Invest in stainless steel frying pans (Change 109)

I love to cook, as well as bake.  Most of the meals we eat are home made, made with love, sweat and tears.  Most are a success - they pass the "three picky eaters" test.  Integral to passing this test is my frying pan.

I use it to saute and steam veggies, fry meat, cook sauces; I don't think I could live without it.  In fact, I use my frying pan so often, that I buy a new one every couple of years, because the non-stick coating wears off from so much use.

This time I vowed to choose a better option for my family.  I've been reading a lot about non-stick coatings and how harmful they are to our bodies, if ingested.  I know that we've probably ingested some in our lifetimes, simply from over use. 

This year, I spent a little bit of extra money and purchased two stainless steel frying pans.  I was a little leery of using them - I wasn't sure about the quality of cooking with them, how much food would stick to the surfaces, how easy they would be to clean.

But they've been another worthy investment - I love them.  They clean up easily, food burns less quickly and cooks more evenly.  They are recycled and recyclable.  And best of all, I shouldn't have to buy new frying pans for years.  I'm not filling up the landfill, and any potential harmful effects from non-stick coatings evaporate.

Another eco-change that I wish I'd made sooner.

No more SOS pads (Change 97)

This past summer, I was invited to a Norwex party.  For those of you who do not know the company, it provides environmentally-friendly products for cleaning, body care, and home care. (www.norwex.com) I tried a few things with mixed results.  One item I purchased though, I love.

It is my stainless steel pot scrubber.  It works like an SOS pad, except without the built-in detergent.  I just use a little bit of dish soap (if necessary), and voila!  Clean pots and pans without a lot of effort.

Last week, I was cleaning out my crock pot.  DH had made a casserole in it, and there were bits of burnt yuck everywhere.  I couldn't get it clean.  I tried soap, water, a dish brush, and finally resorted to my last SOS pad, which had been sitting underneath my kitchen sink for months.  I scrubbed with it, to no avail.   Finally, I tried my little Norwex pot scrubber.  Although it didn't get everything clean the first time round, it made far more progress cleaning the pot than anything else.

I'm not going to buy SOS pads anymore.  They don't seem to help with the really tough jobs, and all of my little jobs are easily handled by my scrubber.  The scrubber seems to work well on the bigger jobs, too, although I may have to try scrubbing two or three times.