comes from traditional Finnish sauna, which heats the air around you and usually operates at a higher temperature.

Infrared sauna works differently by using infrared energy to warm the body while the surrounding air stays cooler. Many people find it easier to tolerate, especially if traditional sauna feels overwhelming.

Both can raise body temperature and heart rate, but they have not been studied equally. A small study found that infrared sauna created measurable cardiovascular and thermal responses in healthy women. Early research has also looked at infrared sauna for muscle soreness and exercise recovery.

Traditional sauna still has the strongest longevity data behind it. Infrared may still be a good option for relaxation, recovery, and regular heat exposure, particularly if the lower temperature means you will actually use it.

Recovery May Be the Benefit You Notice First

Sauna can feel especially good after a hard workout or a long, stressful day. Dr. Stacy Sims often talks about how important recovery becomes for maintaining strength, performance, and consistency as we age.

Research in this area is still limited, but studies have explored infrared sauna for muscle soreness and neuromuscular recovery. Traditional sauna research has also found changes in heart rate variability that may reflect greater parasympathetic activity during recovery.

In everyday terms, sauna may help the body shift into a calmer state. There is also something to be said for spending fifteen or twenty minutes without messages, notifications, or another screen demanding your attention.

In one international survey, more than 80 percent of sauna users reported perceived sleep benefits. That does not prove sauna improves sleep, but it lines up with why so many people use it as a way to wind down.

How Often Should You Use a Sauna?

The Finnish research found the strongest associations among men who used a sauna four to seven times per week, but that does not mean everyone needs to start going daily. These were people who were already accustomed to regular sauna bathing. The study was not prescribing the same routine to everyone.

For someone new to sauna, one or two shorter sessions a week may be a more realistic place to start. From there, you can adjust based on how your body feels.

Hydration matters, particularly if you are using a sauna after exercise. Anyone who is pregnant, has cardiovascular or blood pressure concerns, frequently feels dizzy or faint, or takes medications that affect hydration or temperature regulation should speak with a healthcare professional first.

The goal is simple: leave feeling better than when you went in.

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Are We Making Life Too Easy? The Surprising Value of Doing Things the Longer Way

Modern life is built around one central promise: whatever you are doing, there is probably an easier way to do it.

Dinner can arrive without cooking. Groceries can show up at the door. A car can pick us up almost anywhere, and entertainment is available before we have even decided what we want to watch. In many ways, this is an extraordinary luxury. Convenience gives people back time, expands access and removes countless daily frustrations.

But there is a strange tension hiding inside all that ease. As more parts of life become faster and more frictionless, many of us still feel rushed, distracted and oddly unsatisfied.

The problem may not be convenience itself. It may be that we have stopped distinguishing between the friction that drains us and the friction that quietly gives something back.

Not All Friction Is Bad

There are plenty of inconveniences that deserve to disappear. Long commutes, repetitive administrative tasks and unnecessary waiting do not inherently make life richer. When technology removes effort that feels tedious or genuinely unimportant, it can create space for things that matter more.

The problem begins when we start treating all effort as equally undesirable. Some forms of effort are not obstacles standing between us and a better experience. They are part of what makes the experience meaningful.

Cooking takes longer than ordering in, but the chopping, tasting and experimenting are part of how we learn to feed ourselves. Walking somewhere takes more time than getting into a car, but the movement and change of scenery may be exactly what we need. Calling a friend can feel like more effort than sending a text, but the conversation that follows often creates a different kind of connection.

Useful convenience removes effort that does not matter to us. Less useful convenience can slowly remove experiences that do.

What Happens When Every Empty Moment Gets Filled

One of the clearest examples is boredom.

There used to be small stretches of nothing built naturally into the day. We waited for people. We stood in line. We walked somewhere without listening to anything. These moments were not exciting, but they gave the mind space to wander and process.

Today, almost every gap can be filled instantly. A few quiet minutes become an opportunity to scroll, check messages or watch something. Even activities like walking, cooking and getting ready for bed often happen alongside another stream of information.

The issue is not that making a boring moment more enjoyable is bad. It is that many of us rarely experience true mental quiet anymore.

The solution does not have to be a dramatic digital detox. Start smaller. Take a short walk without headphones. Wait for your coffee without automatically opening an app. Eat one meal without watching something at the same time.

An unoccupied mind does not always need fixing.

Convenience Can Quietly Change What We Know How to Do

The more we outsource certain tasks, the fewer opportunities we have to remain capable of doing them ourselves.

This does not mean everyone needs to bake bread or navigate every city without directions. But there is a quiet confidence that comes from knowing how to do things, and that confidence is built through repetition.

