I use this method to make Instant Pot hard boiled eggs every single time. I can make enough hard boiled eggs to fill all of my meal prep needs and have some for a healthy snack for the family to snack on! 

When you need to make some hard boiled eggs in a hurry this is the best way to make them. There’s no muss, no fuss, no waiting for water to boil, they’re done in just 5 quick minutes. Get ready to enjoy the perfect hard-boiled eggs made perfect in the Instant Pot! 

This is just another one of the many ways that the Instant Pot makes things so much quicker and easier. Everything from Instant Pot Meal Prep, to less hands on cooking time in the kitchen. The Instant Pot makes cooking a breeze.  

If you haven’t purchased one, click here to see which Instant Pot is right for you! You’ll see all of the features, accessories, uses, and more.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have a range of readers who use our recipes. Some are beginners in the kitchen, while others are pros. With this in mind, we are dedicated to providing detailed instructions, recipe tips, nutrition information, healthy eating plan information, and more! 

If you are feeling confident and ready to start, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page to find our easy to print Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs recipe. 

Ingredients in Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

• Eggs: Large eggs, medium eggs, whatever you have on hand. Just be sure to use fresh eggs, not old eggs. The age of the egg has a lot to do with how your hard-boiled eggs will turn out! 
• Water: Water is key for all forms of pressure cooking. The water at the bottom of the rack will boil and create the pressure to cook the eggs. 

How to Make Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

1. Place metal rack or egg trivet inside the Instant Pot.
2. Places eggs on top of the metal rack.
3. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of your Instant Pot if using a 6-quart IP. If using an 8-quart IP, increase the water to a 1 1/2 cups.  
4. Close, and place the lid on the instant pot making sure the steam valve is sealed. 
5. Set the manual/high pressure/pressure cook setting for 5 minutes.
6. Use the natural release for 5 minutes, then quick pressure release the rest of the remaining pressure.
7. Transfer the eggs to an ice cold water bath.
8. Peel and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• Cooking eggs in the Instant Pot make the best hard boiled eggs. 
• I’ve boiled as few as 5 and as many as 18 eggs at one time in my Instant Pot with no time change, there is no specific amount that is required or necessary for the hard boil eggs to turn out perfectly. 
• Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs High Altitude: Elevation affects the cook time because the Instant Pot needs more time to cook in higher elevation. If you live at high altitude, you might have to add a minute or two to your cook time. Our high-altitude guide can help you nail down the perfect amount of time necessary for cooking your eggs. 
• Egg age is also important, I find the fresher the eggs the more likely i’ll end up with perfect hard boiled eggs. 
• If you prefer soft-boiled eggs, cook for 4 minutes and manually quick release immediately after the cooking process.
• The ice bath is key and important to have as much ice as possible. It stops the cooking process and helps you avoid getting the green rings that appear on eggs if you overcook the eggs. The green rings aren’t harmful, just ugly. 
• If you have any eggs remaining, store any peeled eggs in an airtight container. Unpeeled eggs will remain fresh for up to five days in the refrigerator. 
• You might modify the amount of time the eggs cook in the instant pot. Give it a few times and be gracious with your learning curve–you’ll find the perfect amount of time that will yield your favorite type of boiled egg and consistency of the egg yolks.

Healthy Eating Plans

Weight Watchers

Serving size: 1 egg

0 Points on the 2023 Plan | 0 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 0 Purple Plan Points

21 Day Fix / Portion Fix

Our 21 Day Fix Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs are easy to track. Count one red container for every 2 eggs you eat! 

Other Delicious Egg Recipes

• Healthy Egg Salad (without peeling eggs!)
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Potato Salad
• Tuna Macaroni Salad
• Healthy Starbucks Egg Whites Bites

Print

Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

You might not think that hard boiled eggs are a pain to make…unless you’ve been there, struggling to peel them, only to realize that they are either over or under boiled.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword hard boiled eggs, instant pot

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 7 minutes minutes

Servings 3 person

Calories 126kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Instant Pot Trivet
• Sealing Rings

Ingredients

• 6 Eggs
• 1 Cup Water (for 6 qt Instant Pot)

Instructions

• Place metal rack or trivet inside the Instant Pot.
• Places eggs on the metal rack. 6 Eggs
• Add 1 Cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot. 1 Cup Water
• Use the manual setting for 5 minutes.
• Allow the pressure/steam to release naturally for 5 minutes, then release steam manually.
• Place hard boiled eggs in cold water.
• Peel and enjoy

Video

Notes

Our 21 Day Fix Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs are easy to track. Count one red container for every 2 eggs you eat! 

Weight Watchers 1 Egg: 0 Points on the 2023 Plan| 0 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 0 Purple Plan Points

Nutrition

Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 327mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 121mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

To be clear, these aren’t all no cook meals–some of the recipes have to be made and then can be served cold. These 21 Day Fix recipes will help you put healthy meals on the table with less stress.

21 Day Fix Meal Prepping vs Meal Planning

These cold meals are perfect for those on the 21-Day Fix meal plan because you’ll be prepared. I’ll let you in on a secret…being prepared is the #1 thing that will help you stay successful on the Fix. Most FIXers fall “off the wagon” because they don’t plan their daily meals. You don’t have to meal prep on the Fix, but you do have to meal plan. I hope these cold lunch ideas help.

Think of planning like budgeting your food. If you have a clear goal in mind and you write down how you’ll stick to it, it will be far less likely that come late afternoon you’ll be grabbing for a bag of chips and a soda. You’ll have healthy snacks prepped and written down, and you’ll stick to your (food) budget. All of this will result in the weight loss you’re looking for, all while practicing healthy eating.

What if meal planning was the hardest thing you had to do this weekend? Try it! I’d love to hear what you think of planning out and budgeting your meals for the week. Usually, my readers say things like “Whoa! I felt so successful when everything was laid out like that for me. It was one less decision I had to make at meal time, and I rocked it this week.”

21 Day Fix Cold Meal Ideas

All of these suggestions are easy recipes. I hope they give you plenty of inspiration to start using your portion control containers and work on your healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Gazpacho Soup is one of the easiest cold meal recipes out there. This soup is traditionally served cold, and benefits from a few hours of refrigeration before eating. This recipe is 1 1/2 green containers per serving!

Healthy Crack Chicken Pasta Salad is a family favorite in my house. This is a recipe that you’ll be cooking and can eat cold all week.

Instant Pot Cauliflower Salad is a great substitute for cold potato salad! You’ll be cooking the cauliflower and hard boiling the eggs, then making and refrigerating the salad. This salad pairs well with cold cuts, veggies, and more for a quick lunch on the go. 

