What do you think is the cheaper, the stove or the microwave? Do you think that if the microwave is cheaper (everything considered) is it better to use it for cooking considering it might not be as good for our health as the stove?
Much, much better to just get down and dirty and make a nice meal using your oven if you ask me. It ends up better for you in the long run, and in my experience, it's not only better tasting, it's fun too! But then I know not everyone enjoys cooking as much as I do.
The microwave is certainly going to save on electricity but it is only good for cooking some items - usually ones high in water content. For me, the halfway alternative is a toaster oven. It uses a lot less energy than turning on my regular oven and cooks almost as well. Even a toaster oven has its limitations though. I am less concerned about the potential health issues when microwaving a meal and more concerned that the food isn't the right texture for me to enjoy.
A stove is cheaper from my experience, since microwaves use up more energy. I also prefer cooking at a stove than using a microwave, since it makes food crunchy and fresh instead of mushy. I was obsessed with my microwave, I only ever used that. However, it broke around 5/6 months ago and I haven't gotten a new one ever since. I just noticed I don't really need it!
For me that's not even a question. I have never used a microwave in my life, and the first thing I always do when I travel and have to stay in motels, is to ask whether they have a stove top or a microwave oven in their rooms. Usually it is the latter. So, to avoid any problems, I always take my portable gas stove with me whenever it is convenient. I can't stand even looking at those big ugly microwave clunkers that cause so many health problems.
I think overall the microwave will be cheaper, it should decrease your electricity bill quite a bit. I know a lot of people talk about how bad the microwave is for you, but honestly I don't think it is that bad. There are studies out there showing it's bad for you but there are just as many studies showing it isn't bad for you at all.
Using a microwave may be cheaper but I'll forever be a stove fan I cook a lot so a microwave doesn't help me at all! Plus, the taste of food heated in the microwave seems weird to me. It's like I can feel the taste of the heat and that's not pleasant at all. I can see why people with little time on their hands use the microwave, but if you have time and want healthy food, a stove is the best choice!
I agree with you prettycolors, the microwave can be something practical for heating up milk, soup or a cold meal, but for cooking is something more tricky and I doubt up to what point it's healthy. What you mention about the taste is true too, food heated in the microwave gets this universally know microwave taste that is somewhat bad.
A stove is definitely much healthier to cook in than a microwave. Plus it is a lot more versatile and cooks much more evenly. Microwave's may be fast, but they cook very unevenly and can damage food very easily. Plus there are concerns over heating plastic containers in the microwave since that typically causes dangerous chemicals to leech out of the plastic into your food. Even the "glass" bowls often come with plastic lids, or if you are putting plastic wrap over them, you are still exposing yourself to these chemicals. Other than the up front costs of purchasing either a stove or a microwave, neither make a big dent in my electric or gas bills, so I don't really see either one being more cost efficient than the other. However if you are concerned about wasting energy doing stuff like heating up a whole oven just to cook one small thing, I would consider getting a good toaster oven. Go with a larger toaster oven because the smaller ones burn stuff to easily and you can barely fit anything into them. They heat up very quickly and won't make your house hot in the summer months.
That's true Tom, you make several good points, by heating the food the microwaves are actually transforming the molecular chain of the food and what we eat after the microwaves is not the same thing as before entering, even though it looks the same. Not to mention the plastics as well.