Cooking is a good example. Ordering food is useful and often necessary, but when it becomes the default, we may slowly lose the ability to look at a few ingredients and know how to turn them into dinner. The same principle applies to countless small skills, from entertaining ourselves without a screen to sitting with a problem long enough to work through it.

A good rule is to let convenience handle the things you genuinely do not value while staying involved in the things you want to remain connected to. Have groceries delivered when the week is overwhelming, but cook when preparing food makes you feel grounded. Take the fastest route when you are in a rush, but walk when the journey itself is part of the experience.

The value is not in making life harder. It is in remaining an active participant in the parts of life you care about.

Wellness Has a Convenience Problem Too

The tension becomes especially interesting in wellness, an industry increasingly filled with tools designed to make feeling better faster and easier.

There are powders for nutrition, supplements for nearly every goal, devices for recovery, apps for mindfulness and wearables that monitor sleep and stress. Many of these tools can be useful. The problem comes when the tool starts replacing the practice it was meant to support.

A supplement can complement a nourishing diet, but it cannot create a relationship with food. A sleep tracker can reveal patterns, but it cannot establish a bedtime routine. A meditation app can guide a practice, but it cannot remove the discomfort of learning to sit quietly with an active mind.

The most effective wellness tools often work best as support systems, not substitutes.

Many of the practices that have the greatest impact still require participation: cooking regularly, moving the body, sleeping enough, spending time outside, nurturing relationships and making room for actual rest.

They may not be particularly novel, but their value comes largely from doing them consistently.

How to Tell Whether Convenience Is Actually Helping You

Rather than trying to make life deliberately harder, it may be more useful to ask what each convenience is giving you in return.

When something saves you time, where does that time go? If grocery delivery means you can spend an extra hour with your family, take a longer walk or finally rest after a demanding day, that convenience is doing exactly what it should.

The same question applies to attention. Does a convenience reduce mental clutter, or make you feel more disconnected from what you are doing? Does it support a habit you value, or slowly replace it?

There are no universal answers. For one person, cooking is a creative ritual. For another, meal delivery creates enough breathing room to get through an exhausting week.

The goal is not to decide that one choice is better. It is to become more conscious about which parts of life you actually want to participate in.

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MERIT Just Checked Into The Ritz-Carlton and Brought the Perfect Travel Beauty Routine

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Packing a beauty bag for vacation always sounds simple until you are standing over an open suitcase wondering why you suddenly need three serums, two blushes and a backup mascara for a four-day trip.

MERIT has a better idea.

The beauty brand has teamed up with The Ritz-Carlton for its first hospitality partnership, bringing a tightly edited version of the getting-ready routine into select hotels. The collaboration includes beauty carts in Ritz-Carlton Club Lounges, in-room product moments, personalized consultations at select properties and a limited-edition travel set that is basically made for anyone trying to pack lighter without feeling underprepared.

It is also one of those brand collaborations that actually makes sense. MERIT has always been about keeping beauty uncomplicated, and hotel rooms are exactly where that philosophy comes in handy.

A Hotel Beauty Setup We Would Actually Use

At participating properties, guests will find complimentary beauty carts in select Ritz-Carlton Club Lounges stocked with some of MERIT's most popular products, including Great Skin Instant Glow Serum, Great Skin Double Cleanse, the new Clean Volume Mascara and Flush Balm.

Some locations will also offer personalized beauty consultations, while curated MERIT bundles can be ordered through room service. There are co-branded turndown touches too, plus a Minimalist Martini served with a sample of MERIT's Retrospect fragrance, which feels like exactly the right amount of extra.

The idea is not to turn the hotel into a beauty counter. It is more about making the everyday parts of a trip feel a little easier and a little better. You land, check in, wash your face, get ready for dinner and somehow already have half the products you actually need waiting for you.

The Getaway Set Is the Real Star

The limited-edition MERIT x The Ritz-Carlton Getaway Set takes the same approach and turns it into a travel bag.

Inside is Great Skin Instant Glow Serum, Great Skin Double Cleanse, the new Clean Volume Mascara and Flush Balm in Postmodern, packed into an exclusive MERIT x The Ritz-Carlton pouch with a matching keychain.

It is a very smart edit. The serum helps wake up skin that has spent the day on a plane. The cleanser handles makeup, sunscreen and everything else travel throws at your face. Mascara does what mascara does, which is make you look significantly more alive in under a minute. And Flush Balm gives you color without requiring a brush, mirror or much effort at all.

Basically, it is the kind of makeup bag most of us were trying to pack in the first place before we added twelve unnecessary products.

Where to Find It

The partnership is available at select Ritz-Carlton properties including New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Naples, with different experiences offered depending on the location.

