Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Instant Pot: Sous Vide Egg Bites

I'm always curious about recipes that are trending in the InstantPot Community Facebook group.  When we had company in town, I decided to make the sous vide egg bites that are a Starbucks copycat recipe.

I chose this recipe since it's a little healthier than the original.

These little individual souffles are so pretty when they rise!  (I forgot to cover them in foil but they turned out fine...despite my worrying about them until I could take the lid off.)


Everyone agreed that they were delicious!

Instant Pot: Hibachi Fried Rice

This fried rice was delish!  I've already made it twice.  Good news -- it doesn't require an Instant Pot, so anyone can make it.


I used this recipe from PressureLuck.  As you can see from the photo, I made both sauces -- they really add a lot of flavor.

This recipe will continue to be in my rotation.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Instant Pot: Plain Pasta

There are lots of recipes for one-dish pasta meals that you can make in the IP.  But my son's favorite food is plain pasta.

After reviewing a couple of recipes online along with some trial and error I've been successful.

Here's my method:

add 1 box pasta
add water to cover the pasta plus about 1/2"
add about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (to prevent the pasta from foaming)

put on the lid and close the valve

set IP to manual, high pressure, 3 minutes

(it takes my IP about 15 minutes to come to pressure)

when IP beeps, do a quick release and drain the pasta

Easiest pasta ever!

Vegan Chocolate Smoothie

My favorite chocolate smoothie:

1 cup rice milk
1 scoop vegan protein powder (I use Sprouts brand)
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 frozen banana

Blend until smooth.  Add ice if the consistency is too thin.

Vegan Fruit Smoothie

My favorite fruit smoothie:

1 cup pineapple juice
1 scoop vegan protein powder (I use Sprouts brand)
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
fresh spinach (optional)
fresh carrots (optional)

Blend until smooth.  Add water if consistency is too thick.  Add ice if consistency is too thin.


I love my RTIC tumbler for keeping my smoothies cold.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Instant Pot: Lactose-free Yogurt

My Instant Pot is the 7-in-1 model and one of the features is a yogurt maker.

I got excited when I realized I could make lactose-free yogurt!

I purchased the two ingredients -- milk (Fairlife) and yogurt (Fage 2%).


I was prepared to use the boil method, but I learned that since Fairlife is filtered, you don't have to boil it!  (the filtering also means it's lactose free and higher in protein; you can find a list of grocery stores that carry it on Fairlife's website)

I put 52 oz of Fairlife milk in my Instant Pot, added a heaping tablespoon of "starter" (Fage yogurt), and stirred with a plastic whisk.  I put the lid on, hit the yogurt button on the IP and went to bed.  (the yogurt feature does not pressure cook)

Six hours later, I put the IP liner pot in the fridge to cool.  After cooling for a few hours, the yogurt was thinner than I wanted, so I lined a colander with cheesecloth and set it inside a bowl.  I put it in my refrigerator for several hours.  Straining the whey creates Greek yogurt.  (if the whey isn't clear, add more layers of cheesecloth; when it's done you can save the whey to make bread or other things)


Incubating for six hours created a very mild yogurt with no tartness.  The longer you incubate, the more tart the yogurt becomes.  Eight hours is average; some people like to incubate longer.

A few tips I've read:  You can use any kind of Fairlife milk -- I used whole.  You can use any yogurt that doesn't have added flavors or sweeteners (I've read that Fage gives a more mild taste than other brands).  Save a heaping tablespoon of your homemade yogurt to use as your starter next time.

You can sweeten your yogurt naturally with honey, stevia, or pure maple syrup.  There are lots of ideas online for how to top it -- such as fruit compote and lemon curd (both can be made in the IP).

I sweetened mine with stevia, added a few drops of vanilla, and topped it with fresh strawberries.  It tasted like ice cream!


I found this recipe on a post in the Instant Pot Community on Facebook, but you can find similar recipes online, like here.

Update:  I made this recipe a second time.  I used paper towels instead of cheese cloth to strain the yogurt -- much cheaper and easier.  Just be sure to use good quality paper towels.

Green Frog Pops

I really prefer homemade food to processed food, so I love finding easy recipes that replace things I'd usually buy at the store.

This is a popsicle version of a green smoothie -- it packs lots of vitamins.

I started with this recipe from one of my favorite blogs -- super healthy kids.

I adjusted it a bit:

2 ripe bananas
4 cups baby spinach
2 cups frozen peaches (or other frozen fruit)
1-1/2 cups pineapple juice

Just blend it together and pour it into popsicle molds.  This fills 6 large molds (you can drink any leftovers as a smoothie).

My kiddo and I love them!  And they're under 100 calories each.