Ceramic Pots and Pans - The New Non-Stick Option
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Planning and cooking your own meals at home has definite health benefits. You have the ability to control what you are eating, how you are eating it and how much of it you want to prepare. Plus, you can take pride and ownership in knowing that you have the ability to create healthy, delicious meals that you and your family enjoy.

What Your Pans Are Really Made Of?

Since you are well aware of the importance of healthy eating, you probably already know that the cookware that you prepare those meals with plays a very big role in keeping you and your family healthy. Knowing what your cookware is made of plays a vital role in maintaining good health.

Traditional pots and pans may contain certain elements that have the ability to leach into food. Aluminum, cobalt, and nickel, are a few of those elements. You may be thinking that since only small amounts of these substances may be getting into your food then it may not be such a big problem after all. However, most of us use our cookware on a daily basis. This means that over the long-term, that small amount of leaching actually adds up to quite a bit.

Switching from traditional non-stick cookware to ceramic pots and pans is a way to ensure that the meals that you prepare stay healthy.

Teflon pans are very popular because of their non-stick surfaces. This makes clean-up effortless as there is little to no scrubbing required. The drawback is that when food is cooked on high temperatures, Teflon cookware releases a synthetic material called PTFE into your foods. Even though these surfaces claim to be non-stick, sometimes food does get stuck to them. The only way to remove stuck-on food from the surface is to soak the pot or pan and then wash, or scrub with a pad, therefore removing the nonstick surface. That in turn increases the exposure of your once healthy meal to unhealthy substances and fumes.

The Ceramic Alternative

When you use ceramic pots and pans to prepare your meals, you do not run the risk of "contaminating" your meal. Ceramic cookware does not leach harmful chemicals into your food, can be used at high temperatures, and can be cleaned with anything. You can prepare healthy meals using safe cookware and still not have to worry about spending extra time or taking added precautions when it comes to cleanup time. Essentially it's like having all the benefits of Teflon, without any of it's drawbacks!

Another point worth mentioning is that ceramic pans can be used on all types of oven (double check your selected brand though!). So whether you've got an old-fashioned hob, or an induction one, you're ready to go.

Presentation is also a factor . There's quite a selection of colours, shapes and sizes, and as you might have noticed it's not just pans that come with ceramic coating. But looking pretty isn't the only feature - with ceramics, your meals can go from the refrigerator or freezer, to the oven, and to the table.

Spring is the perfect time to take stock of your kitchen. Take a good look at your current pots and pans. Maybe it's time for an update? I didn't even realize ceramic cookware was an option untill my mom, appalled by the state of my Teflon pan, took me out for some shopping. I'm glad I upgraded my pans and I'm sure you'll be too whether you get a single pan or a replace your whole set!

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