Can an Instant Pot help you with your diet and lifestyle?

More people these days are taking an interest in their own lifestyles and the food they put into their bodies. In the past gyms were less popular and diets were something you did to lose some weight before going on holiday to fit into that new swimsuit. Nowadays there are more vegans, vegetarians and people reducing their meat intake. There are fad diets but also diets to help with allergies and other ailments like coeliac disease.

In the past it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to have fried bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning, meat with every dish, beer at night and cigarettes all day long. We have become far more aware of the health implications of many aspects of our daily life and we take our calorie intake more seriously now and as a result people are generally living longer and healthier lives.

There are always improvements you can make to your lifestyle though. And these days with our hectic schedule we want these improvements to be time effective and to fit into our routine. There are many kitchen gadgets and appliances on the market that promise a lot but ultimately fail to deliver. The general rule of thumb is if a gadget can only do one thing or has an ingredient in its title then it will be a fail. Egg slicer is one thing that you probably don’t have, don’t need and if you did get one it would be condemned to the back of the kitchen cupboard in no time. 

Can a pressure cooker or Instant Pot help my lifestyle? Firstly you will want to know what they are exactly. 

What is a pressure cooker or Instant Pot?

A pressure cooker is a way to cook food very quickly. To put that in other terms, a pressure cooker is fitted with a tight seal that locks in the steam and heat generated by the cooking process. The pressure is increased to a level where the steam and heat combined cook the food far faster than other standard cooking methods.

The cooker will reduce the cooking time by nearly 70% in some cases and yet leaves the food moist due to the cooking process of using steam. If you were to cook chicken under a grill it would use a higher heat and take longer but would leave the meat drier than the Instant Pot would. 

I am time poor, can an Instant Pot help with that?

Yes, to put it simply. One improvement an Instant Pot can make to your lifestyle is that it will free up time for you. You may be finding it hard to fit in an exercise routine, work or study and eat healthily. It is too easy to dismiss the thought of making a healthy home cooked meal in favour of convenience food or takeaway or even just snacking. The Instant Pot can help you balance your time easier. Choose what you want to cook and find a recipe if necessary. Put the ingredients in the cooker and while it is making your dinner you can be doing yoga or visiting the local swimming pool for laps.

Maybe you found a meal that takes only thirty minutes but you want to be away for an hour? No problem. Just set the start time to begin half an hour after you leave the house. If you are running late the Instant Pot will keep the food warm until you arrive home. You can use the pot as a slow cooker as well and have it making a tasty vegetarian chilli or healthy soup while you are out at work or with friends. By taking a little time to prepare your ingredients and making the most of the features available you can free up time to use for socialising and other activities. 

How can this help my diet?

Firstly you may be thinking that if you are cooking in one pot the options may be limited. There are literally a 1001 recipes out there. Many websites and Youtube videos will show you how to make the most of a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Cooking this way brings a variety of health benefits. You can already see the time savings allowing for exercise time but the cooker itself can help you with your diet too. If you are looking to lose weight or just eat healthier then this may be something to consider. The cooker uses steam as mentioned so there is the reduced fat aspect of cooking this way. You are not frying with an Instant Pot but cooking closer to steaming but in a more economical way. The food you make will retain more nutrients than other cooking methods. The food will also be more easily digested. Tougher cuts of meat will be rendered moist and tender which makes it easier for your body to break down the proteins.

They are useful for making soups and this is an easy way to make a healthy and nutritious meal that gets a lot of vitamins and minerals into your body in an easily digestible form. Low fat and full of fresh vegetables, the perfect easy to make meal for your pot. 

Healthy snacks from your pot

One thing that you may find you miss is treats. Desserts, sweet things and snacks can tug at your willpower when dieting or trying to live healthier. You can make some of these things in a healthy way in an Instant Pot. Boiled peanuts with chilli powder for your savoury needs, quick hard boiled eggs for cheap and convenient protein, yoghurt and healthier versions of cakes and cheesecakes. You have control over the ingredients when you make your own food. 

Safe cooking materials are used in the pot

Something you may not consider is the materials used in your cookware. The Instant Pot uses stainless steel inside which is non-toxic and non-corrosive. It will not leach any harmful chemicals into the food. It won’t react with the food or change the taste of anything you cook in it and it won’t flake off into the food either. Stainless steel is a good conductor of heat allowing for efficient cooking and money saving.

You can see some ways the pot may improve your lifestyle and health but like anything you get out what you put in and some work is required to find recipes and prepare ingredients. You will still need to do some physical exercise and the cooker can’t force you to do that but it can free up some of your precious time.