Peach Iced Tea in the Instant Pot

Pressure cooking is amazing at infusing flavors in minutes rather than hours. Honestly I am not even sure how long it would take to make peach iced tea if I had to wait for it to infuse the peach flavor naturally but I'm guessing quite a long time and probably some amount of muddling.

My trusty Instant Pot makes all of this unnecessary. It makes peach iced tea in one minute! Ok, it really takes more like half an hour because the full pot takes quite a while to come to pressure, if you've been pressure cooking a while you know how misleading those cook times can be! #realtalk

This tasty beverage is also a great option for healthy living it is Whole 30, Paleo and zero points on Weight Watchers (green, blue and purple). If I am feeling fancy, I add carbonation to it with my Drinkmate beverage fizzer. If you haven't tried sparkling peach iced tea, you are missing out. Be careful though it fizzes A LOT.

Take the tag off!

Ingredients

8 cups of water

2 family sized tea bags (I use Lipton Cold Brew)

1 can of peaches in 100% juice

optional: sweetener of your choice (none for Whole 30)

Directions: Put water and peaches (do not drain!) in your Instant Pot. Remove any paper tags from your tea bags and add to the pot. Set Instant Pot to sealing, manual pressure for 1 minute. Turn off the "keep warm" setting. Following the end of the cook time, allow to naturally release for at least 5 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure.

When I'm following Weight Watchers, I add 1/2tsp of Lankato Monkfruit 0 calorie sweetener (0pts) to each large glass! This is not Whole 30 or Paleo compliant though.

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Strawberry Jam - Low Sugar - Instant Pot

One of the things I don't personally like about Weight Watchers is so many pre-made food are either high in points or if you want a lower point choice, you have to get the sugar free option. "Sugar-free" is a misnomer, really it means "artificial sweeteners." There are varying opinions on artificial sweeteners and which ones, if any are ok. I do eat them but I try to do it in moderation.

The other option, one I have often employed, is it make my own from scratch foods when I can that just use less real sugar or in some cases a sugar replacement, like monkfruit, that I am ok with.

With this in mind, I set out to make some low sugar strawberry jam in my trusty Instant Pot.

This jam is 1 point for up to 4 tablespoons, the recipe makes about 5 cups of jam.

Ingredients
4 quarts of strawberries, hulled and sliced in quarters
1/2 cup of sugar
1 medium lemon, juiced
4 tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions
Put strawberries in the bottom of Instant Pot, sprinkle sugar on them and stir. Allow the berries to sit in the sugar for 30-60 minutes. The sugar will draw out the juice from the berries.

Using a small strainer, squeeze the juice from the lemon on to the berries and stir. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook, high, for 1 minute.

After the cooking cycle has completed, allow it to naturally release the pressure for 20-25 minutes. Should any pressure remain, you can quick release it.

Change the Instant Pot to saute, normal. Stir the berry mixture to break up any large strawberry pieces or if you want a less chunky jam, you can use a potato masher or immersion blender to get a smoother consistency. I prefer it with some berry chunks.

Scoop out about a cup of the berry mixture's liquid into a small bowl. Do this carefully as it's extremely hot. Wisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Return the corn starch mixture to the Instant Pot and stir well.

The mixture should begin to thicken, continue to stir until it's slightly thinner than jam and then turn off the heat. It will thicken a little bit more as it cools.

After it cools, pour it into jars or other containers and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or the freezer.

I split mine into several containers and put one in the fridge and the remaining ones in the freezer for future use. This jam is a little more tart than you will be used to with store purchased jams, if you want, you can add more sugar but it will increase the points per serving.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Zero point Weight Watchers yogurt in the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot makes fantastic yogurt! It's thick, creamy and much less tart than store bought plain yogurt but there is a lot of confusion on how to make this delicious breakfast in a way that is zero points on Weight Watchers Freestyle.

After you have a bunch of yogurt you can make so many things! Such as:

•  Two-ingredient dough
• Skinny yogurt banana bread
• Mediterranean Chicken Salad
• Zero point tatziki sauce

First, you have to think about this process in a slightly different way than most "recipes". Plain, nonfat yogurt would have points if you calculated the nutritional value, as would all food. This food is zero points by magical Weight Watchers decree. So for your yogurt that you make in your Instant Pot to also be zero points, you need to make plain, fat free yogurt. Unlike most recipes, the milk you use will not be zero points if you enter its nutrition, look it up or scan it. It isn't a zero point food until it becomes yogurt. It's magically transformed when it becomes plan, fat free yogurt.

