The Wandering RD

A friend asked me what I thought about my Instant Pot yesterday. The short answer: there’s still time to tell Santa you need one.

What follows is the long answer…with my pros and cons–and of course a few easy, real food recipes for the Instant Pot.

I’m not an early adopter when it comes to newfangled things, or anything really–I have never been a trendsetter. I am much too cautious for that, and in my scientific mind, I don’t need to be a guinea pig! I prefer to wait and see if it works as promised, and then assess if it will add value to my life–which believe it or not, I try to keep simple (just don’t look in my garage)!

And I’m more than okay with the delayed gratification. Come to find out, science (the Stanford marshmallow experiment, for example)  has shown that better things come to those who wait!

So, years after most everyone else, I finally bought my Instant Pot this past July, on Amazon Prime day because it was heavily discounted. I still wasn’t convinced I needed it. I just thought as an RD and a nutrition and food blogger, I should try it out. It is clearly a huge trend, at the very least.

But the biggest reason I waited to get an Instant Pot is because the word “instant” didn’t sit well with  me. Instant oatmeal, instant rice, instant gratification–instant is usually a bad thing, am I right?! Instant foods are convenience foods. And convenience foods are usually more processed. And more processed is usually less beneficial to your health.

Obviously, I knew you could cook easy, real foods in an Instant Pot. But I can’t help but think it’s a bad thing when we (as a culture) expect all things (food or not) to be instantaneous. Not all short cuts are good. There is something beneficial in the “work” we do. But when we bypass the whole process in a blur, many times we miss out on the “journey” (which, as you would expect, is important to “the wandering RD”!)

• If we simply cram with rote memorization for a test, we don’t remember the material later.
• And you may know, I feel similarly about meal planning…if you regularly subscribe to meal plans or order meal delivery kits, you don’t learn sustainable meal planning and prep skills, or learn flexible eating habits since you can’t always eat all your meals at home.

So, given my preconceived notions about the Instant Pot, I am surprised that I have come to embrace my Instant Pot wholeheartedly. But like many nutrition trends, the Instant Pot just has a catchy title. It’s not as “instant” as I thought, which is both good and bad. (Good because real-food meal planning in an Instant Pot still takes forethought. Bad because the cooking process takes longer than it seems from the recipe; the times are misleading– it takes a good 20 minutes to reach the pressure level before the timing begins. But it’s passive time I can be doing something else–so not a big deal.)

But the most important thing about the Instant Pot is that it helps me get an easy, real food meal on the table a few times a week, and that’s gotta count for something. Plus it’s just kind of fun experimenting with it! Here are my pros and cons…

Pros of an Instant Pot:

1. It is great for making easy, real food. There are many recipes out there, but you do have to search a bit to find the ones that include real food and limit processed foods. Each time I am successful, I share my Instant Pot recipes on my recipe page, so please check back often! And scroll down this post for a few links to get you started!
2. The texture of meat that is pressure cooked is phenomenal.  This is what I love the most about the Instant Pot. You can make real-food recipes many ways, but they have to taste good! I am a very picky about slow cooker recipes; I don’t like how meat especially gets stringy and dried out despite being cooked in liquid for 7 to 8 hours. This does not happen when you cook meat in an Instant Pot. Ribs, chicken, pork tenderloin, beef stew, etc. tastes like it was roasted in an oven or over the grill, but in a fraction of the time.  
3. It’s really one-pot cooking. I am also picky about slow cooking because I usually like to saute meat and some veggies (like onions) before slow cooking. In the Instant Pot, I love the saute feature. It allows you to saute, and then all the browned bits contribute to the flavor while minimizing dishwashing. Aaaawesome!
4. I am not a guinea pig, nor am I reinventing the wheel. Someone else has indeed done the work of figuring things out–I am part of the Facebook Group Instant Pot Community and it is nearly 850,000 people strong!!! Searching for recipes has helped me tremendously adapt my own recipes for the Instant Pot. And I know if I were to ask a question, hundreds of people would respond within minutes. It is such a wonderful resource.
5. I have had only one epic fail–and let’s just say, it was operator error (owning it!) I forgot to add water to my whole chicken and when the beep summoned me, the chicken was still raw. I knew I had to add the water to achieve pressure, but I had simply forgotten that step. Won’t do that again!

Cons of an Instant Pot:

1. An Instant Pot may not free up your pre-dinner hour(s). Each of my 3 kids comes home at a different time in the afternoon. Then we spend most afternoons doing the “activity carpool shuffle” and usually arrive home in time to eat a fashionably late dinner. A slow cooker allows you to prep your meal in the AM and it is ready at dinner with little to do just before you eat. An Instant Pot, because it takes much less time, may require operation an hour or so before eating.  But with most one-pot recipes, I have learned a “work around” to this is starting my meal in the early afternoon and allowing it to hold on “warm” until we eat it, which has worked thus far with all my attempts. (And allows for an AM run to the grocery store if I don’t know what we’re having that day! Sometimes I wing it…keeping it real!) But anyone who doesn’t work from home would not have this luxury. Of course, in that case you could also meal prep a few meals in one day with the Instant Pot and solve this problem with another “work around.”
2. It takes up space. As yet another large kitchen appliance to store (it’s an occupational hazard for me), it is taking up space–honestly, in the corner of my kitchen. I haven’t found it a concealed home yet 1) because it’s big and 2) I have a lot of other kitchen equipment and 3) because I use it frequently (but that’s kind of a pro, now, isn’t it?) Notice I didn’t say my kitchen was too small for once…military spouses can relate to that one, but my current rental home actually has adequate storage! I just have too much kitchen stuff, if I’m honest…
3. They’re pricey. Although there are many sales lately, and they are already making them bigger and better (gotta love America!)

So, that’s my honest opinion, in case you are in the market for an Instant Pot! I am not paid by nor have I received free products from Instant Pot. I am simply a fan!

Here are a few of my easy, real food recipes to get you started!

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Chicken Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Instant Pot Country-Style Ribs

Instant Pot Pulled Pork Tenderloin