Rotisserie Chicken is one of our favorite meals to prep that is just as delicious cold. As a bonus, you can also get creative and use it in other recipes like Buffalo Chicken Dip and Chicken Salad. Homemade rotisserie chicken is super easy to make and healthier than the ones you find at the grocery store.

Buffalo Chicken Dip is a protein packed dip that’s a great choice for a cold lunch. I love making a bento-box style lunch with this, full of finger foods like carrots, sliced red pepper, celery sticks, whole grain crackers, and even hard boiled eggs. All can remain in a cooler until you’re ready to eat!

Healthy Chicken Salad is a huge hit in the summer with the whole family! I try to have this in the fridge all summer. You can use chicken breast that you cook or even leftover rotisserie chicken to make this cold meal. I’ve even cut open an avocado and piled the chicken salad on top for a healthy avocado chicken salad!

Healthy Egg Salad You can put this on toast, bread, veggies, crackers, or eat it by itself. I love that this can be made ahead of time and paired with just about anything to make a healthy meal option for hot summer days.

Meal Prep Mason Jar Salads Using a mason jar for your salads keeps keeps them fresh and delicious and makes cold meals on the go easier than ever. 

Veggie Spring Rolls This is my favorite cold meal idea! If I’m running short on time or can’t keep the spring rolls properly wrapped I turn this into a salad. Ditch the spring roll wrappers and load up on lettuce. Add brown rice if you don’t have ramen handy. The easy peanut sauce makes for a great dressing.

Summer Confetti Salad Also called Cowboy Caviar, this hearty vegetarian recipe is full of flavor and color! Black beans, bell peppers, and corn are the main ingredients here and this recipe pairs well with whole wheat crackers.

Black Bean and Corn Salad with Mango Similar to the Confetti Salad… but different. Perfectly different. Kind of like a mango salsa with extra crunch and extra protein.

Chia Pudding It’s not just for breakfast! I love making chia pudding with whatever I have in the house–sweet or savory, and it only takes a few ingredients for the base recipe! I struggle getting enough protein so I add greek yogurt to get a red container in, and if I have the stuff in my pantry this Pumpkin Chia Pudding is my go-to. Top with fresh fruits to get that purple container in.

Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it’s awesome when all I have to do it is prep several of these early in the week in order to have a grab and go delicious meal all week long. I have a few more great flavors here: Chocolate Protein | Chocolate Peanut Butter | Chocolate Coconut

Healthy Egg Bites I’ve had so many people tell me that they prefer these cold! If you prefer egg whites, these Egg White Bites might be just your style.

Healthy Crack Chicken is one of the easiest meals I can recommend. I love using it for a variety of 21 Day Fix lunch recipes: put it in a sandwich, on top of a salad, or even inside of mini bell peppers.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad I love making a batch of roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes early in the week and using them as salads, sides, and snacks. This is a delicious salad, and it’s easy to swap the goat cheese for feta cheese if you prefer that.

The post 21 Day Fix Cold Meal Ideas | No Cook Meals appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

I prefer making a whole chicken at home vs buying a rotisserie chicken from the store. I am always more inclined to enjoy a recipe that I make at home because I know exactly what is in my food.

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we write recipes that anyone can use. It doesn’t matter if this is the first time you’ve cooked in your kitchen or if you’ve been cooking for years, this is an easy recipe that you can follow.

If you need more detailed instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan information go ahead and start by reading the post below. If you feel comfortable following straight and to the point instructions, scroll straight down to the printable recipe for this Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe.

Ingredients needed

• Whole Chicken
• Olive Oil
• Seasoning Vegetables: I love using celery, carrots, onions, and root vegetables like sweet potatoes
• Chicken broth or water
• Salt and Pepper
• Optional ingredients: Fresh rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, or your other favorite fresh herbs and seasonings.

How to make this Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

You won’t believe how easy it is to make this tender chicken for meal prep. It’s as easy as adding everything to the slow cooker and walking away.

1. Place all of your chopped vegetables on the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Add broth on top of the vegetables. Adding extra liquid makes for a great (and easy) homemade chicken broth.
3. Place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables and chicken stock, breast side up.
4. Spread oil or butter over the chicken, then add salt and pepper on top to season the meat. If you’ve made a dry rub for the chicken, spread that spice mixture on now.
5. Place the lid on your Crockpot and start to cooking! Cook for 4-6 hours on low, or 2-3 hours on high. Cooking this chicken on low will make for a more tender and juicy chicken, and make the chicken easier to shred.

Recipe tips

• The cooking time is dependent on how large your chicken is and what temperature you’re cooking at. Larger chickens will require more cooking time. I used a 3 1/2 pound chicken and it was cooked after 5 1/2 hours on low.
• If you’d rather have your chicken sooner, cook on high temperature. If you’re content to wait all day, cook on low.
• Want crispy skin? If using a traditional slow cooker, you’ll want to pull the entire chicken out of the crockpot as soon as the internal temperature reaches 165º, and put it on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Place the chicken in the oven on the low broil setting for 3-7 minutes, standing at the oven door to make sure it doesn’t get burned.
• If you’d like other seasoning ideas for whole chicken, you can see more here:
  • Lemon & Parsley: This method uses fresh ingredients stuffed inside of the cavity of the chicken
  • Lemon & Garlic: This method uses fresh and dried seasonings.

How do I use my cooked Crockpot chicken in recipes?

You can use this cooked chicken in almost any recipe that calls for boneless skinless chicken breast, it’s just a matter of changing the cooking times. I use my best guess when substituting cooked chicken. Since the chicken is already cooked you don’t need to worry about raw chicken or bacteria being a concern.

In the case of recipes that have noodles or brown rice, follow the cooking times for those ingredients as your main focus. Again, we don’t have to worry about undercooking the chicken so you can basically take it out of the cooking equation altogether and just focus on the other ingredients like the vegetables, pasta, or rice, then add the cooked chicken at the end of the recipe.

Crockpot Chicken Meal Prep Recipes

Making Crockpot chicken is a great way to get ahead for a variety of meals for the week! These are some of my favorite chicken recipes that utilize this slow cooker shredded chicken.

• Chicken Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Crack Chicken
• Dill Pickle Chicken Salad and Dip

Healthy Eating Plans

Crockpot chicken is a great recipe for both Weight Watchers and the 21 Day Fix. It’s a quick and healthy recipe that you can use for just about any healthy lifestyle program or meal plan. Having a low fat protein prepped and ready makes my life so much easier.

21 Day Fix/Portion Fix

Each 3/4 cup serving is equal to 1 Red container. You can use this measurement to create your own recipes for 21 Day Fix and the Ultimate Portion Fix.

Weight Watchers

The recipes calls for chicken stock. I recommend using fat free chicken stock for WW. Calculate yourself using your exact ingredients to be sure you are getting accurate points.

