I never thought I’d be the type of person to rave about a frying pan, but the day has come and that’s 100% who I am. For those of you that don’t know, I became a Beautycounter consultant about 2.5 years ago, and since embarking on that journey, I have learned so much about harmful ingredients that are found in products we use/consume every day! I’m by no means an expert, but very much try to live by the motto of “when we know better, we do better.”
Obviously, we could all make excuses that “everything is bad for us,” but I really strive to make safer swaps where I can. It all doesn’t need to happen overnight, either. One item at a time can make a big difference over time! The Peiffer Palate was designed with the intention of me sharing things that I love and care about, so rest assured that I’m only talking about this because it truly matters to me and because we legitimately love our GreenPans!
Before I continue gushing about my new favorite cookware, let me briefly address the question you’re probably asking yourself right now.
What’s so bad about traditional nonstick pans?
To make a long story short, some of the chemical compounds found in standard nonstick pans can be harmful to our health. When heated above a certain temperature (which is actually very easy to do), these toxic chemicals can leach into our food and the air. This is also common when a nonstick surface has been compromised via a scratch — the coating can start flaking off into our food. Bleh!!
If this topic interests you, I recommend checking out the documentary “The Devil We Know” which is all about the dangers of Teflon. I found it to be very eye opening, and that’s what got me thinking about making this safer swap!
What’s the alternative?
There are many alternatives to traditional nonstick cookware!
- Cast Iron — Slightly high maintenance in my opinion…I haven’t quite fully grasped the concept of not washing them with soap and water and keeping them “seasoned.”
- Stainless Steel — Long lasting and toxic chemical free but a serious pain in the butt to clean.
- Ceramic — The clear winner in my opinion. They’re easy to use and clean!
Enter…GreenPan
GreenPan uses a ceramic coating to make their cookware nonstick. The first GreenPan we purchased was the 5 Quart Sauté Pan. You can find it on Amazon here. We bought ours at Costco (and I think it was a bit cheaper), so if you’re a member, check out your local warehouse! We LOVE cooking in this pan. It’s the perfect size to make large meals with leftovers due to the wide surface area, and the glass lid is great. The handles also don’t get too hot, which is an added bonus. We use this pan at least once a week (usually on Sunday nights when we make larger meals to have leftovers). Cleaning it is also an absolute breeze. Whether our meal was saucy, cheesy, sticky, or fried, it amazes me every single time.
Since we loved our large 5 Quart GreenPan so much, but don’t always need something so large, we recently purchased the 12 inch Frying Pan. I did order this one on Amazon (and right now there’s a coupon for $4.50 off), so I highly recommend getting one while the promo lasts! In this pan, we often make breakfasts, side dishes, and smaller meals. While this one doesn’t come with a lid, you know we use our splatter screen with it all the time! For some reason, I also love that it has a white interior…I feel like it makes our food look better. Just like the 5 quart pan, this frying pan is a breeze to clean, and once we started using it, we never looked back.
What do we make in our GreenPans?
We truly make everything in our GreenPans – from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner! Here are some of the items that that we’ve successfully made without any sort of sticking!
- Scrambled eggs (usually requires cooking spray in other pans, but not in this pan!)
- Hashbrowns
- Bacon
- Omelets
- Quesadillas
- Grilled sandwiches
- Sautéed vegetables
- Chicken dishes
- Pasta dishes
- Fried rice (honestly, this one was mind-blowing that nothing stuck!!)
For a visual aid, this is what the frying pan looks like after making scrambled egg whites in it…there’s hardly anything on it!
Usage Tips
1. Do not heat GreenPans over high heat! Keep them on medium or low. Because they’re ceramic, they heat through very evenly and get very hot. Using your pan on high heat can ruin the coating, and that’s just not worth the risk!
2. Let your Greenpan cool completely before washing it. In my experience, stuck on foods (if any at all), will flake right off once the pan has cooled.
3. Avoid using cooking sprays on these pans. Supposedly, that can ruin them. While I haven’t tried that to verify, I really can attest to the fact that it’s unnecessary!
Alright, I think that’s all I have to say about our GreenPans! Go get yourself one and let me know what you think! 🙂
xoxo
Jennifer