How many use Nukers & how

[norgeskog]

I got rid of my nuker about 6 months ago after seeing one of the cooking shows' guests (Think it was on Sara's Secrets) who was a vegetarian and nutritionist. She, of course, said raw vegies were the best for getting the nutrients out of what you eat and you get 100% with raw. If you steam them you lose ~ 5%, if you boil you lose ~50%, and if you nuke you lose ~97%. That is when I stopped using it. I did not use it for much anyway, never cooked meat or an entire meal in it (I do not buy frozen or pre-ckaged food) only potatoes, steamed vegies, boiling water and poping corn. Now I eat raw vegetables only and in my salads, except of course you have to cook orange squash, green beans, rutabegas, parsnips and the like. When I do cook vegies I always roast them and they taste so much better than steaming. AS to popcorn, i am now using the old shake the pot method.

:roll: GO DUCKS

 

[Juliev]

I just made chili.. I cooked my ground beef in a covered casserole dish.. then drained... worked great.. then I added to the sauteed vegies.. continuing on to finish my chili

 

[CookinBlondie]

Isn't a "Nuker" just a microwave? If so, my sister and I use it all the time! For TONS of stuff! if it's not a microwave, can you explain what it is?

 

[luvs]

uh-uh. i definately do not like microwaves. they make me nervous, first of all, because they haven't even been around long enough for us to really know what microwaves can DO. (i mean the actual waves, LOL, not some plastic-n-metal thing) and secondly, they just aren't as good at making a good pot of food. i'll take my all-clad and stove any day over that microwave!!! once in awhile a food will kind of require one, but that is the only time i use that thing.

 

[norgeskog]

Isn't a "Nuker" just a microwave? If so, my sister and I use it all the time! For TONS of stuff! if it's not a microwave, can you explain what it is?

Sorry, yes, nuker is just a nick name because the microwaves supposedly nuke what ever is in it.

 

[crewsk]

I use mine just about everyday! Especially for reheating stuff.

 

[masteraznchefjr]

i never use microwave lol even to reheat stuff i find technology harmful

 

[Alix]

At the moment I use mine for everything. My kitchen is under construction and I have no stove, oven, kitchen sink...well you get the idea. I have amazed myself with what I can do in a microwave, and as to the harmful stuff, well I only use corning ware or glass in the microwave to eliminate the dioxins.

I too eat nearly all my veggies raw. Including a couple that are on most people's "must cook" list. If you haven't tried raw beans, turnips or zucchini may I suggest that you try them with a lovely dip? Yummy!

 

[Juliev]

Let me rephrase what I said.. I cooked the meat in the microwave.. but not the whole thing of chili.. the vegies were done on the stove, then I added the meat and continued to finish cooking it on the stove..

Every single day they come out with something new that is supposed to be "bad" for you. I don't concern myself with all the "rules." I eat healthy and enjoy my life.

 

[norgeskog]

At the moment I use mine for everything. My kitchen is under construction and I have no stove, oven, kitchen sink...well you get the idea. I have amazed myself with what I can do in a microwave, and as to the harmful stuff, well I only use corning ware or glass in the microwave to eliminate the dioxins.

I too eat nearly all my veggies raw. Including a couple that are on most people's "must cook" list. If you haven't tried raw beans, turnips or zucchini may I suggest that you try them with a lovely dip? Yummy!

I have eaten raw zucchini and turnips and did like them, but have forgotten about them. I must add them to my shopping list for my salads. Beans, what kind the green string ones. I must cook them. However, I like the sugar peas and other ones raw.

:roll: GO DUCKS

 

[Juliev]

I was going to add something else.. then my computer went all loopy. In my opinion, I have seen so many people get so bogged down with all the latest "dos and don'ts" of what is good for you, etc... they miss the real fun and experience in cooking. Look what they said about eggs for years... so bad for you... big cause of high cholesterol... now they say eggs are good for you... it's like night and day sometimes. In some cases, if you walk out your front door and breathe air, you're going to get something.

 

[Alix]

Mmmmmmmmmmm...green beans, and yellow wax beans from the garden are the best raw. I am not fond of raw broad beans or scarlet runner beans unless you can get them pretty young. I sort of feel that anything you can eat cooked you should try raw unless it is dangerous. (Poi for example, taro root I hear is poisonous unless cooked)

 

[Psiguyy]

Use mine every other day or so to reheat leftovers.

I sometimes like to cook my meatloaf in the microwave oven.

Other things I do is use it to soften butter, steam vegetables, cook corn on the cob, pop corn, zap Krispy Kremes, and torture people who think microwaves are unhealthy.