I calculated these points with breast meat only. If you make 6 servings of white meat with skin removed and vegetables as a side, your counts are 0 Points on the 2023 Plan | 3 Blue Plan Points | 5 Green Plan Points | 1 Purple Point.

Print

Crockpot Chicken for Meal Prep

This Crockpot Whole Chicken recipe is one of my favorite "set it and forget it" recipes. Use the chicken for meal prep, soup, or any other recipe you'd like! Cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot is so easy.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Crockpot Chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 277kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Crockpot
• Ninja Foodi
• Instant Pot 6 qt

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes chopped
• 2 onions yellow, chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth (Use less if you don’t want any stock, 1/4 Cup will do)
• 1 whole chicken
• 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place all chopped vegetables on the bottom of the Crockpot.  2 sweet potatoes, 2 onions, 3 carrots , 2 stalks celery
• Add broth, remember you don't need to add much if you're not making chicken stock to use for vegetable soup with the cooked veggies.  1 cup chicken broth
• Place chicken overtop of the vegetables and chicken stock. 1 whole chicken
• Spread oil or butter all over the chicken, then add salt and pepper on top to season. 2 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper
• Place lid on the Crockpot and cook for 4-6 hours on low. 

Notes

21 Day Fix: 3/4 Cup is 1 Red 

Weight Watchers: I calculated these points with breast meat only. If you make 6 servings of white meat with skin removed and vegetables as a side, your counts are 0 Points on the 2023 Plan | 3 Blue Plan Points | 5 Green Plan Points | 1 Purple Point.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 396mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1145IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 0.5mg

The post Crockpot Whole Chicken Recipe – Perfect for Meal Prep! appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

I’ve been busy this year writing a book! Meal Prep in an Instant (Pot) is the first and last book for meal prep Instant Pot recipes that you’ll need. In it, you’ll find:

• 56 Instant Pot recipes–healthy ones that use no artificial sweeteners or highly processed ingredients–clean eating at its best, friends.
• 7 weekly meal plans that include four primary recipes as well as for alternate recipes (including dessert!). This makes for an easy meal prep day!
• Each weekly meal plan includes grocery lists, supply lists, and detailed prep plans–I walk you through exactly what to do on prep day, from the first thing you put in the pot to the last item you add to a prep container.
• A wide variety of recipes including lean beef, chicken breast and thighs, turkey, pork, and vegetarian options. Most are dairy and gluten free or can easily be made dairy or gluten free.

Instant Pot Meal Prep, Made Easy

What makes this book different than other meal prep cookbooks is that there are informative chapters about cooking with your Instant Pot as well as explaining what meal prep is and how to find the level of meal prep that works right for you and your home.

In addition to the 56 breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes you’ll find inside the book, there are specific sections for meal prep as well as using an Instant Pot. These sections will be beneficial to you if you’re new to your Instant Pot and meal prep or if you’re someone who has been doing this for a while.

Some of my favorite recipes in the book are:

• Breakfast Sweet Potatoes (sweet and savory options!)
• Apple Oat Crumble
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Vegetarian Chili

Special Diet Information

If you’ve been here before you know that I give 21 Day Fix container counts as well as Weight Watchers points for all of my recipes. While these counts aren’t in the book, I’ve created a document where you can download them for all of the recipes in the book.

You’ll find WW points for myWW Purple, Blue, and Green plans (there are no freestyle points, as that is an outdated plan) in the document. This book is perfect for Weight Watchers Instant Pot meal prep!

Get to know your Instant Pot

In Meal Prep in an Instant, I’ve given you several ways to prepare recipes in your pot:

• using a few accessories (like this cake pan and these egg bite molds)
• Pressure cooking right in the pot
• using the pot as a one pot saute pan
• cooking an entire meal in the pot–main dish and side dishes!

Can I use this book if I don’t have an Instant Pot?

You can use this book with any electric pressure cooker–it doesn’t have to be the Instant Pot brand. If you don’t have an electric pressure cooker, unfortunately, this book will not work for you.

The post Meal Prep in an Instant | 56 Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Whether you’re making meals for yourself or the entire family, prepping beforehand can save you time, save you money, meet your health goals, and reduce your stress in the kitchen.

Why should I meal prep?

I love prepping snacks and lunches for the week because these are the things I struggle with if you’re not within reach for me. If I don’t have healthy snacks ready to eat, I end up grabbing a handful of chips. If I don’t have lunch prepped, I skip it or typically grab something unhealthy because I’m in a hurry.

When it comes to breakfast and dinner, I enjoy cooking them every morning and night. Because of this, I don’t typically prep my breakfasts and dinners ahead of time.

The thing is…if you don’t want to meal prep, you shouldn’t. If you enjoy cooking three meals a day for your family, and the thought of preparing meals for the week stresses you out, maybe meal prep isn’t for you?

If you are eating portioned meals on the Fix, you might want to check out these free 21 Day Fix meal plans that are already made for your specific calorie needs.

Meal Prep Tips and Tricks:

While you probably don’t need to add to your kitchen before prepping, some of the things I love most for prepping can be found in my Amazon store. From food storage, small kitchen appliances, and time saving utensils, I’ve created a beautiful and helpful store for you.

First, Make a List

The first thing you should do is make a list–it will help you stay organized. 

The list will be made up of meal prep recipes and ingredients you will need to make your meal. Check the list against what you already have in your kitchen before heading to the grocery store!

Did you know that I’ve pulled together an entire section of My Crazy Good Life that has easy meal prep recipes? These healthier foods and recipes keep well in the fridge or freezer and can be easily frozen and reheated in case you make too much or your plans change halfway through the week.

Recipes specific to meal prepping are important because they’re hearty and keep well in the fridge. I love using sweet potatoes, hearty vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, and pasta dishes for meal prep ideas.

Another amazing feature that has recently been added to this website is the ability to make a grocery list from any recipe or recipes that you choose!

How to make a grocery list on My Crazy Good Life:

Now, Prep the Foods

There are two main ways to meal prep–you can prepare the ingredients to cook later, or you can dive right in and cook all of your meals right now.

If you’re wanting to prepare the ingredients to cook later, follow the next few steps:

1. Once you have all the ingredients you need, prepare (or prep) every last item. Clean and cut meats, clean and dry fruits and veggies before storing them in your fridge, prepare your seasonings, and place everything in containers so they are easy to grab when you need them for a meal.
2. When veggies, meat, and other ingredients are already chopped, mixed, and cleaned, it is much easier to throw together a meal that is healthy and cost effective!

