Instant Pot - Healthy cooking

thekturpin
thekturpin Posts: 5 Member
edited December 23 in Food and Nutrition
Anyone here into using the Instant Pot to cook healthy home made meals? Look for friends here on my fitness pal that can help give me ideas.

Karen

Replies

  • lisawentzel1972
    lisawentzel1972 Posts: 1 Member
    One of our instapot favorites is chicken with green salsa. Literally those two ingredients. You can season the chicken with spices to give it more flavor but it's a super simple healthy meal. Serve with corn tortillas and some pico.
  • MsOpus
    MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
    I love my instant pot. I am still learning how to use it, but I often just cook up a few chicken breasts in it and shred them to keep in the fridge to throw onto salads or into wraps. it does hard boiled eggs perfectly, another thing I just keep in the fridge for snacks and lunch box things.
    I steam veggies in it all the time.
    I take all the lil bits of frozen fruit from the bottoms of the bags and put it in a steamer basket. Add about 4 cups water and pressure cook 5 minutes. take the "juice" that's left when it's done, the strainer keeps the "chunks" out and make ice cubes. Great healthy way to shake up your water! Or if you use a soda stream, you can use the fruit juice for flavoring.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I don't have one but subscribe to allrecipes, who emailed me this recently: 12 Instant Pot Ground Beef Dinners

    I'm sure you can get lots of other ideas from there as well. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/22882/everyday-cooking/instant-pot/

    I always read the comments and look for trends, such as a lot of reviewers saying the same thing, such as "Needs more salt" or "Cooking time is too long" or whatever.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I'm so happy summer weather is going away! I've mostly made beans and lentils over summer with yogurt and potatoes thrown in. I'm ready for soups and chilis! I haven't tried chicken breasts yet but have a few jars of salsa to try salsa chicken. I bought pot-in-pots to try with salmon and vegetables but haven't tried that yet either. My egg bite and steamer accessories aren't being used.
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
    I've had mine only a couple of weeks or so and have only done hb eggs and oatmeal so far. I do belong to a couple of groups on Facebook, one is for healthy instant pot recipes. If you are FB, check them out. Lots of ideas and members are so excited about their instant pots!
  • caprihana
    caprihana Posts: 38 Member
    Have you tried an app called Copy Me That? They have a whole group on there with IP recipes, some of them might need a tweaking a bit to make them healthy but that's not too hard. I Love my IP!
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
    Speaking of apps, Instant Pot does have their own app with a recipe database.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    I love my instant pot! I've had it since 2016. My favorite healthy meals are soups and chilis. I haven't made any recently with the hot weather, so none are in my recipes yet but i'll need to start building those soon so feel free to add me! I'm making my first batch of chili tonight :smiley:

    Chicken breasts are great - I buy a frozen bag from Kroger, put them in with about a cup of water or 2, doesn't really matter, and some seasoning. Cook on manual - high for 12 minutes and then shred. Great for tacos or whatever. Sometimes I just eat the meat with some cheese.

    Some other favorites of mine are beef stew, chicken noodle soup, cream of asparagus, turkey chili, broccoli+rice+chicken, and chicken burrito bowls. I get all of my recipes from Pinterest!
  • kizanne2
    kizanne2 Posts: 123 Member
    I love mine for whole chicken roasted. Freezer to table in about an hour.

    Bone broth. Which I keep in the freezer/fridge for soup base.
  • leonard41704
    leonard41704 Posts: 33 Member
    We use ours all the time. I get the majority of my recipes from the Yummly app and www.365daysofcrockpot.com.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Pretty much any shredded meat you make in the instant pot will be healthy as long as you use a fat seperator. One of my favorite "healthy" dishes is shredded chicken enchilada's. I like to use chicken thighs and just use the fat seperator. You can use chicken breasts, but your not really making it much healthier because after 60 min in the instant pot all the fat is already in the liquids you are going to seperate.

    After the chicken is shredded, i use a meatloaf pan and pour a 1 inch layer of canned red enchilada sauce, then fold the shredded chicken into yellow corn tortilla's or you can use white, i prefer yellow. (tip, steam them before trying to fold as they tend to break when folding) then pour another 1 inch layer overtop the enchilada's and top with shredded cheddar and bake in the oven at 350F for 15 min. Serve and enjoy with or without some sour cream/quacamole/hot sauce.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,800 Member
    we got it as a gift last Christmas & love it. Even my husband uses it, he's only cooked on the grill all these years. I like to try new things. One of them recently was creamy wild rice mushroom soup. It was SO good
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,161 Member
    OK, since I last posted I made chicken salsa, seriously easy and tastes great! Had split pea barley jalapeno soup at the end of last week and 3 bean Turkey chili this weekend. I loosely followed skinnytaste's recipe, I added a lot of vegetables and heat to it but would try her recipes again.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    nytrifisoul wrote: »
    Pretty much any shredded meat you make in the instant pot will be healthy as long as you use a fat seperator. One of my favorite "healthy" dishes is shredded chicken enchilada's. I like to use chicken thighs and just use the fat seperator. You can use chicken breasts, but your not really making it much healthier because after 60 min in the instant pot all the fat is already in the liquids you are going to seperate.

