Skinny Weightloss Veggie Soup

A big bowl of vegetable loaded soup that is delicious, warm, comforting and oh, so nutritious,  is one of my favorite Instant Pot meals. I love making it in the winter and store it in the fridge for my lunch. 

I call this my skinny weight loss soup because it's filling, and contains a bowlful of nutrients that reduce bloating, inflammation, and aid in overall health. 

I'm saving time by making this in the Instant Pot, which takes 25 minutes instead of letting it simmer all day, and f I want an even bigger time saver, I buy as many pre-chopped veggies as I can.

The star veggies in this soup are cabbage and leeks. Cabbage is a nutritious and filling leafy green. Leeks, and all of the veggies in this soup are nutrient-dense, meaning that they’re low in calories yet high in vitamins and minerals. However, leeks specifically are a good source of manganese, which may help reduce premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms and promote thyroid health. Leeks are also great for the skin, and may help with inflammation, bloating, and heart health.

Tips for making Instant Pot Vegetable Soup:
You can use any beans you like. I used white beans, but you can use kidney beans, navy beans, or black beans.
Don’t like cauliflower? Use broccoli instead. Use the veggies you like and enjoy. 
I use chicken stock, but you could use vegetable stock as well. I love adding turmeric to any dish I can and I used it in this soup too. If you have it on hand, add 1/2 teaspoon.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 garlic cloves minced
4 leeks, trimmed and sliced
5 white mushrooms washed, sliced
2 cups riced cauliflower (or florets if you prefer)
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 zucchini, chopped

2 yellow summer squash, chopped
3 cups chopped cabbage
1 15 oz. can white beans drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock

**Option: I like to puree my beans, tomatoes and chicken stock in a blender before adding them to the Instant Pot. It thickens the broth.
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Press "saute" button on your Instant Pot. Add olive oil to the stainless steel insert. Wait 2 minutes for it to preheat.
2. Add garlic and leeks to Instant Pot. Saute, stirring often, until the leeks soften. Add mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant.
3. Press "off/stop" button.
4. Add remaining ingredients to Instant Pot.
5. Place lid on the pressure cooker and make sure the valve is set to "sealing".
6. Press "pressure cook" setting and timer to 25 minutes.
7. The Instant Pot will beep and start cooking. It may take about 5-10 minutes for it to come to pressure and then start the timer.
8. When done, the Instant Pot will beep. Let the pressure release naturally for about 5 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure by carefully switching the valve to "venting".
9. Carefully remove the lid, away from your face, and set aside.
10. Stir the soup. Let cool slightly before serving.
11. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is loaded with vegetables: cabbage, garlic, zucchini, carrots, celery, cauliflower, leeks and beans. It will help with bloat and inflammation, keep you full. The addition of turmeric, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika and bay leaves add a delicious flavor.

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Immune Boosting 40 Garlic Cloves Chicken Soup

After traveling to NYC, taking a ton of public transportation, attending a fitness conference with thousands of people, teaching my students, working at the gym, mothering my kids, and the flu going around, I started to feel a bit run down. Before taking over-the-counter remedies, I like to try boosting my immune system naturally.

Garlic is a natural antibacterial and anti parasitic. It can also relieve stuffy noses, and it's an immune system booster. 

Try it! The chicken and garlic broth will warm you right up. The most surprising aspect you'll discover is the garlic cloves melt in your mouth. They also break down slightly in the soup to create what feels like a cream of garlic broth. There will be no such thing as leftovers with this recipe, so you may want to double or triple it (don't worry, your Instant Pot can handle it).

Read all the instructions of the Instant Pot before cooking with it! This recipe may not contain all of the specific safety instructions as they appear in the manual.

To make this gluten-free, sub flour with arrowroot starch.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
40 cloves of garlic (prepeeled to make life easy or 3 whole heads garlic, peeled)
1 pound frozen (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup white wine
2 sprigs of thyme or 2 TBSP
1 quart chicken broth
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt, to taste
Parsley leaves, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Plug in the Instant Pot and press the [Saute] button. When it beeps and "Hot" appears on the LED display, add butter, olive oil, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until garlic becomes completely caramelized. Add wine and continue cooking until it nearly evaporates. Add chicken, thyme, and broth. Close lid as manual instructs, making sure the pressure release handle is secured in the sealed position.
2. Press [Manual] button and use the [+] or [-] buttons to choose 8 minutes of cook time. Once Instant Pot has finished the cook time, unplug Instant Pot. Use the "Quick Release" method of opening the cooker by carefully turning the pressure release handle to the "venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down. Carefully open the lid.
3. Remove chicken breasts and place on a cutting board. Shred using two forks.
4. In a small bowl, add about 1 cup of broth. Slowly whisk in flour to form a smooth slurry with no lumps. 
5. Remove and discard thyme stems. Pour the slurry into the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Salt to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons).
6. Spoon into bowls and garnish with parsley.

