citadel

Where I'm currently living there's no oven or stove. Does anyone have any inventive ideas for still coming up with some kind of variety in healthy eating? A book to recommend? Any help is appreciated.

LordEden

Do you have any way of generating heat? Microwave? Hot plate?

You can buy single electric burners. Here is an example of one.

George Foreman Grill?

You could buy any of those things and cook normally as you would with a regular stove. Need to bake something small? Toaster Oven.

I'd look at some of those options than worrying about cooking differently. Unless there is a reason you can't have a hot plate, I'd got that route.

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snowy

It would be helpful if we did know what you had access to.

One of the regular writers on thekitchn has been working on remodeling an old church into a home, and she doesn't have a stove. She uses a toaster oven, electric skillet, and a hot water kettle.

Do you have a toaster oven? If you do, you can roast small batches of vegetables--onions, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, etc. You can also use the broiler function for a lot of things.

Try making tartines, open-faced sandwiches. My favorite tartine is pretty basic--arugula or cress, cheese (brie or goat cheese), and tomato. You use the toaster oven to melt the cheese on the bread with the broiler, and then top it with the tomato and arugula. Yummy.

If you have a microwave, you can poach eggs in it.

How To Poach an Egg in the Microwave | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

It takes some experimenting to get the timing right. My microwave is more powerful than the one in the article, and so it takes less time and less power.

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Charlatan

Eden is right to suggest a Foreman Grill. It can be used to make all sorts of things.

Snowy's suggestion of an electric frying pan or a toaster over are great as well.

Something like this is pretty good as well. They are rated for indoor use. You can also go electric, but I prefer flame.


That said, if you are all set on not generating your own heat, you can always buy ready made meals from the deli counter. Most have rotisserie chickens that you can shred and mix into various types of salads and/or sandwiches.

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noodle

Waffle maker.

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citadel

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like i have some reading to do. I have a toaster and a microwave. The toaster is the kid for bread, not the oven type. I'm considering a hotplate but my place is small without many outlets, and I don't want to overload something electrical with a bunch of powerstrips. I vaguely remember a video we watched in school as kids about fire safety, and lots of plugs got a big red circle with a line through it. I'll probably just have to adapt to not having dedicated outlets.

genuinegirly

You can do a shocking amount of stuff with a microwave. I posted a microwave sugar cookie recipe here somewhere... but that's not a particularly healthy meal.

Minute Rice cooks very easily (and quickly) in a microwave. I recommend getting a big box of it and cutting loose. Their website has a bunch of recipes, many of which are easily adapted to be microwave-friendly: Minute Rice

If you're truly crammed for space in your kitchen and don't have space to store pans to go along with a hotplate, I recommend getting an electric skillet with a cover. They're incredibly versatile.

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Hotmnkyluv

Go with a crock pot. Once you get your temps and timing learned you can make anything from roast beef to chocolate cake.
There's no easier cooking tool for set it and forget it meals.

girldetective

Take-out.

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G~man

Most rooms have an iron:



I live in hotels most of the year---one gets inventive.... But seriously I am interested in people's ideas too.

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genuinegirly

Now that's creative!

---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 AM ----------

All recipes has a rather large collection of microwave recipes, here's a link to that section:
microwave recipes
These sugar cookies turn out fluffy, best when eaten warm:

MICROWAVE SUGAR COOKIES

3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Soften butter (15 seconds in microwave). Cream butter; gradually add sugar. Cream until fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla. Toss flour, baking powder, and salt to mix; add to creamed mixture and combine well.
( Optional - Chill dough 1 hour until firm. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut in shapes.)
Arrange 8 cookies in a ring on waxed paper. Cook 2 minutes on HIGH. Yield 3-4 dozen.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------

Here's a tasty southwestern-style salad, one that I've adapted from one of those all-recipes microwave meals:
1 package frozen corn
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 can black beans
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Pepper, salt, lemon pepper, crushed red pepper, and a squirt of fresh lime for seasoning.

Directions

Place frozen corn in a microwave-safe steaming dish with a little water and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes on High power. Stir in beans and crushed red pepper, cook an additional minute or two, if needed.

Add to corn and beans: tomatoes, jalapeno, red onion, garlic and cilantro. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon-pepper blend. Spritz with lime. Mix well, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill before serving.