Next, Start Meal Prepping by Batch Cooking

If you’re wanting to cook all of your meals right now, follow the next few steps:

1. It takes just a few minutes to make a plan for your batch cooking session. Write down the order that you’ll cook your meals in–this is so very helpful and can help you stay on track so this prep session doesn’t take all day long.
2. I always start by cooking the recipe that requires the least amount of prep. While that recipe is cooking, prepare the ingredients for the next recipe.
3. Keep in this cycle–while one recipe is cooking, prep the next one. If you have extra time, cut veggies for snacks, portion out nuts and other snacks, or clean up your kitchen.
4. As meals finish cooking, you can place them in individual meal prep containers, place the entire meal into a large meal prep container, or stick the meals right in the freezer for use later in the week.

Looking for Smoothie Prep?

If you plan on making a smoothie, there is a trick to stop from making too much! Fill your blender with all of the the ingredients you need except for the liquid and protein powder. Once you have your smoothie ready, dump the ingredients into a zipper bag so that one bag equals one smoothie.

Place the bags in the freezer to keep them fresh. When you’re ready to make a smoothie, take the bag out and let it defrost a bit, then throw everything but the bag into the blender. Add your protein powder and liquid, and blend!

How about salad in a jar?

If you’re going to prep salads for the week, you’ll definitely want to prep them individually (instead of one huge salad that you pull a little from every day).

The best way to prep a salad ahead of time is to separate each portion into glass jars–mason jars are perfect. Each jar is one serving of a salad, and the glass jar will keep it as fresh as possible.

Put your salad into the jar with all wet ingredients and sturdy veggies on the bottom and the lettuce on top! Add a folded paper towel to the top before putting the lid on–this will help soak up the moisture and allow your prepped salads to keep longer. Here’s my Mason Jar salad recipe to get you started!

Looking for more help? You might enjoy my beginner series for meal planning and prepping: 

• 1 of 4: Getting Started
• 2 of 4: Lunches and Snacks
• 3 of 4: Breakfast, lunch, and snacks
• 4 of 4: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the idea of meal prepping, you should check out this post from my friend Randa about the 5 most common meal prep mistakes–it can help you! 

The best meal prep recipes: Save

Like I mentioned above, the best meal prep recipes are ones that are hearty, keep in the fridge all week, and can be easily frozen and reheated in case your plans change or you make too much.

• Amish Baked Oatmeal
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Homemade Hamburger Helper
• Spaghetti Squash Taco Bowls
• Brown Rice Risotto
• Instant Pot Turkey Breast

The post How to Meal Prep: Tips for Beginners appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

• Level 1: Snacks
• Level 2: Snacks and Lunches
• Level 4: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Snacks

In level 3, we’ll build off of what we have already prepped and add Breakfast. Plan on this taking 2-3 hours when using an Instant Pot to help.

This step is where meal planning and prepping can become overwhelming–it’s a lot of time in the kitchen.

There are tricks to help combat this, like not cooking everything all at once. Combining the spices and other ingredients and then setting them aside to cook later can really help ease the long prep day.

What meal prep tools do I need?

The rights tools can not only save time, but make meal prep easier. Here’s the list of my kitchen essentials:

• Instant Pot 
• Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
• Cuisinart Food Processor
• Vitamix Blender 
• Fruit and Veggie Containers
• Rubbermaid Containers 
• Snack bags for nuts 
• Silicone Egg Bite Molds

While I love to meal prep with the Instant Pot (it’s a staple in my kitchen), you can do all of this without a pressure cooker. Most of my recipes have stovetop, oven, crockpot, and Instant Pot instructions. Use what you’re comfortable with!  

Let’s begin with some FAQs:

Let’s plan breakfast, lunch, and snacks

As always, start your plan session by reflecting on the prior week and evaluating what worked and what didn’t. Answer the following:

Looking for something different?

If you’re wanting completely different recipes, you can choose from my Easy to Meal Prep recipes, healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep recipes, or choose one of your own! I also have a category of recipes that take 30 minutes or less if you’re focused on time. 

You don’t have to stick to the Instant Pot! If you have another recipe you love–maybe a sheet pan dinner, for example, use that! Making whatever you like to eat will help you be successful in this meal prep.

Snack Prep:

Most of our snacks this week are store bought, but I also highly recommend these Peanut Butter Protein Balls. 

• Chips and Salsa Store-bought tortilla chips and fresh salsa from the grocery store. Our son eats these after school.
• Guacamole cups We like the 100 calorie packs of guacamole that you can buy at the grocery store. They’re usually by the fresh salsa, and they’re super easy to store.
• Nuts We buy unsalted nuts from Costco and I portion them out into small zip bags.
• Raw Vegetables We snack on raw vegetables every day (carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes, and bell peppers).

Breakfast Meal Prep:

• Breakfast Fried Rice 
  • This is one of our favorite meals to make for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner!).
  • Feel free to omit the meat entirely, or to use just one of the.meat options if you’d like.
  • There are both stovetop and Instant Pot directions for this recipe.
  • We eat this recipe as it in a bowl or add it to breakfast burritos–it’s delicious either way!

Lunch Meal Prep:

I am prepping these two recipes for lunch. My husband and I will swap every other day so we don’t get bored. I added a few notes about adaptations that you might want to make:

Remember, you don’t have to make exactly what I’m making and you don’t have to rely only on Instant Pot recipes.

Adjust and make what works best for you. This is all part of the process to build your experience and confidence to help you be successful!

Enter your email here for access to the free meal planning printables (calendars and shopping lists) that I have prepared for you.

By entering your email address, you will be added to the My Crazy Good Life email list. You can unsubscribe at any time. The information will only be used to provide you with updates according to our privacy policy, found on our website. We will never sell your info. If you don’t receive your sign up link or printables, please check spam. If you still don’t see it, please email me at beccaludlum@gmail.

Let’s Go!

1. Make a grocery list

To create my grocery list, I read my recipes line by line and add items to my list after checking my pantry for them. I like to divide the sheet into the two main sections of the grocery store–inside aisles and outside aisles.

You can also scroll down to see the printable grocery list for this meal prep. If you’d like to save these recipes or make free meal plans of your own, Click here for detailed directions on how to make (free!) meal plans and print grocery lists here on My Crazy Good Life.

2. Meal prep

My most important meal prep tip: Never stop moving. While one recipe is cooking, you should be chopping, prepping, or cleaning. Any time you try to leave the kitchen to do another task, you’ll be adding time onto your prep session.

