Raw Chef Alissa Cohen On Repurposing Pots And Pans

One of the many advantages of raw food is that far less kitchen equipment is necessary when preparing food. Less equipment means fewer pots and pans to scrub and more discretionary money in your pocket because you realize you no longer lust after that set of copper pots. If you're like most people who eat raw food, then you probably already have a collection of cookware that you no longer need. Here are some ideas for what to do with those pots and pans.

Adapted from "Raw Food for Everyone" by Alissa Cohen.

1. Repurpose them as serving bowls and platters. If you do own high-quality cookware, use that Le Creuset Dutch oven to ladle out bowls of soup or that shiny copper frying pan as a tray for serving soup shots or cocktails.

2. Who says winter socks, a yarn stash, or bills have to be kept in drawers or filing cabinets? Think of those pots and pans as extra storage space, and you don't even have to hide them in a closet. Be sure to label the contents.

3. Sell them at a yard sale. Use the proceeds to buy a dehydrator or high-end blender you covet.

4. Donate the pots and pans to a soup kitchen or other charity.

5. Pots and pans make lovely plant holders. Place a few pots of herbs on a bed of pebbles in a skillet as a centerpiece, or put larger plants in stockpots outside. Leave them outside — rain or shine — and they will take on a new patina.