If eating healthier is one of your New Year’s goals, then consider investing in quality cookware as part of the goal. Eating organic, whole foods is a worthy endeavor but preparing those foods in substandard cookware defeats the purpose of a healthier lifestyle. If your pantry or cupboard is filled with scratched up teflon and old aluminum pans, it’s time for an upgrade.

Here’s a brief overview of what types of cookware to avoid and what you should use instead:

1. Aluminum is a causal factor suspected in Alzheimer’s disease, so you absolutely don’t want to cook with it. Aluminum conducts heat well which is why it’s used for cookware but the health risk is not worth it. Stainless steel is generally safe but you want to get pots with heavy bottoms, not the super thin stainless pots that you buy at discount and grocery stores.  These heavier pots and pans, such as All-Clad brand, have copper or aluminum sandwiched in the bottom which makes for excellent heat distribution and you are much less likely to burn things. Riveted handles are good too because they don’t get too hot to handle.

2. Teflon is the most popular cookware in America, but teflon-coated aluminum contains perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical that creates the non-stick finish. Once heated, Teflon and other non-stick pans will quickly reach temperatures at which toxic fumes release into the air and cause potential health problems. So you should avoid Teflon at all costs. My hands-down favorite alternative to teflon is cast iron. Many people are intimidated by cast iron because it needs to be properly seasoned. But this is easy to do and well-seasoned cast iron pans work just as well as nonstick pans and it’s not difficult to maintain the seasoning. Here’s a good website all about cast iron: Whatscookingamerica.net

3. Enameled cast iron is wonderful too with its even heat distribution and fairly easy clean up. Drawbacks are that it can be heavy and it’s expensive, especially a good brand like Le Creuset. Copper is also good to cook with but also expensive, plus it tarnishes.

Cooking with great cookware is a joy and it’s a worthwhile investment that should give you years of service. I’ve been using the same pieces now for over 15 years. So although it may seem expensive, you can start by buying one pot or pan at a time as finances allow and end up with a nice, quality collection. Shop around for the best deal. (Hint: I’ve found beat-up looking cast iron pans at second hand stores and cleaned them up to look new!) Check for sales at department stores or try shopping online. You will not regret the investment of fine cookware.

Basic pots and pans you need for most cooking purposes:

1 small saucepan with cover
1 medium saucepan with cover
1 soup or stockpot with cover
1 small skillet
1 medium skillet
1 large saute pan with cover

A commitment to healthy eating is two-fold: choose fresh, organic, whole food whenever possible and prepare it using quality cookware that won’t contaminate the food. Happy cooking!