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Last Updated on October 22, 2020 by Tracy
Make meal planning easier with the Instant Pot. Here are Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Ideas you can use to help with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
5 Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Ideas
Have you tried using your Instant Pot for meal prep? Right from when over 300,000 units of the Instant Pot were sold within 36 hours on Amazon and it was the most wish-listed item and the most gifted item Amazon, we knew that the Instant Pot was going to be one of the new kings of kitchen appliances. After about 10 years of being introduced into the market, the Instant Pot is still very popular.
Despite the popularity of Instant Pot, a lot of Instant Pot owners are not yet fully aware of the numerous things they can do with their Instant pot.
Did you know you could use your Instant Pot for meal prep? If your answer is no, you are not alone. When it comes to meal prep, a lot of people resort to the use of an oven or a stove, but you no longer have to rely them, because your Instant Pot is also designed to help with your meal prep.
With your Instant Pot, you can prep breakfast, lunch, and dinner that can last for a whole week. Meal prep with instant pot is less complicated, faster, and saves time, money, and energy. It also enables you to eat healthy meals more frequently.
In this post, we will be taking you through 5 Instant Pot Meal Prep Ideas.
1. Cook a Batch of Grains
A great meal prep technique you should give a try is cooking a batch of grains for salads and sides for dinner or lunch. Prepping grains with an instant pot is so simple and fast, within a few minutes, you will have cooked enough grains that can last for a whole week.
If you are a vegetarian, you will definitely love quinoa. Unlike other grains, quinoa is loaded with lots of protein as well as fiber, vitamin E, antioxidants, magnesium, and potassium. Your pre-prepared quinoa can be eaten with soups or salad.
You can also make a batch of white rice or brown rice with your instant pot which can be used as a side dish or for meals like fried rice or instant pot jasmine rice.
When prepping your rice with the instant pot, ensure the seasoning is mild, this will enable you to be able to convert it to different kinds of meals. Also, ensure that you do not overcook the rice.
2. Cook a Large Portion of Oatmeal
Are you tired of nibbling on junk for breakfast just because you don’t have enough time to cook a proper meal? It’s time to dump the junk.
You can cook a week’s worth of healthy oatmeal within just a few minutes using an instant pot.
Both rolled oats and steel-cut oats can be cooked in an instant pot. Because of how long the oatmeal will last, it’s advisable to use almond milk instead of cow milk.
To give the oatmeal some flavor, you can add a pinch of salt, some cinnamon, vanilla, or maple syrup. You can also top the oat with fresh berries, apples, or banana slices before freezing it, this will save you the stress of having to add the fruits when you want to eat the oatmeal.
A very simple way to store the oatmeal is to let it cool and then freeze in muffin tins. Once the oatmeal is frozen, pop the oatmeal out of the tin and store in airtight plastic bags.
3. Cook a Big Pot of Beans
With your instant pot, you can cook a big pot of dry beans and store it rather than buying canned beans which cost more and come with certain health concerns. The good thing about using an instant pot is that you do not need to soak the beans before cooking it and the cooking process is simpler and faster than when you use a regular pot and stove.
You can convert the cooked beans to awesome meals like black bean burgers, black bean chili and bacon, black beans burritos, black bean hummus, and lots more.
4. Poach Chicken Breasts
There are probably a lot of chicken recipes that you wish you could make but lack enough time to cook. With your instant pot, you can poach chicken breasts (including bone-in chicken) which can be easily turned to different amazing recipes, like this chicken salad or chicken pad thai.
You can season the chicken with some ingredients like cumin, dried chili, and salt, depending on the specific meals you will be making with the chicken.
A good thing about poaching chicken is that during the process of the cooking of the chicken, a delicious broth forms. This broth can be used to make soup later. When cooking with the broth, ensure you do not add too much salt to the meal because the broth is already well seasoned.
5. Make Homemade Yogurt
Did you know you could make yummy homemade yogurt with your instant pot? You can make Greek yogurt, nonfat, and full-fat yogurt with your instant pot. Homemade yogurt is healthier and cheaper than those sold in stores.
If the yogurt is plain, you can use it to make mashed potatoes, creamy sauce, and other yummy recipes.
Depending on how much yogurt you will need for each meal, you can store the yogurt in small containers. All you need to do is to take out one of the containers when the need arises. Also, to ensure that your yogurt lasts longer, always you store it in a refrigerator.
I hope these five Instant Pot meal prep ideas help make meal time a bit easier in your home. Always remember to store the meal in the freezer except otherwise stated. When making the meals, we advise that you make it in ways that they can be converted to a variety of recipes.
Do you use your Instant Pot for meal prep? What is one of your favorite ways to meal prep?
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