One of the biggest time and money wasters out there is not actually Netflix, it is food.
According to Oz harvest Australians, on average, throw out 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, 70% of which is perfectly edible. Partly this is due to not knowing what to do with leftovers etc, but another reason is that when we buy the food, we have the best intentions of what to do with it, however we have a busy week or we get tired, and instead of cooking the meals that we had planned, we call for menu log or visit our favourite restaurant and essentially, the food that we have purchased goes straight in the bin.
This has a few issues. number one is that inevitably, the food goes to waste. It goes straight to landfill where it contributes to our ever increasing landfill problem releasing methane – 28x stronger than carbon dioxide.
Photograph by Bakhrom Tursunov
Another issue is that, essentially, food that is home prepared is actually healthier than take away. It is something that we all know, and yes there are healthy options out there, but lets face it, if we have decided that we are too tired to cook, chances are that we are going to treat ourselves, and that is definitely not going to be with a salad or a grilled steak.
Photograph by Oliver Sjostrom
The Solution- Insert my favourite appliance in the world, that makes life soo. much easier- the pressure cooker. Those close to me know that I am like the crazy cat lady of appliances. If there is a kitchen appliance that makes it easy for me to feed my family better, and makes it easier for me to live my life- I am going to find out about it. Further to this point, if it makes a big impact on my life- everyone I know is also going to know about it.
*i am not affiliated in any way with any electric pressure cooker companies- I am just a fan!
These are the reasons that the Electric Pressure Cooker is so great
Makes Meal Prepping soo easy
The electric pressure cooker is perfect for preparing proteins for meal prepping. I often cook up whole chicken to use during the week in different meals- especially lunches when I would usually rely on leftovers- it's a great option to add to sandwiches or salads when there is not an available microwave to heat up leftovers.
Can Cook Food Straight From The Freezer (I'm talking about cooking entire frozen chickens!)
One of my favourite ways to cook whole chicken is this recipe from ifoodreal, that cooks chicken from frozen. Because I tend to do fairly large grocery hauls, so that I do not have to be constantly going to the shops, I have a tendency to purchase my proteins and put them straight in the freezer. Having the ability to cook a whole chicken straight from the freezer, without having to defrost prior to cooking, has been a massive time saver for my family.
Pressure Cookers Prepare Dried Foods Like A Dream!
Living simply often involves choosing dried produce over canned or pre prepared goods such as rice, beans and legumes. If your preferred source of protein is from beans, either you are vegan or vegetarian, or simply on the type of budget or culture that prefers legumes over animal products, there is no better appliance than the pressure cooker!!
Cooking legumes in the pressure cooker, does require some trial and error, but it is definitely worth it for the cost, flavour and convenience of meal prepping your dried beans. When I say trial and error, it is simply a case of, when the pressure cooker is finished and has de pressurised, either naturally or via releasing the pressure (depending on the recipe), check the beans to see if they are done to your liking! if they are too soft, next time cook them a bit less. If they are too hard, put the lid back on and cook for a minute or two more until they are the right consistency. A little bit of trial and error now, will pay off with loads of meal prepped food in the future!
Reduce electricity costs by cooking more efficiently.
Pressure cookers are an efficient appliance. The time taken to cook a 2kg whole roast chicken in the oven is approx. 1.5 hrs, as opposed to 30 minutes for a pressure cooker. Even considering the pressurising and de-pressurising there is a considerable time saving. Simply put, less cooking time means less energy usage.
It is a set and forget appliance.
This one speaks for itself! Pressure cookers have had a reputation in the past of being a scary appliance. with good reason- some blew up!! but they were the manual pressure cookers- I have never used one and I don't think I ever would- kudos to you if you have- you are so much braver than I will ever be!
These days, they have a sealing mechanism that will not allow them to be started or opened until it is safe to do so. If you follow the manufacturers instructions, chances are that you will never have any issues! Ever. Simply set your food in the pressure cooker, and leave it there until it beeps. Simples!!
Here are a few of my favourite meal prep recipes that I have found easy to follow:
Instant Pot Whole Frozen Chicken
Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast
*I have no affiliations with any of these websites, just a passion for good food, meal prepped easily!
What is your favourite appliance to make meal prepping simple? Comment below.