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Fast & Easy Dinner: Chicken with Lemon Over Arugula

partysugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:45:27 -0700

When you're in a pinch and need to make a meal quickly, turn to this simple recipe. It's a delicious and healthy chicken dish that's cooked in the microwave. The seasoned chicken is coated with a light parsley white wine sauce. After being zapped, it's surprisingly moist and tender.

When served on top of a bed of greens it makes the perfect light Summer meal. For the recipe,

What About Microwaving Plastic Containers?

FitSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:00:00 -0700

The recent news about the possible health risks of using polycarbonate bottles (like ones made by Nalgene) has made me a little uneasy. Now I'm wondering about about the relationship between microwaves and plastic, like the reusable food containers I heat up almost daily.

Are the high temperatures leaching chemicals into my food? Should I use ceramic or glass containers instead? To find out

Nuke Veggies to Keep Them Healthy

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0700

Look, I will be the first to admit that I've done a bit of microwave bashing in my day. However, a new study has come along and managed to make me eat my words . . . and my veggies. Here's why: in the study researchers found that on the whole, microwaving vegetables and fruits as a means to cook them was the least destructive to nutrients like vitamin C compared to other methods (aside from steaming). This is mainly because cooking methods like baking and grilling exposes foods to higher temperatures and more cooking time, which is destructive to nutrients.

However, go easy on the water because whenever vegetables are immersed in cooking liquid, water-soluble nutrients seep out of the food and into the surrounding liquid, which is why boiling them is not the best option either. To keep the nutrients intact when microwaving, you need only a couple of tablespoons of water to cook raw vegetables. The frozen ones need no extra liquid at all.

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How-To: Clean a Microwave

casasugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:45:40 -0800

No matter how tidy you may be, I would bet big dollars that you have encountered a filthy microwave at least once. And you may have even heated up a meal in said microwave, despite the funky food cooked onto the ceiling. There's no reason to put up with this gross-osity; making your microwave so fresh and so clean is a breeze. To learn how to kick the ick,

How Often Do You Use Your Microwave?

partysugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:01:17 -0700

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How Often Do You Use Your Microwave?

Practically every day.

Only to defrost something or reheat leftovers.

I don't have a microwave.

Never, it just sits there.

Other - see my comment below.

Make Way for the Microwave Drawer

partysugar — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:15:54 -0700

When I heard about the new microwave drawer recently introduced by Sharp, I couldn't help but think: How come someone hasn't come up with this idea before?

The microwave drawer works like a normal microwave, except that it's built like an oven. According to the Sharp website,

Now microwave cooking is easier for every cook in the family, with no need to remove the dish from the oven to check, stir, or turn the food. For even greater convenience, the new Easy Open Microwave Drawer Oven opens automatically with a gentle pull of the handle. Just push it gently and it closes automatically, even if your hands are full.

Sounds like the microwave of the future has arrived. I like it because the microwave has always been a bulky kitchen appliance, but with this sleek interpretation, you can have clutter free counter tops! How about you? What do you think?

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Yummy Link: Microwaved Orange Fig Jam

YumSugar — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:01:31 -0700

This totally knocks my socks off: Spicy Fig Orange Jam made in a microwave!!! - Simply Recipes

Mircowaves and Radiation

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:15:00 -0700

Have you heard that it is bad for your health to stand too close to a microwave while it reheats your leftover Pad Thai from last night? Although microwaves have been around for quite a while, cancer and radiation fears linger around this convenient kitchen appliance.

The New York Times, curious about these safety concerns, did a little investigation. They found that although microwaves can leak radiation, the amounts are negligible to human health.

There is a special unit within the FDA that regulates microwave safety. The Center for Devices and Radiological Health limits the amount of radiation any microwave on the market can leak in its lifetime to five milliwatts per square centimeter at roughly two inches away from the oven. While that sound like Greek to me, I found this comparison helpful: the most common cell phones operate at a peak power of about 1.6 watts or less. Cell phones when studied have not been found to cause any health problems.

Microwaves are made with additional safety features - metal mesh on the doors helps to trap microwaves, and door latches that halt the production of microwaves when the door is opened. You might be interested to know that radiation levels drop sharply the further away you are from your microwave. Radiation levels at a two foot distance from the microwave are 1/100th of levels at 2 inches.

So "nuke" those leftovers with no fear. If you want to know about using plastic to do that - read What's the Deal with: Microwaves and Plastic.

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Microwave Free Fridays

FitSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:45:00 -0700

New research from a scientist in the UK has found a correlation between the rise in obesity and the rise in microwave ownership. Obesity started becoming a problem between 1984 and 1987. In 1984, ironically, there was a rapid spread of microwave ownership.

Sounds pretty convincing to me. Think about how easy it is to get an abundance of food when you're hungry these days -- 30 seconds and wham, your Hot Pocket is ready. One suggestion then, why not take a day off from the microwave and cook something on the stove, or maybe even in the oven? Microwave Free Fridays anyone? Perhaps you may surprise yourself with cooking skills you never knew you had. Also, you'll be able to make your meal as healthy as you want it, instead of consuming already determined nutritional info from a food maker that is not always 100% accurate. I am sure YumSugar will agree that preparing a meal can bring the fun and experience back to eating, rather than just eating for satiety. Heck, you may even notice some weight loss too.

I picked Friday because I like cooking a nice meal on a Friday night followed by watching a movie with my family, however do what works for you, just take one day off a week from nuking your food.

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Popcorn Breakdown

FitSugar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:15:00 -0700

Popcorn is delicious, satisfying, crunchy, and fun to eat. It's nature's snack food.

There are so many different ways to make and flavor popcorn, but unfortunately, some of those tasty methods turn this healthy snack into one loaded with sugar and sodium.

So let's look at the nutritional breakdown of 1 cup of each to see how they compare.

Want to see, then