It’s been so fun seeing your posts about enjoying my latest cookbook, The Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking! Don’t tell the first book, but I think this one turned out better. The recipes were more thoroughly tested, the photos are better, and I added a meal prep chapter! *gasp*
Still though, this one suffers a little from second child syndrome.
You know how second children don’t always get as many photos taken of them or QUITE as much attention as the first born? Don’t get me wrong, we love them both, but that second kid just doesn’t have our undivided attention like the first one. It is what it is.
Before my first book came out I had my sneak peek post written and a week’s worth of giveaways planned out for my Instagram account.
This time? Well, our lives are pretty crazy at the moment which isn’t helping. And I didn’t get all of the fanfare prepared like I wanted to. BUT, THIS BOOK IS GOLDEN. And I want to show you a few highlights.
First of all I wanted to give you some stats:
About 100 recipes are Whole30 compliant or easily adaptable.
About 80 recipes are Low-Carb/Keto friendly or easily adaptable.
Most of the recipes do not have eggs or nuts. (A lot of the ones in the dessert chapter do, but that’s the nature of paleo baking.)
The recipes don’t use a lot of hard-to-find ingredients. If you’ve got some coconut aminos and either arrowroot or tapioca flour for a little thickening power, you’re good to go.
You can use an Instant Pot or any type of electric pressure cooker. I tested all of these using a 6 quart, but most of them will work well in an 8 quart.
Ok, now to the juicy stuff.
Can we start with soups? Because they’re my favorite. This light and easy Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup was a favorite of my kids (After they fished out the mushrooms. Stinkers.)
They also loved the 40-Minute Steak Pho, Cabbage Roll Soup, and Steve and I REALLY loved the Turmeric Detox Broth and the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Chowder!
Like slow cookers, Instant Pots (and other electric pressure cookers) are FABULOUS for making big batches of shredded meat, but they do it in a fraction of the amount of time.
That recipe up there is the Gyro-Inspired Shredded Beef. It’s like a Greek-ish sort of flavor that pairs well with some Cauliflower Rice and Paleo Tzatziki Sauce. (All recipes in the book!) This bowl MIGHT be my favorite meal in the book. It’s a tough call though.
I REALLY love the Chipotle Salsa Shredded Chicken, too. And the Caribbean Pineapple Pulled Pork. It’s like choosing favorite children.
Like I mentioned before, I included a meal prep chapter giving you basic recipes for shredded meat and then a few recipes to use that pre-cooked meat and make a super quick and easy meal during the week.
My favorites in that chapter are the Shortcut Pork Carnitas with Watermelon-Cucumber Salsa and the Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.
And….
…one section of that meal prep chapter is devoted to EGGS. Instructions for hard-cooking AND poaching!
Did you know you could poach eggs in an Instant Pot? I made some fancy Balsamic Poached Eggs with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus for my book (which is WAY easy and super impressive for a brunch!), but you can doll them up however you like.
All you need are some silicone poaching cups. And you don’t have to make a bunch at a time either. Just one if you like.
Depending on who you ask, white potatoes may or may not be technically paleo. I love that they’re Whole30 compliant, though. Anyway, I couldn’t create a side dish chapter without including a few potato salad recipes — especially since potato salads are SO SO easy to make in an Instant Pot . This Bacon Ranch Potato Salad may even change your life. Or maybe the Hot German Potato Salad with Sauerkraut and Bacon.
Potatoes off the table? The German Sweet and Sour Cabbage (Rotkohl) was a favorite of mine along with the Artichokes with Three Aiolis!
The dessert chapter was so fun! Instant Pots are so versatile when it comes to desserts. I threw in a few cake-like things like this Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Layer Cake and Brown Sugar Peach Mug Cakes. There are also some custard-type treats like the Peppermint Pots de Creme, Salted Caramel Coconut Flan, and the Crustless Chai Pumpkin Pie Cups with Toasted Marshmallow Fluff recipe that I posted a couple weeks ago. (Make those. Seriously.)
And like the first book, I added a basics chapter with more seasoning blends, BBQ sauces, and some tasty cashew-based cheese sauces to play with!
