How to Survive Without a Microwave
We recently had some friends over for dinner and while we were all cooking they discovered we didn’t have a microwave. I kind of forgot that not having one was weird. Want to know the reason we don’t? Surprisingly it has nothing to do with all the healthy concerns that are floating around the internet!
It’s actually kind of weird. We don’t have a microwave because we don’t have room for one. I know—we have an entire butler’s pantry full of appliances ranging from a crock pot to a Vitamix to a rice cooker but we couldn’t find room for a microwave. I suppose we could have shoved it on the counter somehow, but we are really trying to simplify where we can (long way to go!) and we have survived quite awhile without one.
We have been without a microwave for over two years now and aren’t sure if/when we will get one. The only time we really miss it is when we have coffee that gets a little too cold or when we are making a big meal and it’s hard to keep food warm. We’ve found work-arounds though!
We add hot water or more coffee to our cups to keep the liquid warm. When we are making big meals we use aluminum foil to make “envelopes” for the food to keep it warm. When we want to reheat pizza we use our oven. We just make it work!
Just to show how great NOT having a microwave is, I’ve got a fun recipe to share tomorrow—bacon-salted cheddar popcorn. Oh yes. Bacon. Cheddar. Salty. POPCORN. Nom Nom. See you tomorrow! 🙂
Tania Griffis is an accomplished writer, blogger, and interior designer with a Journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. She started her popular blog, Run to Radiance, in 2011, demonstrating her design expertise through the personal remodeling of six houses to millions of readers across the globe.
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I am VERY impressed. I really can’t imagine not having one! haha
I know it’s really odd! We feel so old-fashioned sometimes. 🙂
I would never survive…. Major props to you guys! Do you have a toaster oven?? I would think one of the two would be a necessity!
Yes! We do have a toaster oven, although we don’t use it very much. We tend to just use our regular oven and the stovetop…good reminder to use that little oven more often! 🙂
Wow! I don’t think I could do it. I’m so lazy. When something has micorwave or oven instructions, 90% of the time I go for microwave.
I bet you could…it would just be an adjustment with a lot of fore planning for sure!!
That’s great! I think I could live without a microwave pretty easily. Ours is mounted over the stove, so it doesn’t take up valuable counter space, but we don’t use it very often.
That popcorn recipe…is it tomorrow yet? Can’t wait!
I too, live without a microwave. I grew to dislike them and honestly don’t want to give up the kitchen real estate for a big, ugly, never used microwave. It was a new concept for my BF, but he’s cool with it and really only wants one to reheat coffee. We use a toaster oven to reheat food. FYI: you shouldn’t use hot water for food/drink, hot water contains higher levels of lead: http://water.epa.gov/drink/info/lead/lead1.cfm
Clarification, hot “tap” water 🙂 The folklore has some truth behind it.
Interesting Laurie! I had no idea. And yes we have to fight for that kitchen real estate!! 🙂
I’m super impressed. We rely way to much on our microwave for my liking (re-heating and such) and I’d really like to switchover to our oven and stop top. Maybe this is just the inspiration I need 🙂
You should do it Char! Just a baby step or two. 🙂
Kudos to you! I didn’t think I could live without a microwave before I moved to the Philippines. Now I’ve been without one for over a year. We don’t even have a regular sized oven – just a little turbo cooker. It’s amazing what a person can live without when they give themselves a chance.
I agree Cassandra! I just looked up a turbo cooker, how neat! You’re right- it’s amazing what we can do without…it motivates me to cut down on the clutter!
When I moved from the USA to Austria 15 years ago, my boyfriend didn’t have a microwave in his apartment. Fifteen years later and we still don’t have one. And to be honest, I almost never miss having one. I can heat water in a pot or kettle (not a big coffee drinker) and I much prefer popcorn made the old-fashioned way! I think it’s just a matter of getting used to things. We don’t have a dishwasher, either 🙂
Wow that’s awesome! And yes—old-fashioned popcorn is the best way! Now the dishwasher…I don’t know if I could do without. That’s brave!
We haven’t had a microwave for almost 4 years now too. And, it’s also not because of any of the health concerns. I’ve considered doing a blog post with some of my favorite tips and tricks for living without one too. Let me tell you though, the BEST way to reheat pizza is in a skillet on the stove. Let it get good and warm, then put a lid on the skillet just until the cheese starts to remelt. I think it might even be better this way than fresh. The crust and everything gets crispy and awesome. So good. And yes, we forget to tell people too and they don’t know what to do when they come over with food to be heated and find we don’t have one. Ha!