RIP you dirty, dirty pans

My family and I are moving into the home that I think we will live in for the rest of our lives.  As a Mom, I always want to spend more money on my children than myself.  I think this is normal, when speaking with other parents.  However, sometimes that is just plain inappropriate.  I am extremely embarrassed to show you all this, but I have had the same set of Teflon pans for 10 years.  I am ashamed to say that the secret ingredient to my dishes may have been those extra crunchy flakes of Teflon or non-stick coating, but lets hope that is not the case.  I needed to make an investment in my family's health, and in myself as the nutrition expert in the house.

Before:                                                                        After:

After doing some research while trying to decide what kind of pans to purchase, I found that non-stick coatings on pans tend to wear off within a year or two of use.  Where does that coating go?  In your food.  To make matters worse for me, I have a beautiful set of stainless steel utensils that were given to me on our wedding date over 7 years ago.  The quality is impeccable still!  However, we used those utensils on my Teflon pans, irresponsibly, which caused many scratches and damage.  Stainless Steel pans are extremely durable and can be a lifelong investment.  I chose pans with copper for even heat distribution.  You might argue that stainless steel pans are too expensive.  I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and got the Emeril 10 piece set, which came with a free cast-iron grill pan and griddle, for only $130.00 with my 20% off-one-item coupon.  If you have to replace non-stick pans every two years, then I should have spent much more than that over the course of my ten years with my old, dirty, dirty pans.  In my honest opinion, unless you can take wonderful care of your non-stick pans and plan to replace them every two-years, make the investment in some stainless steel pans and cook your heart out!