The "Rectangle"

My family is a little weird.  Ok, maybe more than a little weird.  There are numerous reasons I could give you to defend this claim but one truly stands alone.  Here it is:

WE HATE MICROWAVE OVENS!  

Yup, we're some of those people.  The people who believe that the molecular structure of food is changed when you microwave it.  The people who believe that the nutritional value of food is destroyed when you blast it with waves.

Here is a conversation between my sister and my niece, age 3 (at time of conversation):

Niece: "Mommy, I hungry."

Sister:  "Ok, how bout some leftover such n' such?"

Niece:  "Yea, that's good."

Sister:  "Well, hang on, I gotta heat it up for ya."

Niece:  said w/ utter disgust "You aren't gonna put it in the rectangle (microwave) are ya???"

The hatred toward microwaves varies in my family by degree.  My mom, now the matriarch of the family, does own a microwave but it sits in her basement, unplugged and unable to do harm to anyone or anything.  I also own a microwave and it is installed in my kitchen.  I do not, however, use it even on a daily basis.  When I do use it, I'm usually nuking some boxed meal because I'm in a horrible rush and have to eat "something".  My sister, I believe, uses hers only slightly more often than I.

I know that as fitness buffs, meal prep and planning is of utmost importance for our success.  Often, this means pre-cooking and pre-portioning our food out for each meal.  Frequently, we eat at the office or on the run and it makes standing at the stove to warm up food seem like a real pain.  Here's why you should avoid microwaving that muscle building, life giving meal at all costs:  IT HAS THE POWER TO KILL YOU!  Microwaving food  actually alters the molecular structure of the food, it kills the vitamins and minerals; leaving you with a pile of dead junk to eat.  Please go to www.aaimedicine.com/jaaim/apr06/hazards.php  to read about the scientific evidence that backs up what I'm preaching about right now.  Just know this, after all the prep you did, all the exercise you did, after how hard you've worked to reach your goals, you might be putting something healthy and nutritious into the microwave but the "product" it's giving back to you is hazardous to your health!  'Nuf said!  


So how can you avoid your microwave?  Here's what I do: if I've cooked something thoroughly in prep I just dump it in a pan on the stove and it's usually warm within 5 minutes.  For veggies I almost always use an electric steamer (more on this another day.  I couldn't live without my steamer.) which heats them nicely without killing everything in them that's good.  When I worked, I had a hot plate at my office.  Yes, it takes a little longer than a microwave but this way you get back what you put in, not some unidentifiable blob of nuclear mess!

Just remember:  you are what you eat!  You wanna be healthy, whole and glowy?  

STOP KILLING YOUR FOOD!

Happy Wednesday, dear reader!