The Getaway Set launched July 14 and is available for a limited time at participating hotels and on MERIT's website while supplies last. 

What makes the collaboration work is that it feels built around how people actually travel. Most of us do not want a complicated beauty routine on vacation. We want a few reliable products, a good bathroom, decent lighting and enough time to get ready before dinner without turning the hotel counter into a Sephora stockroom.

MERIT and The Ritz-Carlton seem to have figured that out. GET YOURS HERE BEFORE IT SELLS OUT. 

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I’m Trying to Cook at Home More. These 10 Kitchen Essentials Make It So Much Easier

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Cooking at home sounds simple until it’s 7 p.m., the cutting board is buried somewhere in a cabinet, the good pan is dirty, and ordering dinner suddenly feels like the most reasonable decision you’ve made all day. We’ve learned that the right kitchen tools don’t necessarily make us better cooks overnight, but they do remove enough friction to make cooking feel like the easier option.

After testing a lot of kitchen gear, these are the things we find ourselves reaching for again and again. Some are everyday basics and others are admittedly a splurge, but all of them have made prepping, cooking, and cleaning up feel noticeably less like a production.

ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE

Plenty of inexpensive instant-read thermometers can tell us when dinner is done, but the reason we keep reaching for the Thermapen ONE is how quickly and reliably it gets us there. It delivers a full reading in one second or less, with accuracy to ±0.5°F across the temperatures we use most, so we can check a steak or roast chicken and move on without standing over the heat waiting for the number to settle. Each one also comes with a NIST-traceable calibration certificate, which gives us a little more confidence that the temperature on the screen is one we can actually trust.

The details make a difference, too. The display automatically rotates depending on how we’re holding it, the backlight makes it easy to read over a grill or darker oven, and the waterproof build means we don’t have to treat it like a delicate gadget. It is undeniably more of an investment than a basic kitchen thermometer, but for something that can be the difference between perfectly cooked and five minutes too late, this is one upgrade we understand.

Simplehuman 58L Sensor Recycler

Our hands always seem to be wet or full at the exact moment we need the trash can. While making coffee, chopping vegetables, or unpacking groceries, the Simplehuman Sensor Recycler opens with either a wave or a voice command, so we can toss something without touching the lid or putting everything down first.

The dual compartments have also eliminated the small recycling pile that used to build up beside the bin. We also love Simplehuman’s Cleanstation, a touch-free UV-C device that sanitizes your phone in just 30 seconds and feels like another smart upgrade to an everyday routine. Both are admittedly splurges, but they’re the kind of conveniences we interact with constantly, which makes them surprisingly easy to justify.

WÜSTHOF Classic Color Knives, Set of 3

We already had more knives than we needed, yet somehow kept reaching for the same one for almost everything. This three-piece WÜSTHOF set covers most of the jobs we actually do, with an 8-inch chef’s knife for everyday chopping, a 5-inch serrated utility knife for tomatoes and smaller breads, and a 3.5-inch paring knife for peeling and more precise prep.

What stood out most was how comfortable they felt through longer rounds of chopping. They have enough weight to move cleanly through vegetables without feeling cumbersome, and we love the brighter handles, which feel a little more relaxed than the usual all-black knife block.

Caraway Cutting Board Set

We tend to be cautious with wooden cutting boards. They look beautiful, but they can also seem destined to show every knife mark or require more care than we want from an everyday kitchen tool. Caraway’s set changed our minds pretty quickly.

The three boards are made from FSC-certified birch wood without plastics, BPA, BPS, or forever chemicals. The smaller sizes are easy to grab for quick prep, while the largest gives us plenty of room when dinner involves several ingredients. The included organizer keeps everything upright and easy to reach without taking over the counter. We hand wash and oil them periodically, which feels like a small tradeoff for boards we use constantly and are happy to leave out.

Our Place Titanium Pro Cookware Duo

We were skeptical that a coating-free cooking surface could feel anywhere near as easy as traditional nonstick cookware, but the Titanium Pro Duo surprised us. The Always Pan Pro has become a go-to for eggs, vegetables, and quick one-pan dinners, while the deeper Perfect Pot Pro handles pasta, soups, and anything that needs to simmer.

There is a slight learning curve. We’ve had the best results preheating the cookware, adding a little oil, and giving food time to naturally release before trying to move it. Once we stopped treating it exactly like a ceramic nonstick pan, everything clicked. The fitted lids and included cooking tools make it feel like a complete setup without adding pieces we rarely use.

Caraway Mixing Bowl & Strainer Set

This is one of those sets that makes everyday prep feel noticeably more organized. It comes with three stainless steel mixing bowls, fitted glass lids, and three matching stainless steel strainers, so we can rinse, mix, toss, and store without pulling out a different tool for every step.

