Healthy cooking without a stove?

kristilovescake
kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
Due to a kitchen remodel, my husband and I will be without a stove for a few weeks and I want to make sure we can continue eating healthy. I’m more concerned with getting nutrients and eating healthy rather than just eating low-calorie. I’ve got my crock pot, rice cooker, and microwave (but I prefer to not use the microwave since it zaps a lot of the nutrition out – or so I’ve heard, not sure how true it is). Our usual staples of plain chicken and pork chops aren’t going to work without the oven and we won’t be able to boil or steam frozen/fresh veggies. Most of my crock pot recipes contain sauces or are soups (we prefer to not eat a lot of soup) so I’m at a little bit of a loss for what to cook that will keep it healthy, get enough protein, and mix it up so we aren't eating the same meal every day.

Aside from living off of salads, beans and rice, does anyone have any advice on how we can continue to eat healthy?

I don't necessarily need recipes, I'd just love some ideas or tips on how I can survive until the kitchen is put back together.
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Replies

  • robinpickles
    robinpickles Posts: 78 Member
    Soup Plantation or Sweet Tomatoes (google it!)
  • Saezimmerman
    Saezimmerman Posts: 93 Member
    Do you have a toaster oven? If it's just you and your husband, this may be a good option, and they usually aren't very expensive.

    Also, your microwave shouldn't do anything to your food that your normal cooking method would do. If you're steaming veggies in the mocrowave, it's just like steaming them on the stove...
    http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Microwave-cooking-and-nutrition.shtml
  • awmejia
    awmejia Posts: 147 Member
    you can braise meats in the crockpot just do a little research on what liquids to use
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    Soup Plantation or Sweet Tomatoes (google it!)

    Booooo, the closest one is still far away from me. That place looks amazing!
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    Do you have a toaster oven? If it's just you and your husband, this may be a good option, and they usually aren't very expensive.

    Also, your microwave shouldn't do anything to your food that your normal cooking method would do. If you're steaming veggies in the mocrowave, it's just like steaming them on the stove...
    http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Microwave-cooking-and-nutrition.shtml

    I wish we had a toaster oven :( it's on our "want" list, but not on our "need" list, so we've been waiting until we see a sale we can't pass up.

    Good information on the microwave steaming, thanks! I don't remember where I heard that microwave cooking the veggies is worse than stove cooking, but I'll definitely read the link!
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    Those ziploc microwave bags steam veggies really well. I haven't tried meat or anything. An electric griddle could help you out while without a stove!
  • ionlyhavesporx
    ionlyhavesporx Posts: 120
    George Foreman grill should become your new best friend......
  • Loko_Ino
    Loko_Ino Posts: 544 Member
    Crock Pot
  • estjames
    estjames Posts: 76
    You can make roasts with veggies or a whole chicken (eat as is or shred for BBQ) in the Crock Pot
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
    Go on a raw vegan diet until you have a stove/oven
  • CapsFan17
    CapsFan17 Posts: 198
    Do you have a grill? If not this might be a good time to invest in one with a side burner. I use my grill more then my oven when it comes to my meat. You can even do veggies in foil packets on the grill.
  • lynzy713
    lynzy713 Posts: 67 Member
    Check out the Ziplock steam bags - I've made vegetables and chicken in them and they've worked out well.
  • marbit
    marbit Posts: 108
    I went through the same thing a few years back. There were about 8 of us living in the house at the time, so we had to find a way to cook for everyone. I bought one of these:

    http://www.amazon.com/Toastess-THP-433-Electric-Double-Coil-Cooking/dp/B001G2PVX2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328552114&sr=8-2

    It saved my life. We got so much use out of it, it was nuts. You can basically use it like a regular stove top. I had a different model, but this was the one I found doing a quick amazon search. I liked the one with 2 burners so you can cook more than one thing at a time. If you wanted to spend less, they have one burner models for about $15. Best money I ever spent (aside from the whole, money spent on the remodel thing!)
  • dawnmfp
    dawnmfp Posts: 25
    You can do chicken or pork easily in the crockpot. Just toss in whatever veggies you want. Instead of using a high-fat sauce to cook them in, use fresh salsa, tomato sauce, or a can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup. I use the crock pot all the time, and practically never turn on my oven.
  • musicgirl88
    musicgirl88 Posts: 504 Member
    If you have any extra money to spend, a George Forman is great! Also, if you are having unusually warm weather like we are here in Indiana, maybe fire up the grill if you have one? It might still be a little chilly outside, but a nice warm coat and some gloves will be great. Plus, you're standing right over the fire of the grill LOL so you'll get a little warmth from that! :)
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    crock pot = meat + veggies

