Healthy Nonstick Pans: Think Ceramic

This post was created in partnership with GreenPan. All opinions are our own.

Confession: as passionate as we are about healthy cooking, until recently we hadn’t thought about healthy cookware. We still sported the traditional teflon nonstick skillets in our kitchen — simply because we simply couldn’t master cooking in non nonstick skillets. No matter how hard we tried, we ended up with a sticky mess. And we hadn’t done much research into the health concerns, which honestly seemed a bit mythical.

The skinny: traditional nonstick cookware is made of chemical components called PTFE and PFOA (polytetrafluoroethylene and perfluorooctanoic acid, if you’re keeping track). When overheated, they can possibly release toxic fumes.

A generation of healthy nonstick pans is now on the market that uses a new technology: ceramic coating. Ceramic is made of natural materials, which means no PTFE and PFOA. Now we have an answer to tell the people who tell us, “I can’t make that because I don’t have nonstick pans.” And we don’t have to worry about sticky messes in aluminum skillets.

A company called GreenPan pioneered this technology 10 years ago, when its two Belgian founders created a nonstick coating called Thermolon. It caught on quickly and was soon available around the world, including the US.

GreenPan is now celebrating its 10 year anniversary and to help them celebrate, we’re partnering with them to cook up some delicious items in their ceramic coated cookware! We’ll share a recipe next week, and a GIVEAWAY of a full 12-piece set valued at $150 later this week. (Keep your eye on Instagram on May 19!)

So what’s it like cooking with ceramic? We tried out GreenPan’s Rio 12-piece set, and in our honest opinion, we’d give these pans a hearty two-thumbs up. What we love about ceramic:

• Healthy for us: The ceramic non-stick surface is derived from natural materials like sand, guaranteeing no toxins in our food even at high temperatures.
• Super slick: One feature of ceramic is that the slick surface lets you use less oil or butter when sauteeing. We tested it and found this to be absolutely true. It might sound dorky, but we truly love the smooth feeling of sauteing in these skillets!
• Easy to clean: Ceramic is super slick and easy to clean. Instead of having to scrub, we were able to quickly wipe it out after cooking. (The pans are not dishwasher safe, so they require hand washing.)
• Eco-friendly: The manufacturing of these pans is a bit better for the earth than the traditional method. 60% less CO2 is emitted during the curing phase of production of Thermolon coatings compared to traditional coatings.

Your thoughts?

We’re looking forward to working with ceramic skillets moving forward. How about you — what’s in your kitchen? Are you interested in alternatives for healthy nonstick pans?

A Couple Cooks – Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living