It goes well with a side of Mexican rice.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

LordEden

I think with a small apt your best bet is to go with a crockpot (if you are in a colder environment, soup rocks) and a electric skillet like GG talked about. Those things are nice and you can get a smaller one for one plate meals.

Crockpot cooking is awesome and easy to do.

1) Dump vairous amounts of meat and veggies into pot.

2) Add stock (and/or water) to pot. Season.

3) Turn on low and don't worry about it for 4-8 hours.

4) Eat.

There are crap ton of recipe books about crockpot cooking. Also, church cookbooks are great for recipes like that. They have some really good "grandma" cooking recipes and most I've seen have a crockpot section (tho I'm in the bible belt, so it's heavy country cooking).

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ZombieSquirrel

Beat me to it. I was going to suggest to order a pizza.

I was hoping to read some cool recipes by all the ingenious chefs on this site instead of appliance suggestions I don't like to cook with an oven or a toaster oven.

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jewels

Microwaves are great for steaming, as long as you don't overcook.

There are microwave steamers and baskets for rice and veggies, or you can use some casserole dishes (I use Corningware and other glass stuff that's for oven use, just check the bottom to be sure yours are microwave safe). You can cook or heat up canned, fresh or frozen beans.

Surely there are recipes for chicken and beef dishes, most likely stews, that can be done in these same dishes.

Just saw the link gg referred to above and it's got a ton of stuff! Here's another.

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Lindy

Looks like you have a perfect opportunity to try out the "raw vegan" approach.

Lindy

ZombieSquirrel

I thought about mentioning the raw diet and should have asked if the OP would be open to it. As a vegetrian, I know I would. Now that it's spring, I won't be wanting warm foods as much. Also, fresh fruit and veggies are around the corner. It would be good for me to consider once I get out of the rehab center. Months of institutionalized food and junk food from care packages makes me want to cleanse the crap out of my body. Then I could move to a raw diet. Gotta eat some more Reese Peanut Butter Eggs first.

So if anyone has any of these recipes, I would appreciate them and I am sure the OP would as well.

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genuinegirly

Zombie, there have been a number of microwave-themed threads here at TFP Food over the years. None of them have picked up steam (otherwise I might have linked one). There just doesn't seem to be much interest in that kind of cooking. As far as raw cooking goes - Here's a good raw/living food resource: http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/

But vegetarian foods are typically very microwave-friendly, as long as you don't over-cook, as jewels mentioned. Dangit, I just mailed all of my old Vegetarian Times magazines to a friend. They even had a couple of good editions that focused on raw foods. Their recipe website doesn't have a direct listing of raw recipes, and a search of "raw" gives mixed results. Here's a link to Vegetarian Times's Recipe section: Vegetarian Recipes Search | Vegetarian Times. They do have a bunch of microwave recipes, too: Vegetarian microwave recipes

Citadel, I have a little single-serving skillet that I'm never going to use. If you're in the US, I can mail it to you. PM me with your address if you're interested.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

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LordEden

I never post microwave recipes because I couldn't stand the thought of someone using a microwave to cook anything. Microwaves are for reheating, not for cooking.

Now, I will admit to giving some re-fire steaks a bit of "radar love" in the jukebox, but I could count all those times on one hand. I remember reading something about water/meals that were cooked in the microwave being worse off for you, but I could just be pulling that out of my ass.

Raw recipes? Isn't that an oxymoron? has raw "recipes", whatever that is. I only know about it because Anthony Bourdain went off about the book and that hippy fuckwad Woody Harrelson turning down food I'll kill for in Thailand for only "raw" meals.

I'm going to sound off before I go off about raw diets and how silly that is.

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Baraka_Guru

What's wrong with raw foods? I'm pretty sure 99.9% of the animal kingdom eats raw foods.

I say go for whatever works: raw, semi-prepared, hot plate, slow cooker, microwave, etc. Experiment.

Personally, I'd go with a microwave for frozen foods/dinners and a hotplate for other things. If I felt luxurious, I'd use a slowcooker too.

