Instant Pots: A Must Have For Fitness Enthusiasts
Instant Pot is one of the fasting growing ways to cook up healthy meals with minimal hassle.
One of the biggest problems health enthusiasts face is maintaining a healthy diet. You can stick to your fitness regime, but if you don’t follow the correct diet, you’ll struggle to see results.
A lot of kitchen appliances seem to take forever to cook great-tasting healthy ingredients, that was until the instant pot hit the shelves in 2010.
Since they burst onto the scene, millions of home cooks have spent their hard-earned money on these all-in-one cookers. Instant Pots are a fantastic method of cooking healthy meals on many levels.
Experts believe that this method of cooking can help you produce nutritional dishes in a short space of time. As long as you use healthy ingredients, these devices will help you prepare and cook delicious food in a jiffy.
Because it takes such a short time to cook food, it will be able to preserve the food’s vitamins and minerals in comparison to other conventional cooking appliances.
Isn’t it the Same as a Pressure Cooker?
If you have a pressure cooker in your kitchen already, you might be finding it hard to justify spending more money on a device that does the exact same thing.
Yes, Instant Pots are like a digital pressure cooker, but there are several other features that encourage people to buy them, especially those who want to follow a healthy diet plan.
The main problem with pressure cookers is safety. Unlike Instant Pot, pressure cookers have a reputation for being one of the most hazardous kitchen appliances on the market.
They can leak extremely hot pressure now and again, which is a worry for most homeowners, especially those with infants and toddlers roaming around their kitchen. In the past, pressure cookers have exploded, and some have even caught fire while they are on the stove.
Instant pots have several layers of protection that will ensure that you and others around the device stay safe, such as:
Electrical fuse: Instant Pots will monitor the electrical current flowing through the device.
Thermal fuse: This will monitor the temperature of the wiring and other areas within the device.
Pressure Control: There is a sensor built into the device that will monitor the pressure level inside the device. This is an amazing feature that isn’t on standard pressure cookers. It will check to see if the pressure levels inside the device are too high, and if it is, it will be able to turn it down automatically. While the pressure starts to drop, these controls will turn off the heating.
Burn Protection: Another major benefit of having an Instant Pot is that the overheating protection will help you avoid burning your ingredients.
You’ll Have More Time to Focus on Your Exercising Routine
If you work all day, and you spend time with your family in the evening, making free time to exercise is not going to be easy. There are only 24 hours in a day, so we better make the most out of it.
If you exclude the time it takes to prepare your ingredients and the resting time, an Instant Pot can help you save lots of time on cooking. For example, if you were planning on cooking a stew with standard pots and pans, you can expect to have the meal ready in about 6-7 hours.
You can make the same meal in about 40 minutes with an Instant Pot. This is a big game-changer, especially if you want to hit the gym for a couple of hours while your meal is cooking.
If you go to work and after you want to go to the gym, you can set the timer on your instant pot so it starts cooking your ingredients just before you come home. You can arrive at your house with a lovely warm meal waiting for you.
Without planning, you will find it very difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Lots of people trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle often snack on unhealthy foods because they don’t have the time to whip up something that is good for them. You can focus on your exercise routine, without having to worry about your ingredients overcooking or getting burnt.
Once the cooking process is over, it will turn off automatically or it will turn on the heating feature so your food will be kept warm. However, sometimes this setting will gradually cook your food, so you won’t want to keep it on for too long.
Cleaning is another downside to home cooking that can consume a lot of time. The body of an Instant Pot is dishwasher friendly, so you can put it inside the dishwasher after using it. The inner pot is made up of stainless steel, so all you need to do is give it a rinse with some soapy water to clean it.
Lots of Healthy Recipes Online
Even if you struggle to cook complex dishes with conventional cook equipment in the kitchen, you should have no problem producing amazing meals and snacks with your Instant Pot.
The internet is packed with different healthy Instant Pot recipes, so you should be able to find lots of different things that you can cook. Millions of Instant Pot owners have gone onto social media platforms to discuss instant pot tips.
Before the internet, most people invested in cookbooks, but you will easily find websites dedicated to Instant Pot recipes with the click of a button. They are one of the most popular kitchen appliances in today’s market, and it seems like they are becoming even more popular recently.
You might even find yourself bringing your cooking skills to the next level with your trusty Instant Pot because it will help you cook challenging meals.
If you have tried to cook Indian food in the past without an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker, there is a good chance that you failed miserably. Pressure cooking is used several times a day by most Indians, so why not give it a go.
Instant Pot Fitness Recipe
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size:1/6 Calories:355 Sugar:17 Fat:15 Carbohydrates:27 Fiber:3 Protein:26
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
2 teaspoon white rice vinegar
1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
2 large red peppers, diced
4 cups broccoli florets
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 cup raw, whole cashews
INSTRUCTIONS
First, prepare stir fry sauce. In a medium bowl, mix together soy sauce, maple syrup, minced garlic, grated ginger, and white rice vinegar. Set aside.
Next, prepare chicken breast by slicing it into 1-inch chunks.
Turn on the Instant Pot’s sauté feature. Heat 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil.
When olive oil is fragrant, add diced chicken breast and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to brown.
Turn off the sauté feature and add stir fry sauce. Toss.
Cover Instant Pot and turn the valve to seal. Cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. The Instant Pot should take a few minutes to build pressure, but eventually, it will count down from 4 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare vegetables. Dice 2 large red peppers and cut broccoli into bite-sized florets. Set aside.
Next, prepare a slurry. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Set aside.
Once the Instant Pot beeps, quick release to release the steam that has built up.
Remove top and add chopped veggies, the slurry, and raw cashews to the Instant Pot and toss everything together.
Turn on the Instant Pot’s sauté feature and cook for around 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Turn off the sauté feature and immediately cover the Instant Pot for around 5 minutes to let the veggies steam and fully cook.
Remove lid and assess how cooked the veggies are. If they need to continue cooking, put the top back on to continue steaming.
Serve over grains.
Do Instant Pots Destroy Nutrients?
Nobody who focuses on their health wants a device in their kitchen that destroys the nutrients in the ingredients they are using while they are cooking. You will inevitably lose a few ingredients during the cooking process, but an Instant Pot can help you preserve a lot of nutrients compared to other cooking devices.
A recent study showed that broccoli lost less than 50% of its nutrients when cooked with an Instant Pot. During the study, they cooked broccoli in boiling water, which managed to lose almost 70%. When the broccoli was microwaved, it lost approximately 90% of its nutrients.
These findings are a wake-up call for home cooks. A lot of folks would have assumed boiling was the healthiest option, so many were surprised when they saw the benefits of pressure cooking.
Final Thoughts
A lot of kitchen appliances can cost a pretty penny, but a top-of-the-range Instant Pot will cost you a little over $100. If you are working off a tight budget, you should be able to find one for around $80.
They are readily available in most electrical stores, and there are plenty of online marketplaces stocking a wide range of different models. Before buying an instant pot, ask yourself what you are going to use it for. Some have different features and functions, so don't forget to read exactly what it does before you buy one.
