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Are you on the Instant Pot train yet? The Instant Pot is a type of multi-cooker — it can slow cook, make rice, and even ferment yogurt, but its superpower is pressure cooking. While I fully admit the Instant Pot hasn’t replaced my slow cooker, and it isn’t always a magic bullet for faster meal times, it does one thing incredibly well: meal prep.

Meal prep is the final step of meal planning and the one that puts your plan into action. You can spend a few hours meal prepping on Sunday night or you can do a little meal prep in spurts throughout the week.

This week I’ll be your meal prep guide and show you how I’m using the Instant Pot to prep healthy staples and how I am turning them into dinner throughout the week.

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Nothing gives me a case of FOMO quite like a trip to Trader Joe’s. I’m always very sure I’m missing something good. I wander the aisles, on the hunt for all those remixed snacks and snazzy new ingredients. I even check the area where new items are often showcased (usually an endcap in the back of the store). And yet I still usually leave with a cart full of my standard goodies.

How do people find the really good stuff?

I’ve got the answer now — and a cart piled like a busted-open treasure chest packed by a snack-loving pirate.

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I love a little crunch in my tuna salad. I also am not the biggest fan of mayonnaise; I like a dab, but no more. Here’s a tuna salad in that spirit — fresh, crisp, and light, with more vegetables than tuna in the mix.

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When I was growing up in the Midwest, comfort food was anywhere and everywhere. (I mean, Michigan is famous for meat, potatoes, and cheese — think of all the delicious comfort meals you can make with just those three ingredients!)

There’s something deeply satisfying about a home-cooked meal that’s hearty and familiar, but now, as a dietitian and chef, I rely on the memories of those dishes to help create new, healthier versions.

While I’ll always have a deep love for the classic comfort-food staples, I’ve also learned how to balance them out with more vegetables, less salt, and less saturated fat.

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Cooking large batches of vegetables makes it easier to eat veggies throughout the week. Pre-cooked veggies can be added to salads or served as a side dish, making both lunches and dinners easier to throw together.

Roasting large batches of vegetables on sheet pans is a great way to stock your fridge with ready-to-eat veggies. Another easy strategy is filling up the slow cooker and walking away for a couple hours.

Slow cooked vegetables don’t have to be soft and mushy. In this recipe, bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini and green beans emerge from the slow cooker tender with a little crunch left in them. These veggies are still fresh and brightly colored, and keep well in the fridge for several days.

Time in the Kitchen: 15 minutes, plus 2 hours to cook

Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 yellow bell peppers, cut into ½-inch thick strips
• 1 to 2 orange bell peppers, cut into ½-inch thick strips
• 2 to 3 small yellow crookneck squash, cut into slices approx. 1-inch wide and 3-inches long
• 2 to 3 small zucchini, cut into slices approx. 1-inch wide and 3-inches long
• 8 ounces green beans (226 g)
• 1 red or yellow onion, peeled, halved and quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• ½ cup Primal Kitchen® Avocado Oil (120 ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (2.5 ml)

Instructions

Recipe Note: The type, and amount, of vegetables used in this recipe can vary. Experiment with different combinations of vegetables that you like. When deciding how many vegetables to use, aim to fill ¾ of the slow cooker. Seasonings such as dried herbs and seasoned salt or pepper can also be used to add extra flavor.

Put all the veggies in the crockpot. Pour the avocado oil on top, and season with salt. Toss the veggies well with your hands to coat evenly in oil. Cook on high for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, taste the vegetables to see if the texture is to your liking. If you prefer softer vegetables, cook the vegetables longer.

The post Crisp and Fresh Crock Pot Veggies appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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A loss of sex drive or a big or small drop in libido has complicated roots, from depression to low self esteem, to tiredness or stress, excessive alcohol use, medications or other illnesses, and more. No food, herb or drink will counter such serious underlying issues. Research has also found that no food will directly cause arousal, […]

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I must admit that I am a latecomer to the whole “loving cauliflower” thing. When I was a child, my first taste of cauliflower was a watery, steamed, poorly prepared version of it, so I just assumed I hated it for the rest of my life.

There never seemed to be a reason to try it again, either. Brightly colored vegetables seem vibrant, healthful, and flavorful, but cauliflower just looked like dead broccoli.

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Since the advent of Pinterest, the world has been inundated with a tidal wave of tips and “hacks” designed to make our lives easier and more efficient. Some of those ideas are good! But some of them are real head-scratchers, like using a washing machine as a giant ice bucket, or the dishwasher to clean potatoes.

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While chicken is a staple for so many of us at dinner and lunch, it rarely makes its way to our breakfast plates. Sure, it might not ever compete with bacon as our favorite morning meat, but it can definitely make for a tasty choice. (Fried chicken and biscuits, anyone?)

Here are seven great ways to eat chicken for breakfast.

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If you’ve ever felt totally confused when reading the label on a package of chicken, I can guarantee that you’re not alone. Not by a long shot. There are so many terms to know, and it seems like new labeling buzzwords keep popping up. It can be tricky to know what’s important versus marketing buzzwords that don’t actually carry much weight.

Let me walk you through a rundown of the most common terms you’re likely to encounter on packaged chicken, what they actually mean, and what’s really important.

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