If time is of the essence in your kitchen (and no doubt it truly is for some of us), then consider upgrading your knife collection. Many tools can make cooking easier, but in my experience, have a good set of Japanese kitchen knives has made an enormous difference in the amount of time spent in the kitchen.

Another great time saver is a crock pot. Remember those? Perhaps you or your mom got one when you got married? Or maybe you saw one at a yard sale? Some people worry about leaving these running while they are out of the house, but unless you have cats that jump up on your kitchen counter every time you turn your back, the chance of having a catastrophic accident in your absence is probably equal to anything you might experience with your refrigerator breaking down while you’re at work.

My final recommendation would be to acquire a convection oven. These contraptions are far superior to their slightly faster, very distant evil cousin the microwave oven. In my case, my convection oven takes approximately 10-20 minutes to reheat any given meal at its default setting of 350 degrees. That may sound like a lot to someone who is used to eating a minute or two after popping something in the microwave, but you can get a lot done in that time — go to the bathroom, do your hair, feed the cat (that darn cat again), pack your bags to leave, wash a few dishes, check your Facebook page etc. In no time, you’ll be enjoying a meal that was heated by the normal process of heating from the inside out — not the other way around. And if you need to take your food on the road, consider getting a good wide-mouth thermos which should keep your food hot for up to nine hours!

There will be more to come on the subject as the modern kitchen has many pitfalls for the health enthusiast. This should be quite enough to hold you for now.

Microwaving has been a widely accepted method of cooking and heating meals in a flash, but few of us stop to think how ‘nuking’ affects what has often started out as the nutritious foods that we strive to incorporate into our diets.

Nearly two decades ago, a German study showed that microwaving food is indeed a major cause of the dramatic increases in cancer experienced in the industrialized world. Microwaving heats food from the inside out, whereas traditional cooking methods heat food from the outside in. The researchers found that this change in heating technique creates unique life forms called radiolytic compounds. Radiolytic compounds do not exist in nature. Furthermore, these compounds dramatically and progressively reduce red and white blood cell counts.

The lowered red blood cell count leads to anemia. Fewer white blood cells decrease immune system activity. Both conditions allow disease to invade the body without a fight. So while some people may feel that they are healthy because they never get sick, it is likely that they never get sick because their bodies are not strong enough to mount a defense against invading organisms.

Microwaved food also increases levels of LDL (the so-called “bad” cholesterol carrier) while decreasing the “good” HDL cholesterol carriers.*

This study didn’t even look at the fact that food microwaved in plastic contains 10,000 times more carcinogens than the FDA officially allows! It does, however, support the more current research showing the dangers of feeding babies microwaved formula or breast milk.

So what should you do, if you don’t have a lot of time to prepare nutritious meals all the time?

* Thermoses are a great blast from the past that is coming back into fashion. At about $20 a pop, they pay for themselves in just a few weeks. I often heat up leftovers from dinner in a small pot or the convection oven while I’m having breakfast. Then I pack the thermos and go.

* Convection or toaster ovens are a necessity to any healthy kitchen or office space. One can be purchased for as little as $30 new, less at a garage sale. You may need to invest in a few small Corningware-type dishes to heat up your meals, but they are well worth the $4 investment.

* Picnic! Once again, do as the French. Prepare an easy “charcuterie” plate: little pickles, (nitrate-free) cold cuts, pâtés, raw milk cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, plain full-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, olives and a cold potato salad. These are all excellent, nourishing foods that barely need any prep and easily make a meal in themselves.

Besides the health advantages for you and your family, eating foods that are naturally prepared allows you to truly enjoy the wonderful flavors you may not even have realized were there. You’ll be astonished at how different it is! And like my husband, you just may find yourself the envy of your office!

*This is yet another fact that should make us rethink the cholesterol theory which blames animal foods for rising cholesterol rates. But more about that in another post.

Source:

VALENTINE, TOM, Microwave Tragedy, Acres USA, 1994.

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