To make your yogurt magic you need:

1. Fat Free Milk
2. Fat free yogurt with live and active cultures to use as starter

I make the cold start, no boil Greek yogurt. It is really easy to make! Follow my directions below for zero point yogurt!

I use this milk.

Ingredients:

52 ounces Fairlife Fat Free Milk (or other ultra pasteurized fat free milk) 

2 Tb of nonfat, plain Greek Yogurt with live and active cultures as a starter or whey saved from your last batch of yogurt

Equipment:

Instant Pot Duo or other model with a yogurt button

Whisk

Fine mesh strainer, or other straining method

Instant Pot Duo working it's magic!

Directions:

Clean and sanitize your instant pot (I run the sterilize cycle). Pour the milk in your inner pot and whisk in the yogurt. Cover the pot with an instant pot glass lid or other lid (I use one from my pan set that fits my IP). Press the "yogurt" button your pot and set the timer for 8 hours. When the cooking cycle finishes, the milk should now be a thick yogurt. There will be some thin liquid on the top and sides, this is the whey. To have a nice thick Greek style yogurt, you need to strain the whey from the yogurt. 

Straining out the whey to get a thick creamy yogurt.

Using your fine mesh strainer and a large bowl, strain the whey from the yogurt. I strain my yogurt about 2 hours to have a nice thick Greek yogurt. Refrigerate your delicious yogurt! It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. I add 1 tsp of maple syrup or agave and some fruit for a great 1 point breakfast on the Weight Watchers Freestyle program. 

Notes on yogurt starters and whey:

You can use a little of your previous batch of yogurt as the starter for your next batch. You can also keep some of the whey from your batch, freeze it and use it as your starter! I will usually use half a cup of whey as my starter. If you look up whey in the Weight Watchers app, it is 3pt/serving. However, if it's from a zero point yogurt batch and I use it as starter, I still count my yogurt as zero points. Now, if I use the whey in anything else, I count those 3 points. Is it logical? Maybe not but to me, when the items in the pot become nonfat plain yogurt they are magically transformed into a zero point food.

So what else can you do with your whey? Well you can use it as a liquid in smoothies, it has a ton of protein but I personally think it makes my smoothie taste funny. You can make bread with it, instead of water but you know, bread... I usually freeze mine for the next batch of yogurt or, I'm ashamed to say, throw it away. If you have any other whey uses, please share in the comments!

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

The easiest, healthy, instant pot marinara sauce

This is the easiest recipe for homemade marinara you will ever find and thanks to the instant pot electric pressure cooker, it's also the fastest. I may never buy marinara sauce again.

This recipe also doesn't have any added sugar! By my calculation, the whole recipe is 3 points on the Weight Watchers Freestyle program. The 3 points come from the olive oil used to saute the onions and garlic but you could use cooking spray instead for a zero point recipe.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 of a small onion, diced
4 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled (or you can substitute 4 tsp of chopped refrigerated garlic)
32 oz crushed tomatoes
15 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tb dried basil
2 Tb Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt

Equipment:
Instant pot or other electric pressure cooker, I use a 6 quart duo.
Garlic press, if you don't have a garlic press you can dice your garlic before you begin.

Turn your instant pot on the saute setting, low temperature and add the olive oil and onions to the bottom. After the onion cooks 2-3 minutes, add your garlic. I use my garlic press and press it directly into the pot. Saute the garlic and onion and additional 2-3 minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients to the pot, using the half cup of water to rinse the remaining tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes from the cans into the pot. Lock the lid in place on the top of your instant pot and turn the vent to sealing. Press cancel on the pot to end the saute setting and then set the pot to the pressure cook, high setting and set the timer for 10 minutes. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and allow the pressure to naturally release for at least 15 minutes.

After the natural release is finished you can quick release any remaining pressure, carefully.

I have not tried to double this recipe in the 6 qt or made this in a mini 3 qt instant pot, I have intentionally not filled the pot full to avoid spraying sauce out of the valve.

I have used this recipe as a marina sauce for pasta and also as a pizza sauce for 2-ingredient dough pizza.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post main contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Instant Pot Chicken and Couscous soup - 3 points on Weight Watchers

Sometimes you just can't eat any more zero point taco soup, am I right?!? This chicken and couscous soup may be your salvation. Yes it's 3 points instead of zero but it's a big serving and a different flavor for when you just need a break!