1. I like to start by making the easiest recipe first–in this case, it’s the rice that goes with the breakfast rice and teriyaki chicken.
2. Prep all of the other ingredients for the Breakfast Rice so when the rice is finished cooking, you can remove the rice and add the veggies and meat right to the pot.
3. While the rice is finishing up, gather your ingredients together for the Teriyaki Meatballs. Remember to keep the ingredients for the sauce separate from the ingredients for the meatballs.
4. When the rice is finished cooking, divide it up between what you need for the rice and what you need for the meatballs. Finish the Breakfast Rice up by cooking the meat and veggies and adding the sauce. Stick it in the fridge :)
5. Make the Teriyaki Meatballs. After putting them in the pot, begin prepping your ingredients for the Tuscan Chicken Pasta. If you have extra time, this is where you’ll make your Protein Balls.
6. When the meatballs are finished cooking, you can cook broccoli quick by following these directions:
   • Cook the meatballs for 3 minutes less, and at the end of the cook time, add chopped broccoli to your Instant Pot (on top of the meatballs) and close the lid again. Set the pot to cook for 0 (yes, zero!) minutes. The pot will actually be cooking as it comes to pressure and will then immediately release pressure. When it’s done, quick release and your broccoli should be perfectly cooked! 
7. After the meatballs are cooked, stick them in the fridge and begin cooking your Tuscan Chicken Pasta. As that meal is cooking, go ahead and finish making your Protein Balls.
8. When the Pasta is finished, put that in the fridge and clean up–you’re all done!

More healthy Instant Pot recipes:

If you’re looking forward to eating healthy this week, try some of these recipe ideas (one of our favorites is this Instant Pot Chicken), browse my Easy to Meal Prep Recipes.

• Steel Cut Oats
• Cilantro Lime Drumsticks
• Super easy breakfast: Starbucks Bacon Egg Bites
• Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
• Healthy Breakfast Meal Prep (these don’t need a pressure cooker(: Easy Egg Scrambles

When you’re ready for the final piece of this meal prep puzzle, head over to Level 4: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Snacks

The post Instant Pot Meal Prep: Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks (3 of 4) appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Over the years, I have received a lot of questions on everything from why to meal prep to how to meal prep, which is why I wrote this four-part series to guide all levels of experience through the process. Each section includes a video to supplement and a step by step guide.

This is level 1. A perfect place to start for beginners!

The following guides build off of these principles and adds another layer:

• Level 2: Snacks and Lunches
• Level 3: Breakfasts, Lunches, and Snacks
• Level 4: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Snacks

Check out my free meal planning printable sheets at the bottom of this page or click here to subscribe and download

It’s important to note that meal prepping is not an “all or nothing” concept. You can start where you’re comfortable and go to the next level only when you’re ready to.

The difference between meal planning and meal prepping:

Meal Planning is when you make a plan for what you will eat for the day, week, or month.

Meal Prepping is the doing. You can prep just the ingredients or the entire meal–it’s up to you.

Why you should meal plan:

People meal plan to save money, eat healthier, and reduce the risk of impulsive snacking or turning towards fast food.

Learning how to meal plan is very helpful for sticking to diet programs like Weight Watchers and the 21 Day Fix.  Having a meal plan that works and knowing what to eat and when is important for achieving your goals.

How long does it take to meal prep?

This is the most common question I’m asked, and it totally depends on:

1. How many people you’re prepping for
2. How many meals are you prepping
3. If you’re using a slow cooker, Instant Pot, or the stove and oven

One of the reasons I created this series was because I wanted my readers to see exactly how long it took me to prep for different levels. This snack prep took me about 15 minutes to plan and 45 minutes to prep.

The rights tools can not only save time, but make meal prep easier. Here’s the list of my kitchen essentials:

• Instant Pot 
• Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
• Fruit and Veggie Containers
• Rubbermaid Containers 
• Snack bags for nuts 

How to Meal Plan: For Beginners

To ease our way into meal planning, we’ll start with snacks. Having snacks planned is always a good idea, and helps to keep me from reaching a bag of cookies at 3pm. First, let’s figure out how much you will need.

Step One: How much do I need to prep?

1. Are you planning for yourself, family members, or anyone else? How many people will around each day and night? Think about your busy week, sports, days off, half days, field trips, and work schedules.
2. When do you usually snack? Are you a daytime snacker, nighttime snacker, or both?  
3. Are you on a diet program? Look through your program for specific guidelines on what you can eat and how much.

Step Two: What foods do I prep?

1. What does your family enjoy snacking on? 
2. What will last for the week? 

Step Three: What extras should I have on hand?

1. If you’re only prepping for yourself, consider if your significant other, kids, or friends are likely to eat your snacks.
2. What happens if you or your kids are extra hungry between lunch and dinner one day? Do you have flexible plans for that?

Keep in mind that extras can be as simple as granola bars, nuts, and fruit. Things that won’t go to waste if not eaten that week are always a great idea. Over time you’ll get a better feeling for how much extra you’ll need, and which snacks get eaten first

Let’s get planning!

I’ll walk you through my planning session:

Here’s my list of snacks, with ingredients for your grocery list:

• Protein Balls
  • 2C quick cook oats
  • 1/2C chocolate chips
  • 2/3C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/2C peanut butter
  • 1/3C honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
• Chips and Salsa store bought tortilla chips and fresh salsa from the grocery store
• Hard boiled eggs are eaten as is, or deviled. Hard-boiled are super easy to store and take with you for an on the go snack.
  • Eggs (number based on your family size and preference)
  • Mayo
  • Seasonings: Salt and Paprika
• Nuts We buy unsalted mixed nuts from the store and I separate them into 1/4 cup serving grab and go bags. 
• Raw Veggies Raw carrots, cucumbers, and celery are great snacks. Having these cleaned, peeled, and cut are a great way to control what you snack on.  
• Stuffed Mushrooms For these, I take raw turkey sausage and stuff inside the mushrooms and bake them. These take just a few seconds to heat up (or you could eat them cold) and it’s an easy way to get some protein and veggies in.
  • Packages of white or mini-portobello mushrooms
  • Turkey Sausage, one package will be more than enough for two packs of mushrooms
  • You can use some olive oil on these so they don’t stick, but I’ve found that the turkey sausage is usually enough!

I always take stock of what’s in my pantry before making a list for grocery shopping, and I use meal ideas that are designed for meal prep so that if I make too much or our plans change, I can stick the extra food in my freezer and use it another time. I find that having freezer meals is so helpful during weeks that I don’t prep!

The Process of Meal Prep

• Prepare the Protein Balls, and place the mixture in the refrigerator to firm up.
• While the mixture is in the fridge, begin making your stuffed mushrooms and get them in the oven.
• Pull out your Protein Ball mixture and form the balls.
• Remove the stuffed mushrooms from the oven and allow them to cool while you peel and cut your raw veggies.
• Portion out your veggies and put the mushrooms into meal prep containers.
• Portion out your nuts into 1/3 cup servings.

You can watch this video to see this meal prep:

What’s next?

When you’re ready, check out the next steps:

• Level 2: Snacks and Lunches
• Level 3: Breakfasts, Lunches, and Snacks
• Level 4: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Snacks

Fill out this form to subscribe to my Meal Prep Quick Start guide and download your weekly meal planners and grocery lists.

