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Do you have a love-hate relationship with your microwave? I know I do. I resent it when I use it. I resent myself for using it. But I also really, really need it sometimes, and if it is malfunctioning, it can ruin my entire day. Of course I wish I made everything fresh and from scratch, and didn’t put things in a little electric box to be zapped. But, I’m a busy lady, and sometimes I need to use the microwave. Sometimes, I need to poke a few holes in the film of a pre-made dinner, and just put it on that rotating hot plate for two and a half minutes, because I do not have it in me to chop, steam, boil, and grill broccoli, chicken, and rice, all on my own. And, since much of the fresh food I buy winds up going bad before I can eat it and I hate wasting money on food like that, I love a little frozen meal.
If you’re like me, then you likely just eyeball it when using the microwave. You toss something in for a few minutes. You don’t understand any of the preset buttons like the ones that say “defrost” or “reheat.” You understand some like the ones that say “popcorn” and “frozen,” but you don’t even use those. You just try to guess how long you should put that icy lasagna in there, and hope for the best. Sometimes you’re right, and sometimes, you take a bite of what is gooey and hot on top, and cold and hard in the middle.
You don’t have to have a love-hate relationship with your microwave. In fact, it can do a lot more than you may know about. It’s not just for reheating leftovers. It can help you make healthy sides and provides quick tricks for making what seems like a totally made-from-scratch meal. You just need to learn your way around it. Here are microwave mistakes you’re probably making.
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Tossing in your Tupperware
If you’re eating leftovers to have a quick and easy meal, then heating them up in the very Tupperware you stored them in seems like a great idea, but it isn’t. * Unless your Tupperware explicitly says “microwave safe” on it *. Most Tupperware contains BPA, which can leak into your food when exposed to high temperatures. Transfer that food to a regular plate.
