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I have known for a while that a microwave is something that I don’t want to be in my kitchen.  It was one of those things that I knew I should not be using, but didn’t have the capacity to see how life would be possible without it.  When my husband and I lived in England, we had no microwave, and got along just fine.  I recall preferring not having one.  But that was a time before children.  A time before my meals and tea were reheated two and three times before consumption.  A time before speed seemed necessary.

I recently came across an article that resurged my interest in ditching our microwave.  The article suggested that the nutritive value of food heated this way was drastically reduced and became carcinogenic, but then again, what parts of modern life aren’t?  It was also put forward that microwaved food can reduce brain functioning in realms such as memory, emotional stability and intelligence.  I then read a separate article that suggested my dry cracking hands could also be related to its use.

Regardless of the facts, reading these articles reminded me that we are using a microwave on a daily basis, and this method of warming food is not something found in nature.  Ultimately this discord is the root cause of my dissonance with using a microwave oven as a cooking method.  I have decided that it is time for us to live without a microwave.  Sometimes just making a clear decision forces me to find alternatives.  I have some plans to mitigate the absence of the microwave.  We used it to reheat oatmeal every other morning: we will now make just enough for the day, any leftovers will go into the pot the next day for reheating.  I used to reheat my tea several times a day (here is where I’m ashamed to admit I lived in Britain!): I plan to use my thermal mug.  I used it to heat up dinner leftovers: we will now use the stovetop or our toaster oven for these tasks.  Most things can be reheated on the stove.  If they’re solid, you can add a few tablespoons of water to reheat, or stir constantly in a shallow frying pan.

Our kitchen is built with a lovely hollow throne for the machine, which is the perfect location for our beloved Excalibur Dehydrator!  This is another reason I’m happy to see the microwave go, I’d like to move toward incorporating more raw food in our diet.  The more small and seemingly subtle changes we make to move our living space, our things, and ultimately our lives into line with our beliefs, the more momentum we seem to be gaining.