Did you know I wrote a conversion chart for you to use the recipes in my slow cooker book in your Instant Pot? Having both would give you 350 healthy, paleo-friendly recipes! That’s almost one for each day of the year. Well, maybe fewers because you probably don’t want to eat BBQ sauce for dinner.
The point is, grab a book (or two) if you haven’t gotten them yet! Or if you have, I would love for you to leave me a review!
Ann HG
Monday 25th of March 2019
I'm having issues with burning with my new IP Ultra that I never had in my DUO before. Just made the Butter Chicken and am finishing it on the stove due to just such a problem (it worked fine in my duo before). I noticed the other Ann has an Ultra too and am thinking they run hotter than the DUO's and may need 1/2 cup or so added liquid. ?? I thought I might also use the Saute function to heat up the ingredients more (like in some of the chili type recipes) before closing the lid. Any other ideas?
Ann
Wednesday 23rd of January 2019
Thank you for those suggestions, Natalie! I will check all those things and try again. I have a 6 qt. Instant Pot Ultra. On mine, the valve goes back to sealing as soon as it is turned on, but we were playing with it so much maybe it was switched back to vent. That certainly would cause a problem! Despite the issues I had on this first try, the meat did cook and it was really good! Thank you.
Ann Harper
Sunday 20th of January 2019
Hi, I got an instant pot for Christmas and was excited to show my sister all about Instant Pot cooking. I've made a few things and watched a lot of videos about IP cooking online. I didn't have a cookbook except the one that came with the IP, so I bought yours. I should have caught this, but unfortunately I didn't. We used the recipe Pot Roast with Balsamic Gravy. I got the BURN message about 20 minutes in. After I read and re-read the recipe, looked at all the extra pages of hints and basic recipes, I noticed there there was not nearly enough liquid in the recipe (or others) for it to be successful in the Instant Pot. I've read (and watched videos) that say any recipe needs 1-2 cups of water, just to make the pressure function work. Am I missing something? In that 20 minutes of "cooking" time, the meat was done, (It was supposed to cook for 60 min) and it was tasty, but it was definitely crispy and some not edible due to the caramelizing of the balsamic vinegar. For the recipes that I've looked at in your book, (I haven't looked at all) they don't call for the larger amounts of liquid. My sister was convinced that the cooking time included the time it took for the IP to come to pressure, but that is not how the timer works, and I've not read anything that says that. I can probably figure out how to make them work, but can you please explain the lack of 1-2 c liquid in the recipes? I even accidentally put the broth into the IP instead of saving it until the end to make the gravy, as I was expecting to add some kind of liquid to the IP for the recipe. It was a good thing it was in there, or it would have burned even faster. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Natalie Perry
Sunday 20th of January 2019
One more thought -- are you ensuring that the valve is set to "sealing" when you turn the pot on? If not, it'll just release the steam as it's cooking and would definitely burn faster.
Natalie Perry
Sunday 20th of January 2019
OK, a lot of questions here. I'm sorry you're getting a burn notice. I (and about 40 other people) tested these recipes in various models of Instant Pots and rarely did we get burn notices. That usually happened when someone tried to make a recipe in an 8-quart pot. What size is your Instant Pot? I tested all of the recipes in 6 quart models. Also, I do take into account the moisture released by the meat inside the pot. I find that if i add two whole cups of liquid, then i end up with a soupy mess afterward. And I've noticed that some models tend to need a little more liquid -- maybe yours is one. Just add a little extra liquid than the recipe states.
Also, the pressure cooking time is JUST the time that the Instant Pot is pressurized. In the recipes in my book it'll tell you a pressurizing time as well as a natural release time (if any). This does not take into account the time it takes for the cooker to pressurize which can vary wildly depending on what's in the pot.
I hope this helps!
Jennifer
Tuesday 1st of January 2019
So far I am loving this cookbook! I use it with a Cuisinart pressure cooker, and it's wonderful to have a recipe book that is not completely tailored to the Instant Pot. Recipes are straightforward and, so far, delish!
Natalie Perry
Sunday 20th of January 2019
Thank you!