Category Archives: instant pot

Dairy Free Keto for Brain Health – Week 1

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Many people are jumping on the Keto diet for weight loss, but most have no idea that this diet is actually designed as a therapy diet for brain conditions. When my husband was diagnosed with seizures from a prior Traumatic Brain Injury, I knew this would be a helpful step in rehabilitation. I’ve opted into doing a dairy free keto since we have one child with dairy intolerance (no longer an anaphylactic allergy, but it instantly flares up his skin and ezcema to unbearable leavels) + we have seen how inflammatory dairy has been in the rest of us especially when it comes to congestion, allergies and pain.IMG_2110

We are already gluten free because of a wheat allergy, but we are making quite a few modifications to take out the dairy AND nuts, which can be two big elements of the keto diet. On top of that, we have one child that also has to avoid soy, avocado, banana and seeded berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry).

These are the recipes I compiled for week one of our Dairy Free Keto Plan. Many of the recipes leftovers make great breakfast by simply adding an egg on top, paired with one of the Keto ‘dessert’ type foods. We do a big breakfast meal here on the farm, generally a light snack for lunch and then an earlier dinner (since I have also been doing intermittent fasting for several months).

{DAY 1}
Breakfast: Nasi Goreng is hands down my new favorite breakfast recipe. I like to make a large batch since it heats up really well as leftovers (saving the eggs on top to cook fresh). I can make one mess to shred it all up and then be done for the week!

Dinner: Sheet Pan Chicken with Sausage and Asparagus I used pork sausage instead of chorizo since we have a good local source for that, but this was a good standard easy dinner to start off a Monday.  3D943CE4-DE4B-4479-B153-58D5035FBE2D 2

{Day 2}
Breakfast: Leftover Nasi Goreng with an egg on top and/or Dairy Free Chocolate Milkshakes (we have some very hungry growing boys around here that quite often eat 2 different breakfast meals by the time it is all said and done. I have had to sub the bananas in our original recipe lately for 1-2 cans of coconut cream since the little can’t do bananas, but this is a great dairy free keto treat.

Dinner: Drunken Chicken Zoodle Casserole. OMG this was SO GOOD! It was a bit more prep than some of the other meals, but totally worth it. I used chicken breast pieces, cut the chili garlic paste in 1/2 (since the kids don’t love super spicy), and used coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce, and it was just right. My husband and I love Thai food and the sauce in this recipe had such good flavor. Everyone raved about this dinner the whole way through. BONUS: This was even more amazing as leftovers!IMG_2108IMG_2111

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Day 3}
Breakfast: Egg Salad I have no idea why I have not yet posted my Deviled Egg Salad recipe, but it’s super simple so I’ll just post it here. This is not keto in it’s original form, but the kids LOVE it, so I made a batch for them and then made some for us without the secret ingredient {brown sugar}. lol

To make this, I soft boil about a dozen eggs in the instant pot (put on the grate, add some water to the bottom and run for 4 minutes). Peel the eggs and mash them up into a bowl with some mayo, spicy brown mustard and just a pinch of brown sugar to taste. I am going to have to make this with measurements soon because I am the world’s worst at measuring. We love to use homemade mayo and I’d say I do several TBSP of that, 1-2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard and maybe 1-2 tsp brown sugar. Mix it all up and it does not last long here. For the kids who are still eating some carbs, they put this on some toast and devour it. We do the non-sugar version and mix in some chopped celery, onion and chopped pieces of leftover bacon into a bowl and….YUM.

Dinner: Keto Beef and Broccoli Bowls  These were yummy and the kids agreed they would like to have them again, but I think I’d tweak the sauce a bit next time to be a little thicker with a little more flavor. I found the broth watered it down a bit too much by the time it soaked in. We served these over cauliflower rice and overall it was VERY yummy and easy.IMG_2107

{Day 4}
Breakfast: Leftover Beef and Broccoli – this made great breakfast leftovers by heating it up and adding an egg on top! For the kids, I made a batch of Pumpkin Pie Pudding on the side and it was delicious!