If you don’t see a subscribe box above, please click here to sign up. The information will be used to provide you with updates according to our privacy policy, found on our website. We will never sell your info. If you don’t receive your sign up link or printables, please check spam. If you still don’t see it, please email me at beccaludlum@gmail.

The post How to Meal Plan for Beginners | 1 of 4 appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Here are links to the other preps in this series:

• Level 1: Snacks
• Level 3: Breakfasts, Lunches, and Snacks
• Level 4: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Snacks

I have easy to print, free resources to help you be successful. Click here or scroll down to subscribe and download!

Meal prepping lunch and snacks is my personal favorite level of meal prep because it’s not too time consuming and I prefer to breakfast and dinner every day.

The Instant Pot is my favorite meal prep tool because for the most part, I can add everything to the pot and then walk away to accomplish more meal prep tasks while my recipe is cooking.

Looking to make it easy? Here are some of my favorite meal prep tools:

Instant Pot 
Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
Cuisinart Food Processor
Vitamix Blender 
Fruit and Veggie Containers
Rubbermaid Containers 
Snack bags for nuts 

Planning your Instant Pot Lunch Meal Prep

If you need a refresher on meal planning vs. meal prepping or why people prep, click here to see my beginner meal prep article.

1. How much food do I need to prep? How many people do I need to plan for?
2. What meal prep lunches and snacks do I prep? Look at your calendar to account for any changes (nights out, happy hours, etc.)
3. Do I need extra lunches and snacks? Are any friends coming over, did you family devour your last meal prep, etc.

It’s a good idea to always have a few extras on hand for emergencies. Granola bars, your favorite nuts, and fruit–like an orange–are great for these extras.

Use the convenient printables below to help organize your plan and prep. I use my shopping list template and bring it to the store with me. When you’re making your grocery list, check your pantry first because you don’t want to buy extra.

Prepping your Instant Pot Lunches

Here are my shopping lists for the snacks, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip, and Instant Pot Hamburger Helper recipes.

I love that this Instant Pot meal prep lasts all week long, and gives me a variety of things to snack on. Feel free to vary these recipes if you’d like–I have a long list of meal prep recipes below and they can easily be made in the slow cooker, any electric pressure cooker, or right on the stove.

You can also watch in this meal prep video how I prep these exact recipes:

Snacks:

• Protein Balls 
  • 2C quick cook oats
  • 1/2C chocolate chips
  • 2/3C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/2C peanut butter
  • 1/3C honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Chips and Salsa store bought tortilla chips and fresh salsa from the grocery store
• Mini guacamole cups are the 100 calorie packs of guacamole that you can buy at the grocery store. They’re usually by the fresh salsa. I like to add extra cilantro!
• Nuts We buy unsalted mixed nuts from the store and I separate them into single serving grab and go bags.
• Raw Veggies My husband takes raw carrots and celery into work every day, and I snack on raw carrots, celery, and cucumbers daily. You could easily swap this snack with your favorite raw veggies, or even a bag of frozen veggies.
• Cold Cuts I prefer low sodium and nitrate free cold cuts from the deli counter. If you’d rather get prepackaged, Hormel makes the best one I’ve found next to Applegate.

Lunch:

• Buffalo Chicken Dip  Hands down my favorite lunch and snack ever. I highly recommend doubling the recipe and freezing some in small containers.  
  • 3/4 cup cottage cheese
  • 3/4 cup Greek yogurt plain
  • 2/3 cup cheddar cheese (shredded, optional)
  • 2 lbs. chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
  • 3/4 cup Hot Sauce Frank’s Hot Sauce, NOT Buffalo sauce :)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried dill
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• An alternative to buffalo chicken dip is my healthy Crack chicken recipe. Both are perfect to eat on their own for a meal or use as a veggie dip to add protein. You can eat them warm or cold. 
• Healthy Hamburger Helper is a filling and healthy lunch. These are my favorite healthy meals to prep because they are hearty and can be easily frozen and reheated.
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken
  • 1 cup fresh green chilis, diced
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 cup whole wheat pasta
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/3 cup cheddar cheese

The Process of your Instant Pot Lunch Meal Prep (also called a Prep Plan)

Looking for more healthy Instant Pot recipes?

• Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls
• Sweet Potato Chili
• How to make Brown Rice in the Instant Pot
• Blueberry Steel Cut Oats
• Hard Boiled Eggs

Next, when you’re ready go to Level 3: Breakfasts, Lunches, and Snacks.

Enter your email below for the meal planning calendars and shopping lists that I have prepared for you. They’re an example of how I plan my lunches and snacks for the week for my family.

If you don’t see a subscribe box above, please click here to sign up. The information will only be used to provide you with updates according to our privacy policy and terms of service, found on our website. We will never sell your info. If you don’t receive your sign up link or printables, please check spam. If you still don’t see it, please email me at beccaludlum@gmail.

The post Instant Pot Lunch Meal Prep | 2 of 4 appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Some of these common ingredient substitutions are for baking and some are for cooking, but all will help you get a meal on the table for your family without having the stress of finding recipes for the ingredients you have.

In this article about how to substitute ingredients, you’ll learn:

• what swaps work
• what swaps don’t work, and why
• common cooking substitutions
• healthy ingredient substitutions
• how to substitute ingredients with examples of specific recipes

Meat Substitutions

Ground Meat: Ground meat can be easily swapped out in any recipe. Ground beef might require more draining than ground turkey or ground chicken due to the higher fat content, but I’ve swapped ground meat successfully in all recipes for years.

Chicken:

Substituting cuts of chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings) is fairly easy when they’re being cooked by themselves (on the grill, baked in the oven, etc.) Usually these types of recipes make some sort of marinade or sauce that can be applied to any cut of meat.

In a recipe that’s not just the chicken, such as a casserole or soup, I’d stick to using chicken breasts and thighs or other meaty type of cut, instead of a bony cut like drumsticks or wings.

You can also use canned chicken or rotisserie chicken in some recipes, as long as you take into consideration that these types of chicken come to you precooked and most recipes call for uncooked chicken.

• Buffalo Chicken Dip You can use breasts or thighs for this recipe.
• White Chicken Chili Breasts or thighs are great for this recipe.
• Cilantro Lime Drumsticks I’ve use this marinade for breasts and thighs and it’s delicious.

Beef:

Swapping out types of beef is a bit tricky because different cuts of beef have different properties, if you will.

