Making food is not my favourite thing to do, I definitely see it as more of a chore than anything else. I battle to find the inspiration to create healthy meals and snacks and it just seems to take up a lot of time. When LG sent me their brand new NeoChef mircrowave I was definitely keen to see how it would perform and if it would make my life any easier. So today I’m going to share 3 easy toddler meals that took little to no effort to make, because that is the only kind of cooking I’m interested in!
Let’s quickly chat about the new LG NeoChef microwave though, because it really is something completely new and innovative, it’s like a microwave-convection oven-oven hybrid. It’s quite a large applience so bear in mind that it will take up more counter space than your current microwave probably does, but it’s for a good reason, you can fit so much more food in it which is fab if you have a large family or if you want to cook an entire meal at once. It has a super sleek, modern design with a tempered glass door and ergonomically designed handle. The entire NeoChef microwave is operated by touch control buttons that, like the rest of the applience are super minimalist in design. One of my pet peeves is a dirty microwave and so it’s no suprise that the Anti-Bacterial EasyClean coating is one of my favourite features; this special coating makes it that much more difficult for nasties to make a home in your NeoChef, huge sigh of relief!
The capabilities of the LG NeoChef are pretty incredible; it can operate like a normal microwave would, it can bake, grill, cook like an oven, defrost and even make yogurt. Basically the NeoChef is the Roles Royce of microwaves. Because the NeoChef uses LG’s Smart Inverter technology , cooking and defrosting is done equally at between 300 – 1200 watts, so no more half thawed, half cooked chicken (am I the only one that that happens to?). This method of cooking also makes sure that more flavour and nutrients are sealed into the food so you know that your meal still packs a punch. If you’d like to learn even more about this incredible appliance, you can visit the LG website.
We’ve had our LG NeoChef for just over a week now and I must say, it’s been super helpful! On nights when I want to make a full on roast, instead of trying to squeeze everything into our oven, I make the roast veggies in the NeoChef, what a pleasure. Also, it’s been a big help when I have totally blanked on what to make Aria for lunch, I just throw some frozen chicken nuggets in and they are defrosted and cooked to perfection within 20 minutes. Even something as simple as warming up my coffee (#momlife) only takes a speedy 30 seconds now compared to the 1 minute that it used to take in our previous microwave. It’s all the little things that you never really thought about like these that make such a big difference.
Right, lets get onto the good stuff… the food! I chose to make these specific recipes so that you can see just how versatile the LG NeoChef microwave is so lets get straight into it.
Baking: 3 ingredient biscuits
I’ll admit that I’m pretty good at baking, but I hate waiting for the oven to warm up and everything gets so messy so cupcakes and biscuits are few and far between in our home. I decided to give this 3 ingredient biscuit recipe a go to not only see how well the NeoChef could bake, but also because I figured that it would be a lot less messy.
These turned out so well and literally took me 10 minutes in total to prepare and bake, what a pleasure!
Mash together one banana (the riper the banana is, the sweeter the biscuit will be), half a cup of oats and a sprinkle of cranberries.
Spray and cook a microwave safe plate and then spoon dollops of the dough onto the plate. Just make sure they are in the shape that you want as they do not expand or change shape while cooking.
Select the 700 watt option on the NeoChef menu and then set it for 5 minutes.
Once it’s done, let the cookies cool and then enjoy!
Grilling: Toasted cheese roll ups
I suppose this isn’t a ground breaking meal but let me tell you, its a helluva lot easier to do these in the LG NeoChef than it is to haul out the snackwich maker, put them under the grill in the oven, or cook in a pan. A good grilled cheese is the perfect solution when you have a hangry toddler stamping their feet.
Cut the crusts off a slice of bread and then use a rolling pin to flatten it out.
Spread a very thin layer of butter on the one side and on the other lay some slices of cheese.
Roll the slice of bread up fairly tightly. I secured mine with a toothpick or two, just while it was cooking.
Put your roll up on a microwave safe plate, on the LG NeoChef rack and put it into the microwave.
Set your LG NeoChef to grill and put it on for 3 minutes. Once the time is up and you are happy with how it looks, turn the roll up over and grill for a further minute.
Remove the toothpick, cut into thirds and tuck in!
Broil: Stuffed zucchini
This recipe is from the LG NeoChef manual along with some other really great recipes, making the manual a bit more rewarding to read through, haha! I didn’t make the full portion as I only wanted a snack for Aria (and okay, myself too) so I just stopped the microwave after a quarter of the time had passed.
Half 4 large or 6 medium zucchinis lengthways and hollow out the seeds.
Stuff the one half with mince and then replace the top. You could use soy, chicken or beef mince, whichever you prefer.
Drizzle with olive oil and add some salt and pepper if you’d like to.
Pop onto a microwave safe plate, select the correct mode from the “popular dishes” menu and press start.
I chose to sprinkle a little bit of cheese on top of mine and let it cook like that for the last minute.
I really thought that I would find the LG NeoChef quite difficult to get the hang of after using my run of the mill one for so long but once you get the hang of it, it really is simple. I love that it’s so easy to clean and that it has so many different uses. If you’re looking to add a versatile, chic appliance to your kitchen, this should be it!
*This post has been sponsored by LG
These all look delicious! x