But I think many of my foods would end up being raw or prepared to some extent (i.e. prepackaged foods)

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LordEden

There is nothing wrong with raw food. Fruits and veggies are great raw. It's the raw DIET that I have a problem with. Eating nothing but raw foods, it just makes me want to ask the question "WHY?!?!"

I can understand veggie diets, factory farming is a big problem in the food world and it is healthier to eat less (or no) meat.

Raw? Why would you force yourself to eat no cooked foods? Why limit yourself to food that can be eaten raw while there is a metric shit-ton of healthy recipes out there that can be made with fresh veggies/fruits and healthy starches.

I won't go off on hippies that eat nothing but veggies, I've adapted to their diet. But raw or vegan? Why limit yourself like that, a badge of honor? "Look at me, I'm better than you, EVER better than those vegetarians cause I don't cook ANYTHING! Bow to my sacrifice!"

Just because animals can't cook their food, doesn't mean we have to.

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genuinegirly

For the few weeks when I was waiting for the electricity to be turned on at one of my apartments, I indulged in a raw diet. I got pretty inventive with salads. You'd be shocked at how easily you can get by without refrigeration or warming of any kind. It rocked. I'll consider living that way permanently if I move someplace with a nicer climate.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

jewels

GG reminded me of some simple, throw together salads.

Any greens mixed with a can of beans, any kind, a pre-made salsa or cut your own tomato and onions, add some spices and, voila. If non-vegan, you can throw in a pouch of albacore tuna for a complete and rather delicious meal.

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citadel

Thanks for all the suggestions, I have even more reading to do now. I'm still getting settled in, so I haven't done much other than ordering out and simple things like sandwiches, salad, an store bought microwaveable dinners. I'm working on it.

I have a small one that I'm taking out of storage soon. I've never heard of chocolate cake being done in one before though. Seems I have a lot to learn, I've never used one before.

I would if it wasn't so expen$ive to do all the time.

Why not? I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I wouldn't mind mixing it up with that from time to time.

That would be AWESOME. Thanks!

ZombieSquirrel

I just don't like to cook so meals with the least amount of culinary effort appeal to me. I probably wont even attempt raw recipes if there is too much preparation. I like hosting parties and entertaining, but will most likely have the shindig catered. For those of you who like to cook, knock yourselves out. I'll eat your food though because it's probably better than my meal of cereal.

I don't eat meat because I don't like the taste of beef, pork or chicken. I stopped even eating fish because I wanted to see if I could do it. Here I am 9 years later. It's the only thing I ever stuck with, and I'm happy about that. That's what I would brag about.

I won't brag about not eating meat if foodies don't look down on me for not caring enough to have basic culinary skills.

We'll have a party Eden...you cook and I'll provide the booze and party favors.
Cinn can DJ.

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LordEden

This I can understand, eating raw for bachelor(ette) meals because it's easy and simple. Not everyone loves to cook and I understand that. My big thing with the raw diet was the people that go out of their way just to eat raw. Make all these elaborate meals out of raw items when they could just cook something healthy.

I won't look down on you for lacking basic culinary skills as long as you never refer to me as a foodie.

I've gotten less... angry about veggies and am doing really well eating veggie meals. So, I can understand even I don't agree.

Cinn has horrible taste in music, someone else needs to DJ.

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genuinegirly

So, here's something to think about when it comes to microwave cooking. Microwaves only heat the food, not the entire oven. They are far more efficient at the task of heating than an oven or a stove. Many green-living websites (and one book I have on my shelf) recommend lowering your carbon footprint and reducing your monthly energy bills by indulging in microwave-only cooking.

Here's a microwave grit recipe, from this site, I recommend sharp white cheddar cheese instead of butter:
Creamy Microwave Grits Recipe @CDKitchen

Their website has several tasty microwave side dish recipes: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/112/ Reading through them makes my mouth water!

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

citadel

Thanks, I'm going to print a bunch of these off so I'm not blankly trying to come up with ideas while wandering the aisles of the grocery store. I'll try to update the thread accordingly.

EventHorizon

if you're using your own iron with this setup, remember to wrap it in tin foil so if you need to iron clothes, they wont smell like the burnt food that will inevitably drop on the iron.

as for simple food to cook without a stove/iron, i stand by boxes upon boxes of ramen noodles, but i'm 21 and still have a long ways to go until i trash my kidneys/liver

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