Dinner: Superfood Baked Salmon Sheet Pan This was a beautiful dish to prepare and serve. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed at the flavors though when it all came out in the end. The wild blueberry balsamic basil topping did not have the punch I was hoping for, so I think I would add in quite a bit more garlic and lemon next time, as well as add some raw chopped bacon around the sprouts (nothing better than sprouts that can soak up the bacon flavor to crisp up while cooking).IMG_2106

{Day 5}
Breakfast: I used the extra sprouts from the night before as the base of this SUPER Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash. This will absolutely be on my morning rotation from here out. While I have used the brussel sprouts with breakfast several times before, adding in the raw bacon and then baking the eggs onto the sheet pan was just perfection!IMG_2114

IMG_2155Dinner: Egg Roll in a Bowl This was interestingly similar to the Nasi Goreng in the preparation – only instead of the broccoli this had a LOT of cabbage and also included ACV which gave it a notably different taste. While I ADORE the flavor the coconut aminos give to many of these meals, I have to change it up so we don’t feel like we are eating the same thing over and over (though essentially we are). HA. Overall though, another huge win – the kids devoured these bowls and it will definitely be staying in the Keto rotation!

gluten free instant pot quinoa breakfast bowl

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This is hands down my new favorite quick and healthy breakfast. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE our instant pot? 

For this breakfast bowl…

STEP 1: start your breakfast meat cooking (optional). We love the Jones Farm Natural Maple Sausage Links and cook up a batch of those while the rest is preparing

STEP 2: make quinoa in your instant pot (if you have the Bluetooth instant pot there is a recipe script on the app). If not, add:

  • 2 cups quinoa (rinse it first)
  • 3 cups water
  • A few shakes of sea salt

Close and lock the lid, select manual and drop it to 1 minute

Let it release naturally after 10 minutes

When pressure releases, fluff with fork and drizzle with rosemary & thyme infused olive oil

STEP 3: We routinely make soft boiled eggs with the instant pot. It is SO easy with perfect results every time!

Insert your rack into the instant pot. Add about 1/2-1 cup water and however many eggs you want to boil

Close and lock lid. Set to 4 minutes on manual. If you like them really soft boiled, cancel it when the cook time is done and manually release the pressure. Otherwise, let it naturally release in 10 min and they are more like medium boiled eggs (no runny yolk).

Once pressure is released, put eggs into cool bowl of water with ice to stop the cooking. The shells are a breeze to peel this way too.

Peel your eggs

STEP 4: prep your veggies. I love adding chopped spinach and/or avocado but you can do whatever you’d like

ASSEMBLY: scoop some of the rosemary & thyme flavored quinoa into a bowl. Add in a few peeled eggs, your sausage, chopped veggies and sprinkle with Parmesan or sharp cheddar (optional). Add in some fresh grated sea salt, lots of freshly grated black pepper and dig in!

 

Instant Pot gluten free pumpkin bread pudding

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This is sooooo good. I had heard of people making pumpkin pie and bread puddings in their instant pot, so I decided to merge the two and see what happened. It was a huge hit!

Disclaimer: this is NOT a super fast cooking recipe

Here’s what I used:

  • 6-8 pieces of Udi’s gluten free cinnamon raisin bread
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1 Tbsp organic cinnamon
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla
  • Dash salt
  • Dash nutmeg
  • 2 drops cassia essential oil
  • 1 can organic pumpkin purée
  • 1 cup of whole milk or 1/2 milk, 1/2 cream
  • 2 cups of water (for steam in instant pot)

Grease the inside of a baking dish that will fit in your instapot (I used a 1 1/2 qt stoneware dish).

Cube bread and fill dish. Drizzle melted butter over the bread cubes (this step can be omitted if you want it a little more cake-like).

In my kitchen aid, I beat 4 eggs with the sugar until mixed, added vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & cassia. Mix well and stir in 1 can pumpkin purée, then pour in milk and mix until blended.