Soups are an excellent item for meal prepping for success on Weight Watchers. They make a big batch, are easy to keep low in points and store well. I always feel like I do better on my points when I have a soup ready to go.

Ingredients:
1 cup Israeli couscous (also called Pearl couscous)
1 zucchini, diced
1 can of corn
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 cup diced green beans
juice of half a lemon (optional - I love it with lemon but my husband less so, you can suit your taste)
6 cups of water
2 tsp of Better than bullion chicken base (or you can use FF chicken broth iinstead of the water + bouillon)
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
2-3 chicken breasts (depending on size)

Place all ingredients in a 6 quart Instant Pot with the chicken breasts on top. Ensure there is enough water to fully cover all of the ingredients. Cook on manual, high pressure for 10 minutes.

When the time goes off, allow to naturally release a few minutes (to avoid soup spraying out) and then quick release the pressure. After you open the pot, take the chicken breasts out and shred them using two forks and add the shredded chicken back to the pot of soup and stir.

It's steaming!

The recipe makes 5 servings, 3 points each. Please note that it will take some time to come up to pressure because the pot is really full. When being extra healthy, my husband and I take a walk while it's coming to pressure and cooking.

I make variations of this soup a lot, using different zero point vegetables. You can also make this recipe using chicken thighs, because they are smaller you probably need 3 thighs. If you are doing WW, using thighs will be higher in points.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Point values were checked in April 2018 under the Freestyle program. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

6 minute fajitas with the Instant Pot

I really love oven fajitas except that they take 40 minutes in the oven. That means I normally only make them on the weekends when I am home to start them. Otherwise we'd be eating dinner at 7pm and I'd be all hangry.

This recipe actually came about because I came home from work one day, had everything I needed to make fajitas except time and they sounded so good. I was a hungry woman, so this recipe is as easy as possible.

I'm also doing weight watchers and I wasn't in a great point situation....cake happens. Sometimes, the same week that baklava happened.

This led me to think....why can't I make fajitas in my Instant Pot???? Well, turns out, I can.

Making fajitas in the instant pot is quicker than making them in the oven and also healthier because you don't need to use any oil.

Now, I will say that I slightly prefer the taste of my oven fajitas and I expect I will continue to make them. However, on work nights, I will definitely look to my Instant Pot for my fajita needs, as I do for so many other things.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lbs chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips (you can also use thighs or tenderloins)
• 3 bell peppers, cut into strips
• 1 onion sliced (I don't like onions, so I skip this but I listed it as I realize most people do :))
• 1 package of taco season (I use reduced sodium)
• 1 cup water

You'll also want shells, lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream and anything else you like on your fajitas!

Directions:

Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place your sliced vegetables in the pot and sprinkle with half of the taco seasoning.

Place your sliced chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with remaining taco seasoning. Place your lid on your Instant Pot and set to sealing. Cook on manual, high pressure for 6 minutes.

When the cooking cycle has ended quick release the pressure.

There is a fair amount of cooking liquid remaining in the pot at the end (water, juices from the chicken) so I recommend using either tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the meat and vegetables make your fajitas.

I made these in my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo. You could easily make a larger batch in the 8 quart and this might be small enough to make in a mini - if you try it let me know!

This recipe is zero points on Weight Watchers! The only points are from the shells, cheese and other accompaniments. I had mine with La Bandarita low carb shells (1pt each), reduced fat cheese (3pts for 1/4 cup) and light sour cream (2pts) for a total of 7 points for 2 very filling and large fajitas.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog will receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way.

Instant Pot turkey chili baked potatoes - 6 smart points

This is an excellent weeknight meal that is quick and makes plenty of leftovers! It's easy, so easy in fact, that my husband started it while I was at the gym after work and he is not an Instant Pot pro (yet! he will be :)).

It's also healthy, only 6 smart points on Weight Watchers freestyle program. Now, if you aren't on the program you can also load it up with cheese and sour cream and make it decadent, don't get me wrong.

In my ideal world, I would use two instant pots to make this simultaneously but since I sadly only have one, that's not an option for me. I have included suggestions on how I would do it if I had two...some day!