I don't think I'd like a kitchen without a microwave oven. It's just too handy to do without. It also saves on electricity and tends to keep the kitchen cooler.

 

[bege]

Did you do any research on that? Or did you just take Sara's word for it. I think I would want to see who and where that came from. The way our grandmothers cooked them, I can understand. In water until they were soft, soft, soft. They always said the nutrients ended up in the water. 97% loss is hard to swallow, for the MW.

If you did the research, please let me know where it came from so I can read it. I love my veggies in the nuker. Little water, butter and salt and pepper, and not over cooked.

I can understand why we shouldn't use plastic containers in the nuke. Many plastics are made from petroleum products, aren't they?

 

[AllenOK]

I use mine mainly to reheat leftovers and to make popcorn. We've done the shake-the-pan method, and although I'm actually rather good at it, I pefer the taste of movie-butter-flavor popcorn. Call me wierd, I guess.

BTW, if you really want to do popcorn right, on the stove, use a wok with a lid that fits.

 

[luvs]

BTW, if you really want to do popcorn right, on the stove, use a wok with a lid that fits.

we used to make popcorn in one of the fireplaces at my Grandma's and Grandpap's, in an old-fashioned shaker. we used to use multi-colored kernels and use Popeye popcorn salt on it. haven't had anything like it since. now that was good popcorn!

 

[GB]

I use mine for certain things. The most use it gets is for reheating leftovers. I also find that is does a great job of melting butter and chocolate. I use it to heat, or boil water if it is just for a cup or two. Just this year I have started using it for popcorn too. I use Alton Browns brown paper bag method. It is the easiest, best way to have popcorn IMO.

I remember hearing that thing about microwave ovens killing 97% of their nutrients. It was on the news about a month or two ago. It was the last story on the 11:00 news. They did not get into any details or mention any study. I would love to find out if there really was one.

 

[Juliev]

Yes, I love doing popcorn in the microwave, with the paper bag. My best friend and I used to do it that way when we were kids.. then add a little butter, salt.. and now I love parmesan cheese on it.... close the bag and shake.. yummy!

 

[purrfectlydevine]

I did some research because things like this bug me. Microwaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum that's all around us all the time. Microwave ovens were invented in 1945. Not that it's important, but I feel better! I use my microwave for reheating leftovers, heating water, making popcorn, that sort of thing.


I also did research on norgeskog's post about the raw veggies being more nutritious due to nutrient loss that occurs because of cooking. I offer this excerpt as a springboard for discussion.

Don Matesz, MA, CH, CNC
Outline of a Produce-Dominated Diet and Why We Need to Cook Vegetables

What about cooking? Westerners commonly believe raw vegetables are more nutritious than cooked, but Chinese nutrition has long stated the opposite. Who's right?
All of the nutrients in vegetables are locked inside cells composed of fibers. These cells are not opened by chewing, no matter how vigorous, and unlike apes and other herbivores, humans have no enzymes or special gut chambers (e.g., multiple stomachs, enlarged colons) with resident symbiotic protozoa or bacteria for digesting fibers. Consequently, we really can't access the nutrients in raw plant food.
Cooking explodes plant cells, releasing their nutrients. Even though cooking may destroy some nutrients, studies have shown that we absorb more total nutrients from cooked vegetables. We absorb only 1 percent of carotene from raw carrots, but 5 percent to 19 percent from cooked carrots. The softer the texture, the better the absorption. (Similar considerations apply to meat.)

 

[buckytom]

hey norgeskog,
the only problem i have with the raw food movement is that while you may ingest 100 % of the veggie's nutrients when eating raw, much of those nutrients are unuseable because they pass right thorugh your body. they are not digetsted. the additional fiber from eating raw food is healthy, but you are not getting more nutrients. the best way to reap the most health benefits from veggies is to slightly steam them, thus breaking down the cellular structures of the veggies, allowing for better digestion. i've never heard of nukers causing 97% of the nutritional value of food to be lost. nukers only agitate water and fat molecules, creating atomic friction or heat. now heat may cause some vitamins to lose some of their potency, especially a and e, but i doubt it's much more than steaming. there's an old expression in slovakia that a man could starve eating all of the raw potatoes he wanted. they need to be cooked to be useable to the body.
oh, and i nuke veggies and leftovers for myself and my birds everyday. I make bacon in the nuker, as well as defrost meats and soups or sauces. i nuke a cup of water to heat the baby's bottle in also. my little boy is getting almost a pavlovian response to the beep from the microwave. he know's a bottle is coming.