If you visited our apartment six months ago, and looked in the kitchen, you would notice something missing – a microwave. We lived without a microwave for over two and a half years. And it wasn’t really that awful. It usually just took some planning.
Here’s what living without a microwave entails:
We never bought microwave-only foods.
This meant we didn’t buy cups of noodles or macaroni or popcorn or TV dinners or steamable vegetables. The only thing I missed was the microwave popcorn, which was one of the reasons we did finally get a new microwave. But, the rest of those food items are generally not very healthy for you anyways, so it wasn’t a big deal to go without them.
Thoughtful frozen food purchases.
While a vast majority of frozen food goods can easily be nuked in the microwave in all of a few minutes, they can take 40+ minutes in an oven. That means if you don’t want to spend the time waiting for those foods to cook, then don’t buy those items, or plan ahead your meals. The plus side to this?: Food always tastes better when it is cooked in the oven.
Eating leftovers was a pain.
This was one of the hardest things, in my opinion, about not having a microwave. While my husband doesn’t mind cold leftovers, I certainly do. Without a microwave, sauces had to be reheated in a sauce pan. Other things had to be put in the oven, on an oven-safe plate. Heating things in the oven takes much longer than a microwave, and can bake foods onto your plates which are then harder to scrub off. While the oven does a better job of heating foods more evenly than a microwave generally, it can take quite a while to heat something like lasagna evenly and thoroughly. But, again, foods heated up in the oven taste better than foods nuked in the microwave. No rubber-like foods! But, this also meant that lots of leftovers weren’t ever eaten because I didn’t want to go through the hassle.
More counter space.
This is the number one reason we went so long without a microwave. Apartment living generally means limited counter top space. Microwaves are big and take up a good chunk of space. And it’s not like some appliances which can easily be stored somewhere else. They are heavy and giant boxes.
One less thing to clean.
This is a nice bonus. Microwaves get stinky and sometimes very hard to clean. Without one, you never have to worry about cleaning one!
Defrosting foods is not such a snap.
Without a microwave, again, you have to plan ahead more in your meal planning. If you want to make tacos, but all of your ground beef is frozen, tacos will be postponed at least a day without a microwave to easily defrost your meat. We would let things defrost on the counter or in the refrigerator, or in some hot water if we really wanted to use it that day (which I’m sure uses more energy than a simple 20 minutes in the microwave).
One less thing to pile junk on.
My husband and I joke a lot about how every flat, horizontal surface in our house falls victim to random piles of junk. He didn’t want a microwave because he knew we’d just start piling stuff on top of it. I countered that argument, because, well, we already were storing random things in that corner of our counter space already!
Living without a microwave was surprisingly not that difficult. Was it less convient sometimes, yes, but totally doable. The ironic thing about us finally getting a microwave is that I really wanted it for microwave popcorn, and our microwave is just a tad too small and burns every bag. Oh, the irony. Thankful it is still good for heating up leftovers!
Have you ever lived without a microwave or some other very needful appliance? How did you “survive”?
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Katie Clark says
I’m impressed that you went so long without one! Forrest loves those steamable vegetables packets, and we love getting the 90 second rice packets at the store. I definitely think it would force us to be healthier! And I have to agree — frozen food in the oven is wayyy better.
Katelyn says
Yes, oven or stovetop heating keeps the food tasting much better!
Erika Kimbler says
We always thaw our ground beef in hot water, even though we do have a microwave. It’s faster than the microwave on defrost, and it doesn’t start cooking the meat like it would on regular temp in the microwave. Of course I think it helps that we divide the meat into meal-sized servings in ziplock bags right when we get it from the store, so it’s easy to pull one out and stick it in hot water.
Also I use the microwave primarily for leftovers- that’s what I eat for lunch most days! Glad I have it or lunch would be a lot more of a hassle!
Katelyn says
Leftovers are eaten much more often now that we have a microwave!! 🙂
Hezzi-D says
Wow! I don’t think I could do that but you make it sound easy!
Katelyn says
Ha! Thanks! It was easier than you’d think!
Rachel @ I Love My Disorganized Life says
That took a lot of courage on your part. Honestly, my kids are the ones that use the microwave the most. And I truly think they’s die without it. It’s a built-in, so no worries with it getting junk piled on it, but I HATE cleaning it. Teens are slobs LOL
Katelyn says
Yeah, microwaves are prone to splattering, and kids don’t ever think about that when they stick stuff in there. And they for sure are a pain to clean! Ideally we’ll get a built-in range type microwave, but that’ll probably come when we actually get a house.
Tara Browne says
Just got a microwave again after about 5 years without, and have to say I do appreciated it for leftovers. (Two thumbs up on that observation). Other than that, I have to say I didn’t much miss it. I became a master of quickly prepared meals via traditional cooking methods, and never felt a lack of convenience. On the contrary – my food tasted better and I really enjoyed having the extra counter space to prepare it!
Just Plain Marie says
We haven’t had a microwave for …. oh, I suppose it’s about five years now. I don’t recall it making much of a difference because I think I was mostly using it for reheating my coffee. And that heats up on the stove in 30 seconds just like in the microwave.
We’re slightly odd in that we don’t have a refrigerator or freezer, either, so I purposely make sure we do not have leftovers after meals.
Katelyn Fagan says
Living without a refrigerator or freezer, now THAT is a post I would read! I’m pretty sure I would starve if I did that. 😉
Just Plain Marie says
You’re right. I need to write something about that. 🙂 It’s funny, the list of what I DO have in my kitchen is shorter than what I don’t have. I DO have a propane stove ….. and that’s it for appliances.
Buffy says
We gave up our microwave about 2 months ago, and it was so much easier to say goodbye to than I thought. Yes, reheating leftovers is a tad more challenging in one way, but easier in another. Instead of standing at the microwave heating one plate after another, I throw all servings into a pot and let it heat. As for popcorn, I bought a stove top popper with a nifty little rotating handle that makes the best popcorn ever!! No burnt bags or scary things in the bag liners to worry about. Just oil, popcorn kernels, and salt….no fuss and the popcorn is tastes so much better. The longer we go without a microwave, the happier I am with that decision. It just makes the most sense for our family at this time in our lives.
Lena @ WhatMommyDoes says
this is just about the craziest thing I’ve EVER heard!!! I literally couldn’t live without our microwave. It’s a sanity saver for me, especially when it comes to steaming veggies. 🙂
Melinda Mitchell says
Katelyn, we accidentally went without a micro for a month, when the old, OLD one burned out. IT was torture!!
Katelyn Fagan says
One month huh? I’m sorry!
Cydney says
Microwave popcorn is actually very bad for you, it’s full of a lot of unhealthy stuff! Popcorn is very simple to cook on the stove, using a little vegetable oil or even coconut oil, add a little popcorn salt, and it’s much better tasting and much healthier! 🙂