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Living without a microwave


Vian

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So, about 2 months ago, my microwave died. Then as I was driving around, I spotted a yard sale with what looked like a shiny stainless steel microwave for sale. I stopped and too a look, and turns out it was a toaster oven. It looked brand new and they only wanted $25 for it. The lady told me it had been $130 at costco and she'd only used it a couple times. My family had never had a toaster oven before, I'd never used one, but I was intrigued. While microwaves are great for quick reheating, I've always been concerned about the radiation and what happens to plastics in there (I always try to use glass to reheat). So I bought the toaster oven, got it home and tested it and it works great.

 

now I use it to reheat leftovers all the time. I just line the little baking tray that came with it with foil and spread out my leftovers on top, set it to 350-400 degrees for 20 minutes and go do something else, like take a shower in the morning, or whatever. Come back and it's nice and hot. It takes a little forethought because it does take about 4x as long to reheat stuff, but it comes out without any of the odd aftertaste and dryness that microwaves leave.

 

Anyone else live without a microwave?

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When mine dies (it's about 15 years old) I am not replacing it.  I'd like to think I can just throw it out before then but I haven't yet.   :ph34r:    I never use it for more than 30 seconds because the question of what it's doing to the food weighs on my mind.  The convenience can't be beat of course, mostly I use it to heat up sweet potatoes for 26 seconds.  And I would never in a million years put plastic in one.  Ever.  I really really wish I had learned this earlier in life.  

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Ours died recently & we rushed to replace it, but with hindsight i rather wish i hadn't. My OH uses it to make his porridge at breakfast & we heat up the kids' milk in it, but that's about it. I think I'd happily live without... Though the thought of a grumpy OH making porridge on the stove while I'm trying to cook my eggs & sausage... Hmm...

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Our very elderly cat won't eat cold canned food so I stick it in the microwave for a couple of seconds to take the chill off. That's pretty much all I use the microwave for at home.

 

When it finally dies (the microwave, not the cat) I'm planning to get a countertop convection oven and a countertop induction cooker. Or maybe another slow cooker. Or all of these - I can't decide!

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Although I have one now, I went several years without a microwave. I used one of those Chinese bamboo steamers on top of a skillet to reheat bowls of food quickly.

_________________________________________________________________

 

Such a great idea. thank you for this!  

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We have a microwave..... It rarely gets used. It hasn't been used once on the whole 30! We've been on holidays at home so all hot lunches have been heated on the stove, and dinners are the same.

If we can't make hot dishes fresh, we choose salads for lunch instead - this will happen this week when we go back to work...

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Microwaveless here, too. The year my husband and I were engaged, my parents gave us a little dorm-sized microwave for Christmas. We used it for about 10 years, mostly to reheat pizza. When it died, we opted not to replace it.

 

I will admit to wishing we had one the first time I made cauliflower rice and read the dire "you NEED to precook this in the microwave before proceeding" instructions in the recipe. (It was some weird naff recipe on the internet, not Well Fed/Nom Nom Paleo/other foodwriters we know and love.) But ultimately I decided to just bake the riced cauliflower for about 15-20 minutes at 400F, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet, and it worked just fine.

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My son, who makes all his own meals, uses the microwave to heat baked beans. That's all it's used for. I reheat all the time but I just throw everything in the skillet with some coconut oil. put it on low heat, stick a glass lid on top and it all reheats very quickly.

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Our very elderly cat won't eat cold canned food so I stick it in the microwave for a couple of seconds to take the chill off. That's pretty much all I use the microwave for at home.

 

When it finally dies (the microwave, not the cat) I'm planning to get a countertop convection oven and a countertop induction cooker. Or maybe another slow cooker. Or all of these - I can't decide!

 

The best £40 I ever spent - and works perfectly with cast iron. In case your microwave dies soon ;)

I have this, a slow cooker, and a microwave, and that's it. I actually like root vegetables over-microwaved so they're sweet and chewy, but I'm a little odd  :huh:

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I'd like to live without, but I haven't been able to yet. Mine is primarily used for coffee. I guess I drink my coffee really slow because I always reheat it at least once before I finish the cup.

I was going to say the exact same thing! My brother's family is microwave-free, and it drives me nuts when I can't reheat my coffee at their house.

Other than that one little thing, I am sure I could live without a microwave, although I do use it a fair bit now because it's so convenient.

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I'd like to live without, but I haven't been able to yet. Mine is primarily used for coffee. I guess I drink my coffee really slow because I always reheat it at least once before I finish the cup.

 

I have a large thermos mug - it keeps the coffee hot for ages

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