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Instant Pot Ground Beef Butternut Squash Stew

I <3 <3 <3 my Instant Pot!
It may be the best small, kitchen appliance I've ever bought, and it's definitely in my top 10 kitchen gadgets. I meal prepped my breakfasts and lunches this week, but I purposely didn't prep my dinners, because I have an Instant Pot.
However, I did PLAN my dinners. On the menu for tonight: Ground Beef Butternut Squash Stew.......and I started with frozen beef!!!
To be fair, I did buy pre-cut butternut squash, but everything else, I just made tonight. From start to finish, it took 40 minutes!
Sharing the recipe with you:

21 Day Fix container equivalents:

1 Red

1 Green

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. raw, frozen, lean ground, beef
1 shallot minced as small as I could (because my husband doesn't like shallots)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes (low sodium)
1 cup low sodium, organic, beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 TBSP thyme
1 TBSP rosemary
1 tsp. sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1⁄4 cup chopped flat leaf parsely

PREPARATION
1. Turn on Instant Pot "sauté" function and heat olive oil.
2. Add shallot and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes until onions are translucent.
3. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
4. Add frozen beef, tomatoes, broth, squash, herbs, salt, and pepper.
5. Turn off sauté function.
6. Cover, turn QR valve to "sealing" and set to "pressure cook" for 25 minutes.
7. After 25 minutes, do a slow quick release, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
8. Uncover, remove bay leaf; serve topped with parsley.
9. If I had cauliflower rice, I would have topped it with the stew, but we ate it as is, with some sautéed spinach.. 

DELISH!!

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Instant Pot Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup

Instant Pot chicken and cauliflower rice soup was amazing, and we have been eating leftovers all week long. Canned chicken soup is always so full of sodium and half the time you aren’t even sure if it’s real chicken in there. So homemade is our way to go!!
Here is a new recipe I made with my Instant Pot that was delicious!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 celery sticks, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP thyme
Any vegetables of your choice (I used broccoli, chopped red pepper, and peas)
3 large frozen chicken breasts
6 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
One package of frozen cauliflower rice (I get mine at Trader Joe's)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set Instant Pot to Saute function.
2. Heat olive oil and onions until onions start to soften and become translucent, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for another minute.
4. Add frozen chicken to Instant Pot, followed by chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, 2 teaspoons of salt and several turns of freshly ground pepper.
5. Turn off Saute function, lock Instant Pot lid in place, make sure pressure valve is set to sealing and set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 20 minutes, via manual mode.
6. Instant Pot will take 15-20 minutes to come to pressure, then will countdown from 20 minutes.
7. After 20 minutes at high pressure, Instant Pot will beep and switch to keep warm mode.
8. Turn pressure release valve to Quick Release pressure.
9. Carefully open Instant Pot, keeping lid angled away from you to avoid very hot steam.
10. Remove chicken and set aside to shred.
11. Turn Instant Pot back to Saute function and let chicken broth come to a boil.
12. Shred the chicken.
13. Add frozen cauliflower to the soup.
14. Return shredded chicken to the pot.💓
15. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

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How to cook a whole frozen chicken in an Instant Pot

Let’s get real. Who has time to defrost? Even though I make a meal plan in advance, I always forget to defrost the meal I planned! And by the time I realize this, I have to come up with something for dinner at 4 pm.

That’s why I was so excited to meet the Instant Pot!! It allows me to think of something to make for dinner at 4:00 pm and have it on the table by 5:30…even if it’s a whole frozen chicken. Yes! It’s true. FROZEN TO COOKED! I know that’s hard to believe. But miracles do happen. I threw a 5 lb frozen chicken in the Instant Pot and it set the timer for 50 minutes. It took about 15 minutes to come to pressure and then I let the pressure come down for about 15 minutes before opening the pot. So about an hour and 20 minutes total time. The chicken was perfectly tender and we ate some of it plain that night with a salad and then saved the rest for wraps and sandwiches.

One thing I did notice was that I had to really work to get my 5 lb chicken to fit in my Instant Pot. It was placed on the trivet and I had to maneuver it around a bit. So next time I’ll probably choose a 4 lb chicken, which would actually take a few less minutes to cook, as well as fit better.

If you’re a fan of the crispy skin on a chicken then you’ll probably want to take the extra step of placing the chicken under the broiler after it cooks. I just stuck my chicken on a cookie sheet and put it under a broiler set on high for about 5 minutes. That way my sons and husband, who live for the skin, can be happy.To cook this frozen chicken I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1 for this recipe.

If you love getting those whole rotisserie chickens at your grocery store, you’ll love this recipe for pressure cooker whole seasoned chicken. The chicken is cooked in minutes in your Instant Pot (my chicken was actually totally frozen) and then stuck under the broiler to crisp up the skin. Slice the chicken up to eat plain or use it in any recipes that call for cooked chicken.

INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken (mine was 5 lbs and fit just perfectly in my Instant Pot, so I wouldn't buy it any bigger).
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 TBSP dried rosemary
1 TBSP dried sage
1 TBSP dried thyme
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1.  Remove packaging from frozen chicken. Run a little warm water over the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. (I didn't removed the packaged giblets and neck until after the chicken was cooked).
2. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and put the bay leaf in there too. Place the trivet in the bottom.
3. In a little bowl combine the butter, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Use your fingers to run this mixture all over the chicken. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the trivet.
4. Cover the Instant Pot and set the timer on manual for 50 minutes. Make sure valve is set to “sealing.” When the timer beeps let some of the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes and then switch the valve to “venting” and release the rest of the pressure.
5. When it is done cooking, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the meatiest portion of the chicken. It should read 165° F. If it’s not up to temperature then you’ll want to cover the pot and cook on manual setting for 5-10 more minutes.
6. Optional: Place the chicken on a cookie sheet and put under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
7. Slice chicken and serve. Season to taste. I save the leftovers to use in other recipes or make sandwiches and wraps with it.

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