[Marilyn]

My cookware is all stainless steel. My everyday pots and pans are old Farberware (with thick aluminum clad bottoms) and Revere Ware (with copper bottoms), stainless steel with black plastic handles. The handles are wearing from washing them in the dishwasher, but they will last for a few years more. There are some really nice pots available now. I do have a few newer pieces with stainless steel handles.

I don't cook in anything aluiminum, or where aluminum can come in contact with the food. People with alzheimers have been found to have high levels of aluminum in their brains. My mother suffered from alzheimers/dimentia, and if at all possible want to avoid her fate. So no aluminum cookware for me.

Also do not cook with Teflon coated cookware. There are studies showing that this may not have been as safe as once believed. I work around petrochemical plants, and lots of the components that go into making some of this stuff are pretty toxic. I just don't want to take any chances.

All this said.....if I were shopping for new pots and pans, I'd go to a good store where they sell quality stainless steel, or an online store, try to catch a sale and buy the best stainless steel with durable stainless handles that I could afford. This time of year, there are bound to be some good sales.