    After the chicken is shredded, i use a meatloaf pan and pour a 1 inch layer of canned red enchilada sauce, then fold the shredded chicken into yellow corn tortilla's or you can use white, i prefer yellow. (tip, steam them before trying to fold as they tend to break when folding) then pour another 1 inch layer overtop the enchilada's and top with shredded cheddar and bake in the oven at 350F for 15 min. Serve and enjoy with or without some sour cream/quacamole/hot sauce.

    Except for when I need fat for making a roux/gravy, I haven't separated fat since the '90s.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »

    Except for when I need fat for making a roux/gravy, I haven't separated fat since the '90s.

    Thats what butter is for. Or Bacon drippings. But even if you insist on using the fat, there is no reason you cant use the fat leftover in the seperator.

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I have a mealthypot. I use it almost daily. It makes great brown rice. My husband cooks ribs, pork loin, beef roast, and veggies in it. We've had a little trouble with dry beans though. The recipes we've found, as well as the machine and quick tips, all severely underestimate cook time. Should we soak the beans first?
  • Hubzilla
    Hubzilla Posts: 27 Member
    We've had our instant pot over a year - I usually cook on the grill where I can get cook it right or overcook it and I'm a helpful husband. The instantpot allows me to cook chicken which usually scares me on the grill because it is usually overcooked and dry or under cooked and pink. Instantpot and 25 minutes and the chicken is good - legs, drums, breasts, or roaster. Woo Hoo! I can cook chicken (and it makes rice and makes dried beans-it's the best!)
  • janeypoosandbob
    janeypoosandbob Posts: 85 Member
    There's a group on here; "Pressure Cooker Recipes And Tips". It has some interesting discussions.
  • roselark36
    roselark36 Posts: 10 Member
    Check out simplyhappyfoodie.com. Her InstantPot recipes are awesome!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I am making beef stew in mine tonight. I also use it for pulled pork and carnitas.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Here are some more recipes from allrecipes: http://dish.allrecipes.com/instant-pot-fall-soups/

    Again, I do not have an Insta Pot and have not tried any of them.

    There are a few keto recipes in there and at least one vegan.
  • KrystalKayeFisher
    KrystalKayeFisher Posts: 32 Member
    I have had mine for over a year. One of my favorite things to do is a whole chicken with fresh chopped garlic, lemon, and rosemary. We also do applesauce, fajitas, various whole chickens, gyros, etc. Pinterest is a treasure trove. I can't wait to get the new all in one machine they recently came out with. Happy cooking 🤓
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    edited October 2019
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I have a mealthypot. I use it almost daily. It makes great brown rice. My husband cooks ribs, pork loin, beef roast, and veggies in it. We've had a little trouble with dry beans though. The recipes we've found, as well as the machine and quick tips, all severely underestimate cook time. Should we soak the beans first?

    I have an Instant Pot and make these black beans from dried, no soaking. Makes perfect beans. The natural pressure release is important as the beans continue to cook.
    Such a money saver, cooking dried beans. I freeze them and use as needed. No extra sodium or cans to deal with. I’ve never been able to cook soft black beans on the stovetop.

    https://detoxinista.com/how-to-cook-black-beans-in-the-instant-pot/
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Sumiblue wrote: »
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I have a mealthypot. I use it almost daily. It makes great brown rice. My husband cooks ribs, pork loin, beef roast, and veggies in it. We've had a little trouble with dry beans though. The recipes we've found, as well as the machine and quick tips, all severely underestimate cook time. Should we soak the beans first?

    I have an Instant Pot and make these black beans from dried, no soaking. Makes perfect beans. The natural pressure release is important as the beans continue to cook.
    Such a money saver, cooking dried beans. I freeze them and use as needed. No extra sodium or cans to deal with. I’ve never been able to cook soft black beans on the stovetop.

    https://detoxinista.com/how-to-cook-black-beans-in-the-instant-pot/

    I've given up cooking anything on an electric stove than needs extensive simmering. 20 minutes for rice is the longest. Everything else I do in a slow cooker. I get perfect black beans overnight, no presoaking required.

    I was planning on pitching gas stoves to my OH when we move but this happened last year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrimack_Valley_gas_explosions and while I'd be willing to take the chance because I recognize how uncommon that was, he is not, as he didn't like the idea of gas to start.
  • Roza42
    Roza42 Posts: 246 Member
    edited October 2019
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I have a mealthypot. I use it almost daily. It makes great brown rice. My husband cooks ribs, pork loin, beef roast, and veggies in it. We've had a little trouble with dry beans though. The recipes we've found, as well as the machine and quick tips, all severely underestimate cook time. Should we soak the beans first?

    I would soak the beans overnight and cook with fresh water because it removes some indigestible sugars. if you tend to flatulence from beans, you definitely should presoak.
  • vaman
    vaman Posts: 253 Member


    I have an Instant Pot and make these black beans from dried, no soaking. Makes perfect beans. The natural pressure release is important as the beans continue to cook.
    Such a money saver, cooking dried beans. I freeze them and use as needed. No extra sodium or cans to deal with. I’ve never been able to cook soft black beans on the stovetop.

    https://detoxinista.com/how-to-cook-black-beans-in-the-instant-pot/[/quote]

    I saw your posting earlier today and just had to try the recipe. It worked just great, perfectly cooked, without being overdone or mushy. Thanks. 🎃

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