Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy Living Without a Microwave |  |
| Posted: 16 Apr 2012 10:00 PM PDT Thank you for subscribing to Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy; click here for your free copy of Sizzlin' Soups!
My brother recently called me a hippie. I had to laugh, because I am not a hippie! But when I say things like "We don't have a microwave" I certainly see how it could look that way. Last fall our microwave started sparking and smoking, and the interior of the microwave had burnt spots. That was the end of our convenient friend. My sweet husband was ready to run out the door to buy a replacement, until I told him I wanted to try to live without one. Money was tight so we agreed to see how long we could go before replacing it. I've never understood how a microwave works. It looks like magic to me! Smart people tell me it radiates our food and changes the composition of the food. That doesn't sound good to me. You can read Microwave Ovens: The Proven Dangers and The Hidden Hazards of Microwaves for more information. Now, to be fair, there are plenty of articles written by smart people who say microwaves are absolutely safe. I am no scientist. I don't know exactly how safe or unsafe microwaves are. My gut tells me to be skeptical of them, but if our microwave hadn't died on its own, we would still be using one. When our microwave was working, I told myself we hardly use it; I only use it to heat a mug full of water for my hot tea. The reality is we used it quite often. To me it's kind of like sugary cereal. Eating an occasional bowl of processed cereal is not going to hurt anybody, but eating it every day is not good for you. If I have sugary cereal in the house, we eat it! It's too easy to pour a bowl for breakfast, snack or dessert. It's the same with a microwave. If it's in the house, we'll use it out of convenience. In fact, we used it so much that after four months without a microwave, my husband and kids still look me straight in the eye and say they can't heat something up because we don't have a microwave. My family may miss the microwave, but honestly, I have missed my microwave very little. Yes, it takes a little longer to heat something up on the stove or in the oven, but it really is just a little while longer. I have found the only real downside of giving up a microwave is having more dishes to wash. We typically store our leftovers in food storage containers. In the past, when someone wanted something to eat, they would scoop out an individual portion, put it on their plate and then heat the plate in the microwave. Without a microwave you have to scoop it into a pan and heat it up on the stove top or the oven. This could mean dirtying up several pots and pans at each meal. If you decide to try life without a microwave here are some tips for you: 1. Plan ahead It would be ideal if we all had a menu plan that we actually followed. Every evening we would check the menu plan and defrost what we needed for the next day in the refrigerator. 2. Defrost with cold water Since we live in a real world there will be times when we have forgotten to defrost the meat. My favorite trick is to submerge the meat into cold water. More smart people tell me it's not safe to use hot water. Don't tell, but I've done that too! 3. Buy a toaster oven Many people who don't own microwaves swear by a good toaster oven. They say it reheats things like pizza in a jiffy and is more energy efficient than a regular oven. 4. Add water to stove top cooking When you are reheating leftovers on the stovetop, add a little bit of water so your food doesn't dry out.
How about you? Do you have a microwave? What are your tips for living without a microwave? Photo Credit: dougww
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