Photo by AndYaDontStop via Flickr
The short answer is yes, of course you can live without a microwave. Lots of people in the Western world do, though they do seem to be in the minority. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
One of our goals this year was to make healthier choices in the food we put into our bodies. Because I work at home, I’ve relied a lot in the past on frozen entrees. A Lean Cuisine might be a low-calorie meal, but it doesn’t fulfill our goal of eating healthier foods. The more we thought about it, the more we realized the microwave was allowing us to eat a lot of processed food – even the stuff that was “good” for us.
It was also allowing us to prepare food quickly, which is not always the healthiest option. I find when the food is prepared fast, it is usually consumed fast.
Two weeks ago we unplugged the microwave and sent it to live in the garage. I wasn’t sure how we would do without it, so I wasn’t quite ready to give it up yet. But after this short period I can say the only thing I really miss is heating water for tea (I do not have a tea pot and it makes no sense to buy one when we’re getting rid of everything).
There are still quite a few frozen meals in my freezer that I’ll have to donate, but otherwise I think this experiment is going well. Who knows? We may even put the microwave on Craiglist this weekend.
Would you give up your microwave?
About Betsy
I could totally live without a microwave! A teapot, maybe not. LOL. If you cook with a lot of whole foods then you find out microwaves are not essential. I think this is a good task you’ve done. Who needs to nuke their food anyway (nuke is such bad word to use in relation to food). And on top of that, they take up so much gosh darn counter space! My counters are small enough. LOL.
BTW, congrats on buying your tickets!
Interesting. I think we could live w/o a microwave, but ours is the type mounted into the cabinets above the stove, so not really ideal to remove. But, we just don’t buy those frozen meals, and instead cook healthy meals with enough for leftovers, and that’s what gets heated in the microwave. I also use it to heat water for my french press, too.
I do have a tip for your hot water: just heat it in a regular pot on the stove!
We’re actually going the opposite way – I’m planning to purchase a microwave to eat more veggies. I hate steaming veggies in a pot – it’s a ton of work and it takes a lot of time when I am hungry. Instead, I plan to buy the kind that you can microwave steam in the bag. I’m not arguing that microwave veggies are healthier – they’re probably not. But they are healthier than thinking aspirationaly about veggies and then eating a veggie-free dinner, which we do at my house all too often.
Moneyfunk, that was my other complaint – it takes up too much counter space!
Hillarie, if mine was mounted under the cabinets I would just leave it there. And I did use mine to heat water for tea, but I can do it the old fashioned way in a pot on top of the stove. It only takes a minute to boil enough for a cup of tea. I do lust after those “instant hot” faucets in higher-end kitchens but will likely never have one.
Lost Goat, we tried using the steamed veggies in a bag and just didn’t like the flavor. Maybe we bought the wrong brand. I try to get most of my veggies raw anyway – carrots, celery, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers (I can eat those like potato chips!), salads, etc. Good luck on your quest to eat more veggies.
The only thing ours is ever used for is popcorn….hmmmm maybe it’s time to add something to the garage! Shhhhh – don’t tell Warren.
Our microwave is over the oven, so it doesn’t take up counter space or I would banish it for sure. My husband uses it much more than I do. I could live without it easily and never had one while I was single. Now, I use it mainly for leftovers. I don’t like the taste of anything cooked in it- especially vegetables. It “bland-izes” them (I just made that word up).
For tea, I use a teapot but you could use any regular pan.
For the frozen food- go old-fashioned and stick it in the oven or a toaster oven if you have one. Everything tastes better that way.
I’m pretty sure I could, haven’t used one in ages.
heat your water in a saucepan! no need for a teapot to clutter things. that’s what i do. we got rid of the microwave 7 months ago and i haven’t looked back. i still use one at work, but at home we reheat leftovers on the stovetop. some may argue that uses more energy, but i just didn’t really like having a big microwave taking up space in my tiny nyc kitchen and something about cooking with microwaves creeps me out.
I’m a little confused by everyone’s comments – why don’t you just use a plain old electric kettle to heat your water for your tea? Quick and simple and only takes a minute…
I have never owned a microwave personally, but I did grow up with one in my parents’ house. It was mostly used for frozen junk food and occasionally to heat up left-overs.
I think they take up so much space and if I want to re-heat something, I use the oven or the stove.
Very neat of you to try your kitchen without one!
My Year Without, you are going without added sugar AND without a microwave? You are living on the edge, my friend! What a great resource your blog is for anyone who wants to cut refined sugar from their diet.
Microwaving veggies is not the healthiest way to prepare them…old fashioned steaming them in a tiny bit of water in a pot is a much healthier choice. You still have to dirty a cooking container either way…why not use the stove? Microwaved popcorn is hazardous to your health…read the ingredients, and look some of them up. Boiling water in a kettle takes literally less than a minute for one cup. Warming up leftovers is the only really useful reason to keep a microwave around…and even then, make sure you use glass and never plastic of any kind, even if it says microwave safe. Good job on getting rid of the microwave!! It’s one step in the right direction for your health.
I could, but I wouldn’t want to. Last winter I was without for a few weeks and I really missed the convenience. I never buy frozen meals or bagged popcorn, nor do I cook veggies in it. I use it mostly to heat up leftovers, which we eat a lot because I cook in big batches. I also use it for defrosting things when I’ve forgotten to take them out ahead of time, softening slightly stale bread, reheating hot drinks that I chronically allow to go cold, melting butter for baking, and heating milk for the mashed potatoes. Of course I could do all these things on the stove, but not without using more electricity and more dishes.
I got rid of my microwave several months ago and it was not a big deal at all. More counter space and everything I needed it for I can get by with the stove top. I’m in major purging mode so it was easy to lose. We depend on so many things that people 30 years ago never had or considered luxuries. I don’t even have a fridge. Or a car. or a cell phone… so you see where I’m coming from
Robyn, do you eat out/shop for groceries every day? Travel full time? I want to understand how you live without a refrigerator. I’m fascinated by the idea on your blog to “minimize until it feels uncomfortable.”
Are you preparing for full-time travel, testing yourself, or something else? Inquiring minds want to know!