How To Make Food Taste Better, Become a Better Cook, Save Money, and Spend Less Time Cleaning! (5 Reasons Not to Have a Microwave & 5 Solutions to Living Without a Microwave)

Q: How can I make food taste better, become a better cook, save money, and spend less time cleaning?

A: Don't own a microwave!

Here are five reasons not to have a microwave, based on what I’ve learned through experience from having a microwave-free kitchen since 2007 and from cleaning other people’s microwaves as a housekeeper; plus, five solutions for living without a microwave that I’ve learned along the way. Bonne lecture!

1. CLEANING:

• One less appliance to clean 
• Microwaves are disgusting when they’re dirty and a total nuisance to clean, whether they’re on the countertop and you have to bend over to clean inside, or they’re installed above the stove/oven/counter and you’re short and can barely reach inside, as I learned when I worked as a housekeeper (cleaning other people’s microwaves when I didn’t have one in my own home taught me a lot about why it’s good not to have a microwave)
• It’s easier for me to clean a messy stovetop than a messy microwave 
• I prefer to clean as I go, and I can wipe a flat stovetop when food splatters while cooking, but a microwave can’t be cleaned until it’s done being used

2. CLUTTER:

• One less appliance taking up space on kitchen countertops
• One less cord occupying an outlet
• No need for special microwave necessities that create clutter in drawers and cupboards

3. CONVENIENCE:

• A convenience can make life easier but that doesn’t always equate to being better, nor does a convenience help instill a skill, and skills are just like muscles in that if you don’t use it you lose it
• Nothing worth having ever comes easy and that includes food
• Zapping food with electromagnetic radiation may be faster and easier at the outset, but it doesn’t necessarily make food taste better, nor does it always add quality to the food, nor does it guarantee faster clean-up time (if the microwave gets cleaned at all)

4. COOKING:

• Not having a microwave to rely on makes people better at cooking
• Removing the microwave from the kitchen challenged and empowered me to become a better cook with the stove and conventional oven 
• The more I cook in a conventional manner, the better I get at it, and the more I used a microwave, the worse I got at conventional cooking and the worse the food tasted
• If I can become a better cook without a microwave, which I totally have, others can totally do it too -- totally!

5. COST:

• One less appliance to buy, fix, replace, or upgrade 
• No need to buy separate shelving just to hold the microwave, which I’ve done in the past 
• No need to buy ‘microwave-safe’ items or replacing them when they get ruined in the microwave or dishwasher (which I don't have either) 
• No need for individually-packaged ready-to-eat meals, which cost more due to the packaging compared to buying real food in larger quantities, and less packaging, that can be prepared from scratch 
• Hot plates are cheaper than microwaves, and convection ovens are comparable to microwaves depending on capacity and model, which can also replace a standard toaster as well to eliminate another appliance (which I don't have either) 
• Walmart.com cost comparison -- no affiliation, just information:
• Hot Plates: www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&query=hot+plate
• Microwaves: www.walmart.com/search/?query=microwave 
• Convection Ovens: www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&query=convection+oven

Solutions for living without a microwave:

1. READ THE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

• Instead of looking for the microwave instructions on food packages, look for the conventional oven instructions, which many microwave-friendly foods can go in a conventional oven or a convection oven too
• The only difference is the time it takes, so plan to plan ahead when food takes longer to cook

2. USE A THERMOS:

• Instead of constantly reheating hot drinks in a microwave, pour the hot drink into a thermal tumbler or thermos to keep the drink hot for hours 
• My husband and I each use thermal tumblers for his coffee and my tea, and our drinks stay plenty warm all day   
• A soup thermos is a great way to avoid heating soup in shared microwaves at work or school, which are often disgusting and contain multiple smells (and splatters) from other people’s food
• It's a matter of time management and preparing hot food on the stove before heading out to work

3. CLOCK:

• Instead of relying on a microwave clock for the time, keep a battery-powered clock in the kitchen that won’t need to be reset when the power goes out  
• Without a microwave there's one less clock to reset!

4. MAKE TIME:

• Instead of saving time by zapping food on autopilot without thinking about it, make time to think about meals by planning them out in advance and then cook the food on the stovetop, or in a conventional oven or a convection oven 
• Make quality time with others when making food by pretending it’s your own cooking show, entertain with your skills and your Julia Child impersonation, or educate little ones on cooking techniques so they aren’t left in the dark and have to figure it out on their own when they move out 
• Remind yourself why you’re taking more time to make food -- because you and your loved ones are worth the time and forethought that it takes to prepare quality meals with tender loving care instead of with a microwave

5. IT'S A SIGN:

• Finally, if something requires a microwave and you don’t have a microwave, that’s a sign from the cooking gods that you don’t need it and there is a better non-microwave solution out there somewhere, and you’ll probably find it by doing a little research on the internet 

Merci pour la lecture!

Research & Information:

• www.historyofmicrowave.com/microwave-history/microwave-oven-history/
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven
• www.healthline.com/nutrition/21-reasons-to-eat-real-food#section9

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