There are two parts to this meal - baked potatoes and turkey chili. Most of the points, will come from your potato, so you could just eat the chili!

Part 1 - Pressure cooking potatoes

Put your trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. I use a 6 quart Duo IP. If you have a 3 quart, you can likely also use it for your potatoes but you will not be able to make as many potatoes at one time. If you only have one IP, like me, you will want to cook your chili on the stove but the chili requires a least a 6 quart, so you will want to use the smaller one for potatoes.

Put 6 medium baked potatoes on top of the trivet and pour in 1 cup of water. Set your instant pot to pressure cook, high and set for 10 minutes. When the cooking cycle is completed allow to naturally release for 20 minutes. While your potatoes are cooking, you will want to start your chili.

One medium potato is 5 smart points.

Part 2 - Turkey Chili

If you have a second instant pot, you can make the chili in it as well, you will need at least a 6 quart. Or you can cook the two items back to back, cleaning our your insert in between or using a second insert. Otherwise, I use my Cuisinart enameled Dutch oven.

Ingredients:
20 oz 99% fat free ground turkey breast
2 tsp olive oil
1 package chili seasoning
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 tsp liquid smoke

Stove directions: Heat olive oil in Dutch oven on medium to high heat and sauté turkey with chili seasoning until fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes to the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Allow to simmer at least 10 minutes on the stove, ideally 20 minutes.

Instant Pot directions: A 6 quart, or larger, instant pot is needed. Turn the IP on to sauté, high. Add the olive oil to the bottom of the pan and sauté turkey with chili seasoning until fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes to the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Put the lid on the IP and close the vent. Change the setting on the IP to manual, high pressure and set for 10 minutes. When the cooking time is completed, you can quick release the pressure.

My preferred way to make chili is in the Instant Pot but until I get a second pot, to make this combination meal I unfortunately have to use my stove! I think the IP does give the chili a better flavor in less time.

Recipe makes 6 servings, each serving is 1 point.

I smash my baked potato up and top with a full serving of the chili, for 6 points total. You can optionally top with fat free Greek yogurt (0 points) and low fat shredded cheese (3 points for 1/4 cup).

With cheese, it's 9 points.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post contains some affiliate links, if you make a purchase via one of these links this blog will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Make the starbucks sous vide egg bites without a mold!

I kept seeing people rave about these egg bites in the Instant Pot and I wanted to try them but I was reluctant to buy a special mold to make something I had never tried before. So I set out to make them in my 7in Fat Daddio pan that I bought for PIP recipes.

Since the "bite" is more like a loaf, I had to tinker a little bit with the cooking time. My first experiment looked like this.....hardly a success!

However, after I flipped it back into the pan and cooked it the rest of the way in my oven it was also delicious. The eggs were velvety smooth.

This one looks better right? Here is how you can do it yourself. This was made in a 7in pan, if you use a different size pan it might impact your cook time a little bit.

This recipe was based off of the recipe from foodie and wine that uses the silicone molds.

Ingredients:

5 Large Eggs
4oz of cooked crumbled bacon or I like to use pancetta because it comes already in cubes
1 ½ cups of cheese
4oz cream cheese
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt to taste*

*Note I did not use any additional salt because I was already using pancetta it's quite salty.

Directions: Cook the meat and if you are using bacon, crumble it. Put the eggs, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cream and salt into a blender and blend until fully mixed, about 45 seconds.

I use my Epica smoothie blender and it works great.

Breakfast smoothie anyone?

Put your pancetta in the bottom into a a lightly greased 7in pan and pour the blended egg mixture on top.

Cover the pan with foil. Pour one cup of water into the bottom of your Instant pot and using your trivet, lower the pan into the pot. The pan will be on top of the trivet.

Set your IP to steam for 14 minutes. Quick release the steam. You can cut slices and eat it from the pan, or you can flip it out on to a plate. It easily releases from my Fat Daddio pan. Full-sized bite!

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Easy Asian style peanut chicken in the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

This recipe is quick, easy and delicious in the instant pot or other electric pressure cooker. This delicious chicken is fabulous on rice but since I'm currently doing the low carb thing, we had it on cauliflower rice. Having a sauce-covered main dish is key for me to not realize I'm eating vegetables instead of actual rice.