Stew meats and roasts are tough, lean cuts. The collagen in these cuts helps to break down the meat so it’s able to be cut with a fork. Stew meats become more tender the longer you cook them. The best stew meats are:

• Chuck: Shoulder, Roast, Chuck-Eye Roast, and Top Chuck
• Roast: Bottom Round, Top Round, Rump, Eye Round, Pot Roast

Skirt steak is a marbled and tough cut of meat that is flavorful. We use it a lot for fajitas, Asian dishes like Beef and Broccoli, and Steak with Chimichurri. Different cuts that work well for these recipes are:

• Flank steak, Top Loin, Flat Iron, Fajita Steak, Beef Plate Steak

• Mississippi Pot Roast Any type of roast will work for this. I’d even reduce the cooking time and use skirt steaks if that’s all I had.
• Healthy Beef Stroganoff I’d use any type of skirt steak for this, or even ground meat.

Vegetarian/Vegan:

Tempeh, Tofu, Seitan, Textured Vegetable Protein, Jackfruit, Mushrooms, meat substitutes, and lentils.

Plant Based:

Plant based is a buzzword right now, but it has meaning beyond someone not eating meat. Plant based substitutes are whole foods that are minimally processed and most often–plants!

I’ve found that hearty vegetables such as portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and cauliflower work well in recipes when I don’t have meat to add.

• Miso Mushroom Soup This recipe calls for tofu, but I’d use tempeh, textured vegetable protein, or even more mushrooms in a pinch.
• Calabacitas Tacos Of course zucchini and yellow squash are the norm in Calabacitas, but in a pinch I’d use other types of squash or even potatoes.

Vegetable Substitutes

I’ll swap vegetables in a recipe for several reasons–if it’s something my family doesn’t care for, if it’s not something I use or have in my house, or if something is super expensive at the store I’ll use something else.

When subbing vegetables, so do at a 1:1 ratio, one cup vegetable A to one cup vegetable B.

• Size: Look for another vegetable that is similar in size, or can be cut to a similar size. Don’t try to swap button mushrooms for stalks of asparagus. Instead, cut a zucchini or broccoli to a similar size.
• Density: Vegetables that are similar in density will cook in the same amount of time as the original recipe. Don’t use cauliflower instead of kale, for example.

If you need to use a different vegetable in your recipe, you might have to pre-cook it a bit so it’s done at the same time as your meal. It’s ok to start cooking with your vegetables that need more time and add on the lighter vegetables as your meal progresses.

• Minestrone Soup If you don’t have any of the vegetables in this soup, you can leave them out or swap them with one you like. This recipe is very forgiving.
• Vegetable Fajitas If you don’t have any of the fajita vegetables on hand, swap with others. We often use zucchini, broccoli, and even green beans in these in a pinch!

Dairy Substitutions

Dairy substitutions can be a bit confusing, but I’m hoping to help make it easier. If you don’t have common dairy items on hand, most often they can easily be swapped with another ingredient.

Baking Substitutes for Eggs:

Eggs are used for binding, leavening (expanding), moisture, and flavor and appearance.

• Vegan egg replacement options:
  • 3 tbsp aquafaba
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds or chia seeds and 3 tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup silken tofu
• Other easy options:
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup mashed bananas or pureed pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup carbonated water.

Sour Cream Substitute:

I love using plain, 2% Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream. As a bonus, it’s a healthy ingredient substitute!

If you don’t love the tang that Greek yogurt can sometimes have, blend it together with an equal portion of cottage cheese–they balance nicely!

Cream Cheese Substitute:

For recipes where the cream cheese is baked in or cooked in the dish, I use a 1:1 blended cottage cheese and unflavored yogurt mixture.

Ranch Dressing Substitute:

Instead of bottled ranch dressing, I use one cup of yogurt, blended ricotta or cottage cheese, or sour cream along with 1/2 teaspoon each of black pepper, parsley, and dill, and 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder. Add a touch of salt if you’d like.

Buttermilk Substitute:

Take a one cup measuring cup and add one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Fill the rest of your measuring cup with milk to make 1 cup.

Substitute for Butter:

If you need to swap butter or margarine in a recipe you can easily use another fat, like a healthy oil or vegetable oil can be used in a 3/4:1 ratio, so 3/4 cup oil in place of 1 cup of butter.

Other butter substitutes are:

• Greek yogurt at a 1/2:1 ratio
• Pureed back beans at a 1:1 ratio (best for cookies, cakes, and breads)
• Peanut butter or almond butter at a 1:1 ratio
• Applesauce at a 1:1 ratio, but beware of your recipe tasting a bit dry

Pantry Substitutes

These items can easily replace missing or unavailable items from your pantry!

Baking Powder Substitute:

Baking powder is used to help foods rise. To keep your breads, muffins, and other meals light and fluffy, you can use any of the following:

• For every teaspoon of baking powder, add 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
• Use one teaspoon of cream of tartar for every 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder called for in your recipe.

Cornstarch Substitute:

Cornstarch is often used to thicken recipes. There are several swaps you can use! For every tablespoon of cornstarch, you can use:

• three tablespoons of white flour
• one tablespoon of arrowroot flour
• two teaspoons of instant mashed potatoes

Maple Syrup Substitute:

In a recipe, you can swap maple syrup with honey, molasses, or agave syrup at a 1:1 ratio. One cup honey for one cup maple syrup, for example.

As a breakfast topping, use brown sugar and water at a 1:1 ratio and allow it to simmer in a pot on the stove until the sugar is liquified. Other pancake toppings you might enjoy are melted butter, peanut butter, diced fruit, or powdered sugar.

Canned Beans Substitute:

In most recipes you can easily swap one type of canned bean for another. I often use black, cannellini, and kidney beans interchangeably in recipes.

For dried beans, each type cooks a little differently so I’d be wary of swapping them.

Chicken Broth Substitute:

Use water and poultry seasoning in place of chicken stock, or just water if you need to!

Tomato Sauce Substitute:

If you’re needing canned tomato sauce and have a can of diced or crushed tomatoes, use the blender or food processor to turn them into tomato sauce!

Pasta Sauce Substitute:

If you’re needing a jar of pasta sauce, you can make that with canned tomato sauce and spices. For 2 14 oz cans of tomato sauce, I add the following seasonings: 1 tablespoon each of oregano, thyme, parsley, onion powder, and garlic salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.

Soy Sauce Substitute:

When you’re out of soy sauce, you can use Worcestershire sauce or Fish sauce as a replacement.

Teriyaki Sauce Substitute:

For one cup of teriyaki sauce, use one cup of soy sauce or aminos along with 1 tablespoon each of ginger, garlic, and honey.

Substitutes for fresh spices:

Use dried spices (1/3 of the measurement of fresh) if you don’t have fresh fresh on hand.

Pasta Substitutes:

You can most often swap pasta shapes without issue, but note that they all expand to different amounts when cooked. For example, white penne pasta doubles and elbow pasta cooks to 2.5 times it’s size.

