Most of us know the importance of a quality diet filled with healthy food. If we are investing in these great foods, we want to make sure we are preparing it in health-promoting pots and pans. There are so many pots and pans available it can be difficult to know which ones are better than others when it comes to toxins and our health.
First of all, when investing in pans quality does matter and also purchasing the sizes that you will use. Buying an entire set for a supposedly great deal often leads to your using a few of the pieces and others rarely. Everyone will have different needs as to the sizes that will work best for them, but a great start can be a small and medium saucepan, a stock pan, and a good skillet. It can be advantageous to buy the sizes you know you will use and the best quality you can afford. Just remember that no type of pan will be perfect, and everything doesn’t need to match.
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel can be a great, affordable investment into better quality pots and pans. They are low maintenance. They unfortunately are not non-stick and there will be learning curve to know how much fat to use, the best temperature to use, and what foods work best. Another downside to stainless steel is that they can leach nickel and chromium especially when cooking with acidic foods. If you are sensitive to either of these metals, you will want to choose another type of pan. A brand to check out is Demeyere or 360 Cookware.
Ceramic
Ceramic is expensive and each brand will need to be evaluated as to the quality of the product. There can pure ceramic cookware, ceramic coated, ceramic enameled, or glazed ceramic. The coated, enameled, or glazed type you will need to do your research on. You want to make sure the product is lead free. Xtrema cookware is considered the safest ceramic cookware brand. This will be an investment but should last a lifetime. Another great brand is Caraway.
Cast Iron
Cast iron, both regular and enameled, are healthy options. The regular cast iron pans do need to be properly seasoned after each use, but they will last a lifetime if cared for properly. They can be heavy (I guess we could look at it as an upper body workout). Cast iron pans can leach iron which, depending on your personal health status, can be a good thing or a problem. Lodge brand is a reputable brand. It is also best to avoid cooking acidic foods in cast iron and it is not nonstick. Which brings us to what are healthy options for nonstick pans
Non-Stick Pans
There is where there are many challenges to provide healthy cooking pans. Nonstick pans contain many chemicals that are toxic. These chemicals can weaken our immune system, produce liver inflammation, and elevate cholesterol levels. Yet, these pans are probably in almost every kitchen; they are pretty inexpensive. They are the easiest to use when making things such as pancakes and scrambled eggs. If you are using nonstick, it would be best to use them rarely, the pans should not be preheated on high heat, and most recommend to only use on low to low-medium heat to avoid the release of toxins. On a side note, technically they cannot be thrown in the regular trash and need to be treated as hazardous waste!
Going out and buying all new cookware can be expensive and not feasible for most. I would suggest doing your research and begin to slowly replace your existing pots and pans with better quality. If you currently use a nonstick pan, use the approved recommendations above and if it is scratched or damage replace it with a better quality one.
What pots or pans have you invested in to invest in your health??
Heather
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