Cooking is probably one of the oldest activities or tasks that man has performed. I guess the man would have introduced the concept of cooking when he was a hunter and had to eat meat. In my mind, thousands of years ago, caveman would have spent days hunting and trying to get food in order to survive. His life would have consisted of thinking of ways in which he could eat in order to live. As it evolved, the barter system must have gotten to where you could trade and thus have some time to do other things. Today, food is taken for granted and is a small part of life. As it stands today, I’m not quite sure if it’s considered an important part of life. I think we’ve taken the concept of outsourcing and bartering a bit too far where we wait for someone to almost cook our food and we finish it or worse, just heat it up. We have found various other things to do and have lost focus on the most important aspect of life: food. Well, I am not a food addict, but the reason why I believe that food is a very important part of life is because it determines the state of health of the mind and body. As they say, health is wealth, and this is best appreciated when it is not healthy!

Going back to the old cooking method, I remember one of the shows on TV that showed a famous chef visiting India and cooking regional food in the traditional way. He cooked meat in a pit into which the fire was filled. The meat was well wrapped in banana leaf and all the spices loaded onto the meat. The banana leaf is supposed to keep the meat moist. My trip to my hometown reminded me of another traditional cooking method: the clay pot! The sight of ladies cooking in clay pots on a fire outside the house tempted me to join them. Another traditional process consisted of fermenting some foods. For example, in South Indian cuisine, certain batters were allowed to ferment overnight, and the bacteria that actually fermented the food aided digestion. You could continue with this traditional process, but did you realize what they have in common? Time! Everyone takes some time to cook, but what is an amazing fact is that my ancestors who followed traditional cooking methods lived long and healthy lives. As our lifestyle has changed, so has our method of cooking. There is probably no household without a microwave oven and few households without prepared foods ready to heat or eat stored in the freezer. I’m sure the microwave oven is considered a blessing by many people who are busy juggling work and family. Challenging it is and I am no exception. I struggled to find enough time to cook a good meal and bought a great microwave. And what do I think of that now? Well here is a summary of some claims I saw on some websites:

1. The general advice is not to heat baby milk (breast or formula) in the microwave. The obvious reason is that uneven heating could burn the baby’s mouth, but also that the milk is disturbed and some key milk components such as vitamins are lost.

2. Scientists named Hertel and Blanc are said to have discovered that consuming microwaved food caused a drop in hemoglobin levels. They are said to have also found that large amounts of radiolytic compounds are formed in microwaved food and cause deterioration of the blood and immune system. Supposedly, some powerful organizations prevented them from publishing their findings.

3. It is said that Russian scientists discovered that microwave energy caused changes in the cells of food, be it vegetables, meat or milk, and created cancerous structures. It also damages the immune system and makes it harder for the body to fight cancer cells.

4. You’d think if it’s that bad for humans, it would have been banned. But regulatory organizations like the FDA are said to insist that microwave energy does not leak out and harm people and also one of the popular benefits of using it, namely less oil and no water, so it’s healthier. and more nutrients are preserved.

After reading these frightening findings, I think it’s suicidal to keep eating microwaved food. Better safe than sorry. So just as I finish this article, I have decided to sell my microwave oven. Instead, here are some things I plan to do…

1. Plan my meals for the whole week to have all the ingredients stocked. Whenever possible, prepare ahead of time such as cutting the vegetables, preparing and refrigerating the ginger garlic paste, making the basic salsa sauce, and refrigerating.

2. Cook big batches over the weekend and freeze a couple servings for me and my husband. Thaw it in the refrigerator the morning you need it and reheat it on the stove in the evening.

3. Use my convection oven whenever possible and try to reduce fat consumption by baking instead of frying.

4. Use traditional methods like crock pot cooking, which also tends to boost flavor.

While it’s entirely up to you to decide if you really want to cut your cooking time the modern way, I would refrain from putting microwave recipes on my food blog.