Ingredients:
2 tb of toasted sesame oil (I like this one from Trader Joe's)
1 tb of chopped garlic (I use this kind but you can use fresh if preferred)
3 chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes
13oz can of lite coconut milk
8oz jar of peanut sauce (I used this kind)
salt to taste
3 TB of cornstarch to thicken sauce

Directions:
Turn your Instant Pot (IP) on saute, normal and let it warm up for 3-4 minutes. Add the sesame oil and the garlic. Saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in your coconut milk first, add the chicken and top with the peanut sauce and stir.

Turn the saute function off and turn the IP to pressure cook and set for 8 minutes. Make sure the vent is turned to "sealing." When pressure cook is completed, quick release the pressure.

The sauce will be pretty thin, if you want a thicker sauce, press cancel on the IP and change the setting to saute, high. Then spoon about a cup of sauce into a small bowl (I like to use coffee mugs) and add 3 Tb of cornstarch. Whisk it together until it's fully blended and add it back to the pot, stirring it in. Allow the sauce to simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce reaches desired thickness.

Serve over rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa.

Over cauliflower rice for a lower carb option. I sauteed the cauliflower in sesame oil.

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Low carb stuffed peppers in the Instant Pot

Stuffed peppers using black beans instead of rice is one of my go-to low carb meals. Even though a cup of cooked beans and a cup of rice both have around 45 carbs, the black beans have so much fiber they only have around 30 net carbs. The rice has almost no fiber! Plus, black beans have 3x as much protein.

Since I recently became obsessed with my instant pot electric pressure cooker and started a low carb diet at the beginning of the year, I wanted to try making them in the instant pot.

I also used ground turkey instead of beef to keep them lower calorie. Is this diet over yet? Sigh.

Ingredients:

20 oz ground turkey (you can use beef if you want)

15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice, something that will melt nicely), divided

4-6 bell peppers (I buy the multi-colored 3 pack of peppers)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika (you can use regular but I like Hungarian or smoked)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 ½ cups chicken broth (if using ground beef, I suggest using beef broth)
sour cream, optional garnish

Directions:

Mix ground turkey with 2 cups of cheese and all spices until well combined.

Turn your instant pot on and set to sauté, normal. Place the trivet in the bottom and pour the broth in the bottom of the pot. This will allow the pot to pre-heat while you get your peppers ready and help it to come up to pressure faster. Cut the tops off and remove the seeds from the peppers. Cut a small hole in the bottom of each pepper to allow fat from the meat to drain out.

Fill the peppers with the meat mixture and place on top of the trivet. Be careful, as the sides of the pot will be hot. Top the peppers with the remaining cheese.

Press cancel on the Instant Pot to turn off the sauté function and press manual pressure high and set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, quick release the pressure. 

Check the internal temperature to check it's at least 165 degrees (I use a digital thermometer like this one).

176 degrees, ready to go!

I cut it in half and top it with sour cream. If you like this recipe, check out my low carb stuffed pepper soup for the IP, made with quinoa!

The easiest butternut squash soup ever with the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

Butternut squash soup is one of the things I love eating but normally I find kind of a pain to make. You have to cut up (which is hard!) and cook the squash, and them puree it. It's kind of a hassle.

However, using my instant pot electric pressure cooker to cook the squash makes the process so much easier! I can make it on a weeknight now! It's healthy, delicious and now easy.

Ingredients:
~2lb butternut squash
3/4 cup heavy cream
32 oz low sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Equipment:
6 qt instant pot electric pressure cooker
Immersion blender (I have this one) or you can use a food processor, but an immersion blender will make it easier

Directions:
Cut your squash into fourths, so it will fit in your pressure cooker and cook more easily. Remove the seeds. Pour one cup of water into your pressure cooker pot and place your trivet in the bottom, place squash on top. Close top and close vent. Pressure cook on manual high for 12 minutes. When cooking time is completed quick release the pressure.

Squash ready for cooking

Remove the squash from the pot and dump out the water. Allow the squash to cool slightly, until you can handle it. Pour about half the chicken broth, the cream and all of the seasonings into the pressure cooker pot and set the cooker to the saute, less (ie the lower temp, on my IP it's called "less").

Cooked squash

Scoop the squash out of the peel and return it to the pot. Using your immersion blender, puree the squash in the pot, adding additional chicken stock until it reaches desired consistency. Depending on the exact size of your squash, you may not need the entire container. Continue blending until the soup is smooth. Makes 4-6 entree sized servings.

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