Pour pumpkin mixture over bread cubes and let is sit for a few minutes or tap it down to let it absorb into the bread and let some air bubbles out.
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Cover the dish with foil and make a foil sling to make it safer and easier to lift the pot when it is done. (This is basically just a long strip of foil folded into a 1-2 inch thick ribbon and placed around the pot so you can grab it and lift it out at the end).

Insert the steamer rack and pour in 2 cups of water into the instant pot. Set the dish into the pot and set it on manual for 35  minutes at high pressure.

Let it naturally release for about 5-10 minutes and then manually release the pressure to open the lid. Carefully remove it using the sling pieces (the steamimg_8881.jpeg below is super hot).

Uncover and serve topped with whipping cream or organic yogurt. We used vanilla soy yogurt as a dairy free option (due to allergies we can only have dairy when baked. I used real cream in the recipe but you could sub if needed). The yogurt flavor compliments it best in my opinion.

Excellent for dessert or even a yummy breakfast!

dinner simplified: the instant pot

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 So I’ve heard just about everyone I know raving about this thing, but I have been a skeptic. With our upcoming move, we are making long lists of things (and appliances) we will live without, but our life on the road also comes limited cooking options. We will have a nice little kitchen, but giving up my slow cooker and rice cooker made me cringe. How was slaving over dinners each night and regressing in that convenience going to help us with our goals for simple living and more family time?

The instant pot may be our new best friend. The verdict is still out. It has been a bit intimidating, I’ll admit, but I know if I sit back and let this thing scare me it won’t do us any good. So we jumped in with 2 feet. The first 4 hrs we had it made soft boiled eggs, chicken breast, oatmeal and rice…..and it was all fantastic!

Cons:

1) I’m rather (hugely) disappointed in the app with recipes that comes with this model. There are about 20 things to make and with our diet even fewer options. I am going to start documenting my own and adding my own into the app so that should not be a deal breaker.

2) My biggest hangup so far is the time it takes to come to full pressure and actually start the ‘short cooking time.’ I find the more that is in the pot, the longer it takes to heat, so my 9 minute pot of soup tonight took 30 minutes to get to full pressure. Not super duper speedy, but it was still convenient to dump it all in and let it go.

Pros:

1) the ability to dump it in and walk away is priceless when chasing 3 little boys around.

2) When traveling, the versatility and efficiency of this will be amazing! It’s a slow cooker, rice cooker, pressure cooker and extra burner all in one.

3) throwing in completely frozen meat and ending up with perfect results is nothing short of miraculous. Dinner time always sneaks up on me, and this has saved me from having to plan ahead or sacrifice healthier options.

I will post recipes as we go. Stay tuned! What are your favorite recipes and tips?

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup

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I can’t get enough of real food, clean, allergen free soup and stew recipes. It is such a wonderful healthy comfort food when the weather is cold, but also packs full of immune boosting ingredients to help keep us functioning optimally. To be honest, I don’t remember where this recipe originated since I modified it based on a recipe I found many many years back, but it has become a favorite in our family and gets rave reviews from guests. It’s healthy (spare the cream) and the perfect flavors of fall and winter for a stand alone meal or as an appetizer to any dish.  Enjoy!

  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

(Or substitute spices with doTERRA essential oils – 1 drop coriander, 2 drops cumin, 1 drop oregano, 1 drop fennel, 2 drops black pepper) *most essential oils cannot be ingested so please do not do this with another brand. These have been tested for safety.

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
  • 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large box or jar chicken broth  (or veggie broth if you want it vegetarian) – homemade bone broth is excellent base for all your soups and stews
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/2 cups heavy cream or 1 stick butter (optional)

Cook sweet potatoes (I prefer cooking them in the instant pot), allow to cool enough to peel, remove skins.

In a spice grinder, grind all spices together into a coarse powder. (or just use the oil drops)

Sautee onion and crushed garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is soft.

Combine sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spices, cooked onion/garlic and chicken stock in blender. (may have to divide into batches if making a large quantity)

Once blended, pour mixture into large pot on stove and cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.  Consistency can be adjusted with more/less broth.  (Heavy whipping cream and/or a small amount of sour cream can be added for extra yummy & creamy soup, but not necessary)

Pour heated soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley if desired.