No microwave?!

Yes, if you read my post yesterday about we having no microwave in the house for almost a year now, that is true. We have no microwave in the house at all. Here's why. Last year when we moved from the condo we lived in to the house we are at now, the microwave at the condo was above the oven, it was screwed it, it wasn't going anywhere. So that left us with the only option of buying a microwave. We get to the new house, set up our kitchen, and use up all the counter space. 

So where were we going to put a microwave without the kitchen looking overly cluttered? To be honest, I didn't want to purchase a microwave either and every microwave we looked at didn't fit the style of the kitchen and all the other appliances we had. Therefore, we went without.

How have I worked without a microwave? After finding out little tricks to reheat food, it got easier to live without a microwave. Also we are eating less chemicals from microwavable popcorn. Homemade popcorn tastes so much better and it takes about the same about of time and you don't end up with burned fingers thanks to the escaping steam from the bag. 

To live without a microwave, there are a few kitchen tools you need:
- a steamer (this is helpful to reheat rice)
- skillets
- oven
- patience

To reheat rice, I put it in a steamer inside a pot and re-steam it.
To heat dinner like last night's rib, I put them in a skillet, add a little water and reheat them. Adding the water to the skillet prevented the ribs from burning while it reheats.

To reheat foods like pizza or buttermilk biscuits, I turn on the oven and reheat them in there. Plus reheated pizza in the oven gives for a crisper crust whereas if the pizza is reheated in the microwave, the crust is soggy. 

One of the biggest reason not to have a microwave - one LESS appliance to clean. Plus I don't have to scrub and scrub and scrub to remove foods cooked on inside the microwave.

Could you do without a microwave? 





20 comments:

Unknown said...

i kinda love the idea of not having a microwave... but i'll admit it does make my morning oatmeal process very easy! xo jillian - cornflake dreams

Jaelan @ Making Mrs. M said...

EEK. I don't know if we could live without a microwave. I'd be willing to give it a try, but it would take a lot of adjustments. We eat leftovers a lot for the convenience (and price!). It would be interesting to figure out how to reheat everything. Go you, though. My sister doesn't "believe" in microwaves... so, they live without one. :)

brooke lyn said...

I think this is fabulous! Too many people rely on microwaves!

Jane said...

i think this is actually really great. i slowly realized that we actually don't use the microwave often but we do use it for the occasional popcorn and quick heat ups. but that could be totally done without the microwave. i think i use the microwave the most for heating up my beanie bag for muscle aches and pains! :)

Pamela @ alittleglitter.com said...

I could not live without a microwave! No way. I would like to (as I really cant see it being healthy) but I don't have the time or patience to deal without it.

Kayla MKOY said...

It's funny, a couple months ago our microwave quit on us and we didn't know what to do over the weekend! I never realized how dependant we were on it until we suddenly didn't have one! Then our friends gave us their old one and we were thrilled haha! I'll be honest, it would be hard for me but I'm sure I could make the adjustment if I had too! It would save a lot of counter space ;)

Heather said...

I think living without a microwave is an awesome and healthy choice! Not sure if I could do it, though!

Allison said...

We honestly could. I've seriously thought about it. More counter space and we don't use it as often as I would like. You may have just convinced me ;)
Happy Friday! xoxo
Allison over at http://allisons-eye.com

Marie said...

I think that is so fantastic that you don't use the microwave. Way too many people rely on it to cook food. I have one and rarely use it. Most times I use it to heat a cup of water.

Katie Elizabeth said...

I don't think I could do this long term... mainly because I'm not patient, ha! But in our new house we are going to have to do without for a bit because the current owners want to take the microwave with them!

Hilary said...

What will you do when you have to heat up Caleb's food? Curious!

Anonymous said...

Totally could do without a microwave (except for reheating beverages, but I guess you just use the stove duh). Reheated pizza is the BEST on the stove - agree! Have a great weekend!

Rach said...

Kudos to you guys for living without a microwave! I try not to use ours too much just because food tastes SO much better reheated in the oven or on the stove than it does in the microwave! But sometimes I'm lazy and still use it. ;)

Sarah said...

oh my gosh, we didn't have a mircrowave for a month and it was awful! We heat everything in that thing! We live off of leftovers and the whole point of left overs is for an easy meal easy clean up, haha! I hated all the extra dishes it created :) Plus reheating those little frozen baby food "pucks" was a big pain in the bottom, haha ;) Glad that it works for you, good tip on reheating the rice, next time I'll do that, cause I didn't do that and it didn't come out.

Alejandra said...

Wow!! I wish I could live without a microwave. I honestly worry about the effects that heating our food in one has on our bodies. I try to use other methods when I can, but haven't been able to totally live without one.

Unknown said...

Just boil water! That's what I do; I don't have a microwave oven either and I eat oatmeal every morning! :)

Emily @ Ember Grey said...

Cleaning the microwave is the worst! I would love to live without one... I'm not sure I have the patience, ha! Although if I didn't have a choice, I'm sure it would come quickly ;)

Happily Ever Parker said...

We have a microwave that is pointless! It's only 700 watts and can't even fit our large dinner plates!

Devon said...

I want to get rid of mine now, but I guess the best solution would be to use it less, since ours is screwed in above the oven as well.

Courtney [Sweet Turtle Soup] said...

I'm kind of anti microwave. We have one, but I rarely use it. It just ruins food in my opinion, popping it in the oven takes a bit more time but tastes so much better. We don't each too much rice so I suppose we haven't had to learn how to reheat that without a microwave. When we get our own house we most likely won't be getting a microwave to take up a bunch of space. Love that you learned to live without one!