What to use instead of microwave ?

[Soher]

Never owned a microwave. A lot of people I know irl can’t get their heads around it and don’t believe me when I say I’ve never needed one, I haven’t until now.
I have a baby and I’ve no idea how to warm his food up that I’ve batched cooked.
For example last night I made salmon, sweet potato and kale , extra portions in Tupperware ready for meals this week but how do I reheat?
Do I give it cold? Warm in pan? Can I reheat salmon?

@Itsaloadofbollocksbut did you all eat at the same time? DH used to work quite late so DS would have eaten his tea by time DH got home. So even if DS ate what we ate, some food would need reheating

I dont have a microwave and have kids! Just defrost and then warm in a pan with a bit of extra water/milk so it doesn't dry. Easy! Though probably not as easy as a microwave!

I suppose people are wondering if you’re very young because you don’t know how to warm up food and have never done so?

You can give baby food at room temp, warm it in a pan or look at getting a microwave- a low watt basic one would be around £30 - Argos, big supermarkets- have a look online.

A microwave is really useful for lots of dishes- It definitely saves time and washing up which is a bonus when you’re busy.

However you choose to warm food, ensure it is hot throughout - this will kill any nasty bacteria.

Use a pan and heat it until it's very hot and bubbling, don't heat it in a bowl over hot water, it won't get hot enough. Anything being reheated needs to be piping hot to kill any bacteria, especially for a baby. Then leave to cool until it's the right temperature. But this way you'll need to stir it and it will turn into mush so a microwave is easier for when baby is older and needs a bit of texture.

I didn't have a microwave when my DD was little.
She ate what we ate as PP said, no need to heat anything up that way.
No purees or mush, so much easier!

Of course it does. She wouldn’t be needing to reheat anything if she did that!

I don’t know why being young would correlate with never having warmed up food.
When I lived on my own I cooked food for one. When I met my now DH we cook bigger portions but it all gets eaten.
Does being old mean you have more leftovers?

Thanks to those who have answered, will give the options a try and if it’s not working I’ll invest in a microwave.

No idea why. It was just the easiest option by far for so many reasons. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think it’s odd that you reheat food for your child but cook everything fresh for yourselves, but you could heat anything over hot water. It’s probably less hassle just to cook it fresh though.

@SpanielLover2023 but you have to eat at the same time for no reheating required. Also even if they eat the same food, a shepherds pie etc would last 2 meals so again reheating is required.

The issue with heating such a tiny portion on the Hob is that it will
dry out so quickly. A baby portion won’t even cover the bottom of the saucepan.

Microwaves are really handy for stuff like this when you don’t want to lose the liquid-ness off something. If that makes sense

@TomeTome do you have children?
My baby literally eats 5 or 6 mouthfuls. I think it would be impossible to make a meal with such small quantities. I do make everything fresh for him but he’s not going to eat an entire salmon fillet at his age.

Ha. I live in Scotland and work in London. I’m certainly not cooking from scratch every day. Generally I make something on Saturday/Sunday and reheat it Thurs/Friday for dinner when I’m at home. I eat a lot of omelettes on other days!

I’m talking about what I did 13 years ago to save time and hassle when weaning DD. Which is what the OP was talking about.

A weaning baby eats a tiny amount.
An adult ears a lot more.

Would you realy cook a a spoonful of carrot or sweet potato with a bit of meat and fish fresh each time?

While holding a fractious baby?

Its impractical.

I don’t have a microwave and heat up food that I’ve batch cooked either in the oven or in a pan depending on what it is. For ease as it’s baby food though I would say maybe get a microwave and you can sell it down the line if you don’t want to keep it.

I don’t have a microwave either. I either made fresh. heating in tiny dishes in the oven or on the hob depending on the food.

Just take a couple of spoonfuls from your DH and your plates?

Cancel the cheque

Get a mircrowave

@Itsaloadofbollocksbut but if you don’t eat at the same time