    no soup or sauce necessary. I'm serious.
  • onedayillbamilf
    onedayillbamilf Posts: 662 Member
    I've crock potted chicken before just throwing in the boneless skinless boobies, salt, pepper, spices and water. Cooked it on low all day while I was at work. Came out very tender.
  • rayleansout
    rayleansout Posts: 234
    Go get yourself a cheap toaster oven - you can cook anything in them!
  • FireMama_24
    FireMama_24 Posts: 169 Member
    I had that problem this last summer. I did a lot of salad and A LOT of BBQing
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Can you get something along the lines of a Foreman grill (or one of its competitors)? You can grill your meat, and veggies on that and keep eating very healthy foods.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Go get yourself a cheap toaster oven - you can cook anything in them!

    This is true!
  • beccala18
    beccala18 Posts: 293 Member
    You can steam vegetables with a rice cooker. Mine came with a colander thing that sits on top (but you could just fit a colander on top then put the top on it). Just put some water in the bottom, place the veggies in the colander and turn it on - steamed veggies! You can also put the veggies on while rice is cooking in the bottom. Just wait until the last 10 minutes or so of rice cooking to put them on.
  • AlbertPooHoles
    AlbertPooHoles Posts: 530 Member
    Most of my crock pot recipes contain sauces or are soups (we prefer to not eat a lot of soup) so I’m at a little bit of a loss for what to cook that will keep it healthy, get enough protein, and mix it up so we aren't eating the same meal every day.
    You don't have to add a lot of sauce to whatever you cook in the crockpot. I like cooking chicken breasts with some fat-free Zesty Italian dressing, some cumin and chili powder. Google "Costa Vida Chicken recipe" for details. It's an example of how you can cook up some tasty protein without heavy sauce.
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    This is totally worth a look. 365 days of crock potting. There is bound to be something on here you will like!

    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/01/2008-flashback-entire-year-in-order.html
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    You can pretty much cook any meat in a crockpot. I'm in a similar boat in that I'm stuck with nothing but a toaster oven for another few months.
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    You can make roasts with veggies or a whole chicken (eat as is or shred for BBQ) in the Crock Pot

    I'm definitely going to make a roast! Mmm! And I JUST discovered that you could cook a whole chicken in a crock pot. I'm definitely looking forward to trying it out!
  • hsmithway
    hsmithway Posts: 191
    I've crock potted chicken before just throwing in the boneless skinless boobies, salt, pepper, spices and water. Cooked it on low all day while I was at work. Came out very tender.

    This is generally what I do as well. I find that things come out better in my crock pot if they're covered in liquid, but that doesn't have to mean a sauce. Often I'll use water, balsamic vinegar, and thyme to cook my chicken. You can toss your veggies in, too, or steam/boil them in the microwave, or make salads and eat them raw.
  • AlbertPooHoles
    AlbertPooHoles Posts: 530 Member
    Example of cooking up some meat in the slow cooker without a heavy sauce...
    Costa Vida Chicken

    * 1 (16 oz.) bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (any brand will do, really)
    * 1 Tbsp chili powder
    * 1 Tbsp cumin
    * 3 cloves garlic, minced
    * 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast

    Cook all together in a crock pot on low for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour. (This recipe makes a lot so you can do have or freeze the leftovers for another meal)

    This is my favorite slow cooker recipe. Easy and tasty. Only drawback -- a tad high on the sodium from the Italian dressing.
  • chrislin2011
    chrislin2011 Posts: 168 Member
    I've crock potted chicken before just throwing in the boneless skinless boobies, salt, pepper, spices and water. Cooked it on low all day while I was at work. Came out very tender.

    I do the same thing!
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    You guys have some awesome ideas and it's opening up a whole new world of crock pot cooking for me (I've pretty much only used it for soups, stews, and sauce-based recipes). Looks like we'll be living out of the crock pot! I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes for cooking meat in the crock pot.

    Great ideas, everyone!
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