Break Up With Your Oven and Cook With Anyday Instead

Welcome to Skimm Tested, where we put products to the test and then give them a report card. (Check out all of our tried-and-tested faves here.)

The assignment…

To see if I can make dinner faster, thanks to Anyday’s microwavable glass cookware ($135). With these bowls, you can prep, cook, serve, and store all in one container. Too good to be true, or an actual life hack?

Straight A’s in…

• Performance. Long story short, these bowls work. I cooked veggies, chicken, and rice with the Everyday Set, while my coworker, Abby, made pasta and salmon. The bowls utilize steam to cook in the microwave thanks to the silicone-rimmed lid and knob vent.

• Versatility. You really can cook a wide variety of things in these bowls, from meat to oatmeal. Abby and I focused on dinner foods, but a friend of mine also owns this set and uses the medium shallow bowl for breakfast frittatas. With the Everyday Set, you’ll receive a large deep bowl, large shallow bowl, medium dish bowl, and medium shallow bowl. 

• Ease of use. Since you only have to use one bowl, I was able to cut down on meal-prep and clean-up time. You can take the bowl directly from the microwave and set it on your table for serving, but I would place a trivet down for safety. Once you’re done eating, you can place the glass lid back on and pop it in the fridge — no need to transfer the food into a second storage container. Abby particularly loved this part since her kitchen is tinier and she's tighter on space.

• Cook time. Since I was harnessing the power of a microwave (no shame there), food cooked faster than it would on the stove or in the oven. Broccoli and salmon took about four minutes each to make. Heads up — rice will most likely take the longest. Abby noted that hers took about 25 minutes to get fluffy. Pro tip: Cook different foods separately. I found that my veggies crisped better when they were made in a dish alone. One-pot meals are convenient, yes, but since the set provides you with four sizes total, I’d recommend making thing separately.

Room for growth…

• Material and design. The frosted borosilicate glass is fragile, so be careful. When I was removing bowls from the microwave, I used oven mitts. I would love if the bowls had heat-resistant handles since the glass gets hot. Abby also had an accident with one of her bowls — when she was stacking them in her cabinet, one slipped and cracked. So yes, the glass is safe for the microwave, but you have to handle the set with care. 

• Stackability. This is more a note on the lids, since the bottom of the bowls nest into each other nicely. But due to the vent knob, you can’t stack the lids flat on top of each other, which I find kind of annoying.  

• Attention to detail. Cooking with these bowls can feel like trial and error, but I highly suggest looking at your microwave’s wattage output. That information can typically be found on the inside of your microwave’s door. This will help inform you on how long to cook different items for. Recipes on Anyday’s site allow you to tweak for wattage, so that can help along the way. By all means, you can wing it, but Abby and I agreed that everything will go smoother if you become better friends with your microwave.

Plays well with…

• Those cooking for a family who don’t have a lot of time to prepare ingredients (or a lot of time in general). Anyday will get dinner on the table faster. 

• Anyone who is a novice cook and doesn’t want to rely on takeout. You really can cook nutritious meals in the microwave. 

• Someone with minimal kitchen space. If you can’t store a lot of pans, pots, lids, etc., Anyday is a sure bet. 

Gets extra credit for…

• Anyday provides a ton of recipe inspiration and directions. If you’re ever stumped, you can head to the website for ideas.  

• The blog provides tips on how to cook with the bowls in the best way possible.  

How we did our homework…

• Myself and my coworker, Abby, tested the Everyday Set from Anyday for about two months. We cooked, served, and stored leftovers in them. We also ran everything through the dishwasher to make sure quality wasn’t sacrificed. We compared notes, taste tested meals, and paid attention to how much time we saved when using them.

Footnotes…

• The Everyday Set, $135 (available in three colors) 

• Bowls included in the Everyday Set: Large Deep Dish, Large Shallow Dish, Medium Deep Dish, Medium Shallow Dish (also sold individually) 

• Anyday sells cooking accessories, like freezer trays

• Bowls are freezer-safe, microwave-safe, and dishwasher-safe