The smaller bowls are perfect for dressings and chopped ingredients, while the larger ones handle everything from marinating to tossing a big salad. We especially like that the strainers pair directly with the bowls and that all nine pieces nest together when we’re finished. It gives us plenty of versatility without taking over an entire cabinet.

Beast Mega 1200 Stainless Steel

Smoothies are part of our regular routine, and because ours usually involve frozen fruit and tougher greens, texture matters. The Beast Mega 1200 handles those heavier blends well, without leaving behind the stringy bits that can make a green smoothie feel more dutiful than enjoyable.

We especially like having the option to blend in the stainless steel vessel rather than relying entirely on plastic. The set also comes with two Tritan vessels, including a smaller one that works well when breakfast needs to come with us. The automatic blending cycle means we can press start, move on to making coffee, and come back when it’s finished.

Our Place Wonder Oven Pro

The Wonder Oven Pro has become our shortcut to something warm and homemade without turning on the full-size oven. The 30-liter interior is surprisingly roomy for a countertop appliance, and its eight cooking modes cover everything from air frying and roasting to baking, reheating, proofing, and dehydrating.

Air fry is probably the mode we use most, especially when we want vegetables or something crispy without making dinner feel like a whole production. The digital controls make it easy to set the exact time and temperature, and we reach for it for quick lunches just as often as full dinners.

Zojirushi NW-QAC10 Induction Rice Cooker and Warmer

We have used plenty of rice cookers, but this Zojirushi still surprised us. Its induction heating system makes fine heat adjustments as it cooks, and in our experience, the rice comes out consistently fluffy and evenly cooked.

The menu takes a few minutes to learn, but after that, we mostly press a button and leave it alone. Along with dedicated settings for several types of rice, it can handle congee, quinoa, steel-cut oatmeal, and steaming. The keep-warm functions are especially helpful when dinner doesn’t happen exactly on schedule.

Caraway Food Storage Set

We had been looking for glass food storage containers that didn’t come with the usual flimsy plastic lids, and this was one of the first systems that seemed to solve both the food storage problem and the cabinet problem. The ceramic-coated glass containers come in sizes we actually use and move easily between the refrigerator, freezer, microwave, and oven.

They are especially convenient for leftovers and meal prep. The lids seal securely, and the included organizers are a small but genuinely useful detail, keeping the containers together without recreating the mismatched pile we were trying to replace.

The post I’m Trying to Cook at Home More. These 10 Kitchen Essentials Make It So Much Easier appeared first on The Chalkboard Mag.

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Tuna Steaks Take a Dip in Sardinia’s Favorite Tomato Sauce

Tuna fishing runs deep in Sardinian history, and nowhere more so than Carloforte, where it's still caught using ancient methods that respect the rhythms of nature and the tuna stocks themselves. This recipe comes from Francesco Mattana's debut cookbook, Eat Like A Sardinian, the same one we dug into with him for our recent In the Kitchen interview, and it's one of the simplest, most satisfying secondi in the book.

Tuna and tomato is a pairing found across Mediterranean cooking, and Francesco's version keeps it just as straightforward, anchovies, garlic, white wine, briny olives and tomatoes that break down into a sauce worth mopping up with good sourdough. It's a dish built for a seasonal side and a glass of Vermentino, the kind of meal that feels effortless but tastes like it took real care.

Tuna steaks cook fast, so the whole thing comes together in under 20 minutes.

THE TONNO AL POMODORO

Images and text with permission from Eat Like A Sardinian by Francesco Mattana, photography by Dave Brown. Published by Murdoch Books.

Serves 2

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 2 x 120g (4 1/2oz) tuna steaks 1 banana shallot, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced 300g (10 1/2oz) baby plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved 100ml (scant 1/2 cup) Vermentino or a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc 5g (1/4oz) parsley, finely chopped, plus 1 sprig for garnish 10 Taggiasca olives, pitted fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat half the oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook for 1 minute, then add the tuna steaks and cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove them from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the remaining oil, the shallot, garlic and chilli to the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, before adding the tomatoes and wine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, piercing half the tomatoes with a fork halfway through cooking so that they release their juices.

Taste and lightly season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed, then stir in the chopped parsley and olives. Place the tuna on top, cover again and cook for 1 minute, so it is still pink in the middle.

Serve garnished with a few parsley leaves. Tuna steaks can become dry if left too long after cooking, so enjoy straight away.

TOP TIP If you prefer not to use wine, use water instead and add the juice from 1/4 lemon just before serving.

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