Intermittent Fasting and the Instant Pot

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” 

I have been struggling these past two weeks ( and if I am honest with myself, for a long time) with sugar cravings....around 9.00 PM in the night...the hankering for something sweet... a tub of Rocky Road, half a bear claw, a bowl of kheer or even a big piece of dark chocolate hits me and I am not able to resist it. On Tuesday, I made the decision to try Intermittent Fasting (IF) (16:8)...fast 16 hours and eat 8 hours...this was mainly to nip this hankering for sugar this late in the night in the bud. I realized that 16:8 was too restricting and extreme for me in the first two days (as my husband said it I was hangry) and re-adjusted it to 12:12 which means fast 12 hours and eat 12 hours which has been working really well for me.

If you are wondering isn't IF too extreme and is it researched - the truth is I have been researching this trend for a year now. The reality is it works for some body types and definitely not others (eg. my husband and son need their AM breakfast while I have been skipping breakfast almost 15 years now) - so evaluate if this is something your body will benefit from!

Researched Benefits of IF

• When we fast our body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible
• Helps lose weight and body fat  (not so interested in losing weight but yes for Body Fat)
• Reduces the Risk for Type 2 Diabetics
• Reduces Oxidative Stress and inflammation of the body
• Improves Heart Health
• May help prevent some kinds of cancer
• Good for your brain
• May help prevent Alzheimer's
• May extend lifespan & help live longer

I do want to emphasize that the  main reason I started with IF is  because it agrees with my body habits and it's a test of my self-control to see if I can stop eating at 8.00 PM in the night till 8.00 AM in the morning (and then slowly increase the duration of my fasting if my body allows for it).

How is my Instant Pot helping me with my endeavor?

1. Clean Eating is made simple with the Instant Pot
2. I am able to cook multiple meals without much fuss in a short period of time 
3. Meal Planning is a breeze (see the dishes I made in less than 2 hrs on a Saturday morning - Rajma, Cauliflower Soup, Egg Curry)

Some of the Recipes I made this week  (click on the name for links to the recipe)

Sambar

Egg Curry

Rajma/Channa Masala

Cauliflower Soup

Yes! I have lost about 2 lbs in the first week  (but that wasn't the goal) and feel like this is a plan I can follow long-term without any issues. I don't feel any drop in energy levels in the first five days, don't feel hungry and am able to continue my exercise routine without any issues.

How is your weekend turning out?

It's raining Cauliflowers...

"When life gives you rainy days,

Wear Cute Boots and jump in the puddles"

If the shoes are UGGs,

Take them off, make yourself a cup of chai and enjoy from inside.

In my defense, I was rather poorly dressed, no jacket and wearing my  pair of non-water resistant UGGs, so I quickly beat a hasty retreat to the house and watched the downpour from the kitchen...this was Monday. Sunday however was a nice and warm day and I played Pokemon Go with my son and his friends (and their moms). In between the community day quest for pokemons (Mareeps if you are interested!) I walked up to the Sunday Farmer's market for 20 minutes (no bags, just my huge laptop bag which I had no idea why I was carrying...resisted Beckmann's pastries and went straight to the person who hooks me up with the best Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli - he had amazing Cauliflower and I picked out my veggies and got ready to pay him - he threw in two more cauliflowers to my pile of vegetables

So if you saw this weird woman carrying about 12 lbs of fruits and vegetables in a handbag trying unsuccessfully to play Pokemon Go while walking back to the park...yup that was me...

Once I got home, we  caught up playing with our new puppy (this included feeding, taking care of her "business and of course lots of cuddles) and watching TV and it was time for dinner!

And out came the Instant Pot to my rescue  and I made a Cauliflower Soup...honestly I was like this mad scientist throwing together ingredients and what came out was sheer magic !!!

Cauliflower Soup

What's in it?

1. 2 heads of Cauliflower
2. Better than Bouillon Chicken Stock (they have a veggie version too) - use about 2 large tablespoon
3. Minced Garlic,  1  Medium Chopped Onion (Red)
4. Water - 2 Quarts 
5. Bragg's Liquid Amino
6. Salt and Pepper to Taste, Avocado Oil, 1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
7. Labneh (Middle Eastern Probiotic Cheese) - I used the Greek Gods Brand...if you can't find Labneh, feel free to use low-fat plain Kefir ($2.99 at Trader Joe's)
8. 1 handful mint (plus some for garnish)

How I made it?

• Instant Pot on Saute - Add oil/ghee, when hot saute garlic and onions till onions are lightly brown, add turmeric powder and Cauliflower and Saute for 1 minute
• Add the water, Liquid Amino and chicken bouillon (I buy mine from Costco!)
• Put it in Rice Mode
• When it's done, take your immersion blender (add Labneh, salt and pepper and Mint leaves) and give it a whir till it's smooth and creamy
• Give it a taste for salt and pepper
• Sit Back -  ENJOY!
• We ate this with toasted Asiago Sour Dough (Beckmann's)

Servings

This is about 8 servings. 
Nutrition per servings - < 100 calories, 12 gms of Carb, 2 gms of Fat, 8 gms of protein, 7 gms of Fiber and 6 gms of Sugar

To New Beginnings...

Life is but a stopping place,

A pause in what's to be,

We all have different journeys to take,

Different paths that merge along the way,

Our destination seemingly elusive, 

Reaches some of us faster,

while for others is an endless quest.

But I believe in New Beginnings...

In wiping the slate clean and starting all over,

Never giving up and creating our own destination...

To those new beginnings...

It's the Oriya and Tamil New Year and we celebrated this festival with a traditional Oriya Kheer called "Palua Khiri". Palua or Arrowroot is a medicinal root found in East India and I got my stock from the Adivasi Mela when I was down in India but you can find it on Amazon too. Palua is nutritive, and is used as an agreeable, non-irritating diet in certain chronic diseases, during convalescence from fevers, in irritations of the digestive and respiratory tract  and is well suited for infants - it's jelly has no peculiar taste, and is less liable to become acid in the stomach, and is generally preferred by young infants to all others. It helps with weight loss and heart health.

How to make Palua Khiri in your Instant Pot?

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups of 1% Organic Milk + 1/2 cup
• 1/2 can of Trader Joe's Organic Condensed Milk
• Crushed Elaichi (Cardamom)
• Almonds
• 1/4-1/2 cup of Palua or Arrowroot Powder (this thickens the kheer, so add based on how thick you like your kheer)

How To?

1. Mix the 1/2 Cup milk with the 1/2 cup of Arrowroot
2. Add 4.5 Cups of Milk+ the condensed milk+ Crushed Elaichi plus the slush from step 1 to your Instant Pot
3. Set the Instant Pot for Manual 5 minutes (NR)
4. Once the pressure has naturally release, open, stir and taste 
5. If you are happy with the sweetness, go ahead and keep in glass/earthen container for it to set ((if not please add either sugar, jaggery, stevia to your taste)
6. Once it cools down, you can keep it in the fridge. Garnish with almonds and savor this wonderful dessert which is actually very good for you!