With regard to wheat vs white vs gluten free vs chickpea, cooking times are completely different, as is the amount of liquid they absorb.

Real Life Examples of Common Ingredient Substitutions that Work:

In this recipe for Sweet Potato Chili, some ingredient swaps I’d use without hesitation are:

• I’d leave out the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce if I didn’t have them. The recipe won’t be spicy, but it’ll still have a great flavor from the spices.
• Swap regular potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes.
• Use any type of canned beans if you don’t have black beans, or leave them out.
• Use water instead of the chicken stock.
• Any ground meat will do if you don’t have turkey.
• I would not omit the potatoes in this recipe, as they absorb a bit of the heat from the peppers.
• I would leave out the celery, carrots, or onions if I had to.

In this recipe for Mini Meatloaves, some ingredients I’d use when I don’t have others include:

• Swap any ground meat you have on hand in place of the ground turkey.
• I’d use any of the egg replacements listed above if I didn’t have eggs, or leave them out entirely.
• Use homemade breadcrumbs if you don’t have them or crackers.
• I would not leave out the breadcrumbs or crackers, as they help the meatballs form together.
• You could leave the sauce out of this recipe if you’d like.

The post How to Substitute Ingredients in a Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Did you know that there are more than 40,000 varieties of rice in the world? We’re just going to look at the three main types of white rice: traditional white, basmati, and jasmine rice.

Is white rice healthy? Which rice is the healthiest?

While white rice is the most common type of rice, it’s also the most processed. During processing, the bran and germ are removed, which is where most of the nutrients are found. This is why many call this rice an “empty carb.”

Some white rice is enriched during the processing, this means that some nutrients are added back into the rice. White rice also has a higher glycemic index. For these reasons, red rice, wild rice, black rice, and brown rice are healthier options.

White rice is not all bad, though, and it does have its place and it does have health benefits. It can be easier to digest, and the processing typically reduces the arsenic levels typically found in whole grain rice.

White Rice

3/4 cup of white rice has:

• about 181 calories
• 0 grams of fat
• about 40 grams of carbs
• 3.2 grams of protein

Regular white rice has a glycemic index of 72, which is the highest of all the rice varieties. Click here to read more about the glycemic index of rice.

Jasmine Rice

Jasmine rice is native to Southeast Asia and Thailand. It’s a soft, long grain rice that is sticky and has a high floral aroma–it’s often nicknamed “popcorn rice.” Instant Pot Jasmine rice is cooked the same as traditional white rice.

3/4 cup of cooked jasmine rice has:

• 160 calories
• 0 grams of fat
• 35 grams of carbohydrates
• 3 grams of protein

The glycemic index of jasmine rice is about 68, just lower than regular white rice.

Basmati Rice

Basmati rice originated in the Himalayas and is slightly softer than jasmine rice with a nuttier flavor. Cooking basmati rice in the Instant Pot is the same as cooking white rice.

3/4 cup of cooked basmati has:

• 160 calories
• 0 grams of fat
• 35 grams of carbohydrates
• 4 grams of protein
• There’s also calcium and iron along with a bunch of other great amino acids that we need to help in building and maintain muscles!

Basmati rice has the lowest glycemic index of all the white rice varieties with a score of 50.

Basmati rice is the healthiest white rice choice given its lower glycemic index, has all 8 essential amino acids, lower calories, has more vitamins and mineral, and the lowest levels of arsenic.

How to cook white rice in the Instant Pot:

Cooking white rice in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier, you’re just 3 simple steps away from perfectly fluffy rice! Whether you’re cooking basmati rice, jasmine rice, or traditional white rice, it’s super easy with the Instant Pot.

What makes cooking rice so easy is that Instant Pot dedicated a preset button for white rice and makes it nearly fool proof! All varieties of white rice cook for 4 minutes in the Instant Pot with a 1:1 (water to rice) ratio. That’s a cup of water to a cup of rice.

Recipe Tips:

• For added flavor, substitute chicken or vegetable broth for the water, just keep the same 1:1 ratio.
• Add more liquid to your rice if you like sticky rice.

The Instant Pot website includes a note to turn off the “keep warm” feature when cooking rice, as it allows the bottom of the pot to cool and the rice to separate from the pot.

Get the burn warning?

If you get the burn message when pressure cooking your rice, check these things:

• Is there enough liquid in the pot?
• Did you turn off the “keep warm” setting?
• Is your rice overcooking?

Can you freeze white rice?

If you cook a huge batch for meal prep, freeze the extra rice. It reheats in the microwave really well.

My rice freezing tips

1. Freeze individual servings of rice in separate ziplock bags.
2. Write the cook date and serving size on the outside.  
3. Spread the rice out in each back in a flat layer, this makes it easier to store and helps to evenly reheat when ready to eat.

Should you rinse rice before cooking it? YES!

Rinse your white rice before cooking to remove the starchy coating and any debris left behind from processing. This is helps to keep your rice from clumping together and allows it to stay fluffy.

Keep in mind, though, that rinsing will also remove some of the nutrients that were added back to enriched rice. Always read your package of rice to see what the manufacturer suggests.

Soaking rice is another option. Some people soak rice instead of rinsing it, but in my research I’ve found that a quick rinse is all you need.

Want to learn more about the foods you eat?

I am constantly learning and sharing information in my journey to be healthier. Part of living a healthy lifestyle is understanding how the things I eat affect body. Here are some of my favorite topics:

• What is Coconut Aminos
• Processed Oils: Which Ones Are Healthy
• What is Nutritional Yeast?
• What are artificial sweeteners?

Looking for great rice recipes?

These healthy recipes are soon be family favorites:

• Instant Pot Coconut Rice
• How to cook brown rice in the Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
• Brown Rice Pudding
• Instant Pot Spanish Rice
• Instant Pot Quinoa and Brown Rice

Print

Instant Pot White Rice

How to cook white, jasmine, and basmati rice in the Instant Pot.

Course Side Dish, staples

Cuisine American, Asian

Keyword basmati rice, jasmine rice, white rice

Prep Time 1 minute minute

Cook Time 4 minutes minutes

Pressure Release Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 113kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Sealing Rings

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice basmati, white, or jasmine
• 1 cup water

Instructions

• Spray inner liner with nonstick cooking spray.
• Add equal portions of rice and water to the Instant Pot. One cup of dry white rice will produce about 3 cups of cooked rice. 1 cup white rice, 1 cup water
• Close the lid and turn the valve to Sealing.
• Press the Rice button on the Instant Pot, or set the Instant Pot for 4 minutes at high pressure.
• When cook time is finished, allow ten minutes of natural release before releasing the remaining pressure.

Nutrition

Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

The post How To Cook White Rice In The Instant Pot appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.