Say NO to "Add a Minute/Thirty Second" Buttons

(I know this post is a little longer than others, but I guarantee this is one of the best ones!) 

A microwave is probably one of the most important appliances in your kitchen.  As I noted in a previous entry, microwaves use less energy than a stove does to heat up or cook an item.  Therefore, they are more environmentally friendly.  I did, however, forget to mention one trick to warming up/cooking in your microwave. Alright, now let’s pretend last night you cooked a delicious meal consisting of spaghetti and meatballs.  You didn’t finish all of it so you put the leftovers in a reusable container (not a plastic bag) and set it in the fridge.  The next night you decide to eat your leftovers and prepare to eat them.  After placing the bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the microwave, you punch in the desired amount of time you wish to heat up your dish. 

After years of microwave experience, you probably guestimate it will take 2 minutes will do the trick.  Now there were probably a few things going through your mind when you chose 2 minutes as the magical time it will take to heat up your food.  For example you may think that 2 minutes might be a little too much and make your food too hot to eat and enjoy right away, but you didn’t just want to warm it up for only 1 minute and 30 seconds because it may be too cold. 

However, this is when I step in and yell, “WAIT!  STOP RIGHT THERE!”  All our lives we have been accustomed to punching in exact amounts of time in intervals of a minute or thirty seconds.  Some models of microwaves even have buttons that let your “add a minute” or “add thirty seconds” so you don’t have to manually type it in.  Therefore, all you simply have to do is to think beyond that natural instinct and type in a number that you think would heat up your spaghetti and meatballs perfectly.  For example, maybe try putting your meal in for 1 minute and 48 seconds.  Not 1:30 and NOT 2 MINUTES.  Who said the number needs to be rounded to the nearest tenth?  NO ONE!   Another example may be if the box of oatmeal says to cook a bowl of oatmeal for a minute and thirty seconds, maybe try putting it in for 1 minute and 24 seconds.  It will still cook just the same. 

By reducing the amount of time you heat /cook your item in the microwave, the less energy you will be using.  This will reduce the amount of pollution caused by your energy needs and also save you money on your electric bills.  Kitchen appliances use up the most electricity in your home.  Don’t forget, each second adds up!  Be EGOlogical and start using your microwave unconventionally!