Yesterday, I was looking for something to eat and found in our freezer a frozen Amy's Burrito (unfortunately wrapped in plastic). I checked the instructions: either re-heat in a microwave or wrap in aluminum foil and re-heat in oven.
Heating it up in a microwave oven was not an option. We haven't had a microwave oven for more than 10 years. Ever since my mother passed away of stomach cancer in 1992, I always wondered if the old microwave oven we used to have in the middle of our kitchen caused her cancer. I am convinced it was "leaking" radiation. It was one of the first models available on the market in the '70s. I have also always wondered how the radiation affects the composition of the food, let alone of the container used to heat it up.
Heating it up in aluminum can be perilous. In contact with acidic food, aluminum tends to "melt" or disintegrate which is why you often see little holes on the aluminum foil covering a lasagna. Scary! So this was not an option either.
What I ended up doing was heating up my burrito inside our oval stainless steel sandwich box. It worked
beautifully. Not only was the burrito nicely moist when it was ready, but I only needed to leave it in the toaster oven for 25 minutes instead of 35 minutes which saved a lot of energy. The heat transferred to the container and back to the burrito which is why less time was needed.
I have noticed that the fear of plastic seems to go hand in hand with the fear of microwaves, which is why stainless steel food containers are such a great alternatives. They can be used in toaster ovens while plastic cannot.
I really enjoyed my burrito... it tasted really good and was cooked to perfection!
Chantal Plamondon, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com

Snack time and this one of my favorite burito
Posted by: order tramadol | December 14, 2009 at 04:20 PM
I agree stainless steel food containers are a much better alternative and there is nothing to beat mate finished stainless steel product the only down side that I can see the additional price that stainless steel has compared to other materials. However if you calculate the life time wear and tear on a stainless steel product compared to other materials I am sure stainless steel will come out top in the long run.
Posted by: Stainless steel pipe fittings | April 11, 2010 at 04:11 AM
ooh thanks for this! This is an excellent alternative to using a microwave: one that might even get me to get rid of my microwave altogether and get a bigger toaster oven!
Posted by: Briana | June 16, 2010 at 04:39 PM
I agree with you that plastic and aluminum both, are bad to put food on. Unfortunately, I haven't come to a strong enough decision about microwave ovens to give up mine. I can't say I disagree with you, I just like the very quick results more I guess. However, I figure that when the microwave dies it won't be replaced with another microwave.
Posted by: Toaster Ovens | July 17, 2010 at 06:43 PM
Yes microwaves and plastic don't mix My favorite chemist Elizabeth Grossmann put it like this: "BPA which is a already unsafe highly reactive compound is usually placed in a microwave. Many Americans a unfortunate to own a particle accelerator in their homes (microwave.) Accelerating particles that are already highly reactive is not a good idea."
Posted by: Evan Testa | July 27, 2010 at 06:07 PM
Yes microwaves and plastic don't mix My favorite chemist Elizabeth Grossmann put it like this: "BPA which is a already unsafe highly reactive compound is usually placed in a microwave. Many Americans are unfortunate to own a particle accelerator in their homes (microwave.) Accelerating particles that are already highly reactive is not a good idea."
Posted by: Little Testa | July 27, 2010 at 06:11 PM
I know this is an old post, but I've recently decided to rid my entire kitchen of plastics (as money permits), and my roving about the internet led me here.
I have never owned a poison box (microwave), nor will I. Especially after reading a Japanese book, called Black Rain (translated into English, thank goodness).
Basically it is one girl's diary of about a week, starting from the 6th August 1945 (she died from radiation poisoning). Something she noticed on her travels in the aftermath of that day - the plant life in creeks and surrounding areas started growing exponentially. The term used in the book was 'exploded with growth'. Then I read somewhere that quite a number of people noticed any pot plants that they had on top of their poison box also grew quite well. It was a spot that the plant 'liked'.
You can take from that what you will. But no one could pay me enough to have a poison box in my house.
Posted by: Meemyi | October 25, 2010 at 04:25 AM
The hygiene aspect of stainless steel also makes it a suitable material for use in veterinary equipment where frequent cleaning is a necessity.
Posted by: stainless steel plate | October 27, 2010 at 06:43 AM
I feel guilty eating those Amy's Burrito whenever i can. NICE
Posted by: Industrial Heating Elements | December 22, 2010 at 05:03 PM
Good day! Stainless steel is good as a food container. Aside from it is safe from rust, it is widely use in the market. So don't risk your life using other material for theres a way to be safe. Thank you!
Posted by: compression fittings | March 23, 2011 at 04:33 AM
yes stainless steel is good for containers.Thanks for sharing the information.
Posted by: Sanjesh | April 05, 2011 at 01:28 AM