The Microwave Challenge

When we moved recently, we moved into a new place that didn’t have a microwave. I knew it would be a couple of weeks before I could pick one up and I didn’t think much about it. However, it didn’t take me long to discover how much we used a microwave previously.

The first week was a bit of a pain working around quick throw-together things in the microwave. My daughter was craving popcorn. So, I managed to pick up Jiffy popcorn in the little tin foil pie pan you shake while cooking over the stove. I haven’t bought one of those in ages! They were still just as fun to make as I remembered! I spent more time cooking “normal”, which was oddly freshing.

That first week got me thinking about how our society lives on quick fixes and having everything right now. I really believe that a lot of our health issues all fall back onto the manufactured and processed food we all eat every day. Things like microwaves actually encourage us to stick to that regiment. It’s the little things in our every day life that has taken us down a path of struggling to be healthy and eat right. But also, we are teaching our kids these same “normal habits” in life.

I look at my kids and notice that the skinny, energetic kids that I had when they were younger have become pudgy (not fat) almost lazy kids as they got older. Not lazy in the sense that they won’t work or go to school – but lazy in the fact that they just want to sit on a computer when they aren’t doing those things.

I know from my own experience that the foods you eat can make you drained, less energetic and even not so happy. They can make you feel like you don’t want to do anything. I never knew that blood sugar and other hormones/chemicals in your body could be the culprit of all of this until this past year when I was diagnosed with PCOS. It made me realize that I had not taught my kids about eating the right way. Sure, they know the food groups and they know they SHOULD eat right and what healthy meals are, but I had not practiced it in a way that made it normal to them. The comfort foods I taught them to eat were things like pastas and potatoes and other high carb options I learned growing up.

I know not to beat myself up on yet another thing that I didn’t do my best at as a mom. I have done the best job I knew how to do at the time. But I do know that once I learn what those things are, that I should beat myself up on it if I decide not to do something about it!

I did buy a microwave, but we have only used it for popcorn since those first couple of weeks. I decided to make a real effort to prepare meals without the use of the microwaves. I have found that it really isn’t that big of a deal to actually prepare the full meals instead of leaning on microwavable versions of things. AND! It ends up tasting much better! The colors that end up on our plates are actually much prettier too.

We are slowly making the switch to eating unprocessed (“clean”) food. It will be a gradual thing to become normal. Grocery shopping has proven to be interesting trying to find new things I have never heard of that are called for in recipes. But we have tried new things – including vegetables that I had never prepared or eaten before and found that we actually like them! I got some great inspiration from the 100 Days of Real Food blog. Lisa (the blog author) has done a great job documenting the journey of moving her family to eating clean.

So my challenge to you is a simple microwave challenge. Can you go 2 weeks without using your microwave? Anyone up to give it a try?! I would love to hear how it goes for you!