Meal prep can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! Instant Pot to the rescue!

I’ve been experimenting with cooking spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot. It is admittedly a bit of a different texture than when baked in the oven as it is cooked with moisture in the Instant Pot rather than dry heat. But, it gets done SO much faster and I like that. I love how spaghetti squash is so porous and takes on flavors so easily. I recently had a meal from my favorite meal service, Paleo Works, that combined spaghetti squash, chicken and tomato bruschetta. I decided to try to do a quick copycat recipe using my Instant Pot. While mine is admittedly a hack in comparison to that chef’s creation, I think I threw together a tasty meal. You can certainly make your own homemade bruschetta, but I use a jarred grocery store kind in this recipe in order to save time.

I also have been exploring warm potato salads. Have you ever had a Hot German Potato Salad where the potatoes are slightly over cooked and starting to fall apart? The potatoes begin to fall apart as you stir in the dressing and it creates a thick sauce. It is so good! It occurred to me that I could create an Italian version of Hot Potato Salad using jarred basil pesto and red potatoes. I also threw in some green beans for a veggie kick, and chicken for added protein. Best of all, I could cook it all in the Instant Pot at once!

I made four of each of these meals for a total of EIGHT meals all at the same time in roughly 45 minutes. While the squash was cooking, I prepped the chicken, green beans, and potatoes. When the squash finished, I removed it and washed my pot. I then added the chicken, potatoes and green beans to the pot to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. I scraped out the spaghetti squash and mixed in some tomato bruschetta. I portioned it out in four containers. When the pot timer went off, I released the steam and removed half of the chicken and evenly distributed over each of the servings of squash. I added a heaping spoonful of bruschetta on top of the chicken, and BAM! Four meals were done.  Next I scooped out the potato mixture and put it in a bowl. I thinned out some jarred basil pesto with olive oil and then gently tossed the potato mixture with the pesto until it was coated evenly. I divided it into four servings, and BAM! Four more meals done!

A couple notes: I tried the hot potato salad using frozen chicken. I cooked it for 13 minutes. It was good, but the potatoes were extremely soft. I think if you are using frozen chicken, then you should cook the potatoes and green beans separately for 8 minutes. Cook the frozen chicken for 13 minutes. Then, combine. Also, if you don’t like basil pesto, just use melted butter instead. I also made this with cilantro pesto and it was delicious!

This prep is easy, quick, AND healthy. Get yourself an Instant Pot and give it a try!

Interested in the mesh steamer basket shown in my instruction video! Grab it here! Or, try this one that was just released on Amazon!

xo Jaime

The links found in this post are affiliate links that help support the life of this blog. All opinions are my own, and I am not sponsored by any companies at this time. When you use my links to purchase, you help keep Modern Day Fox going!

I love rice. I think it constituted about 90% of my diet in college. The other 10% was Fruity Pebbles. Lately, I have been craving that Yellow Rice that you get in the grocery store. You know, the kind that is like 65 cents, full of sodium, and looks like this…

But, I’m not in college anymore. So, I care about things like my blood pressure.

During a recent vacation, my friend whipped up her version of Yellow Rice in her Instant Pot and I was intrigued. I took her recipe home and tweaked it out to fit my taste preferences. I thought you might enjoy it too! This recipe is very, very basic and can be enhanced with additional seasonings like onion power or curry. You can also opt to toast your basmati rice in the oil before adding the other ingredients. Go crazy and throw in some diced onions sautéed in the oil too! Or, be lazy like me and follow the easy recipe below.

If you are a visual person, here is a how-to video complete with Paw Patrol in the background. Yay!

Enjoy!
xo Jaime

This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog. All opinions are my own. When you use my links to purchase products I recommend, you help keep Modern Day Fox going!

Wow! This recipe took off fast in the Instant Pot Community! So happy to see so many excited about how EASY using the Instant Pot can be. There is nothing to be scared of, folks! Not only is this soup easy though, it’s also healthy, gluten and grain-free, and fits perfectly with the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan.

A little warning – this soup has some kick. If you are sensitive to spice or have little ones who go crazy with the slightest hint of heat, sub the Rotel for another can of diced tomatoes. You may also consider cutting the chili powder to a half tablespoon and the pepper to a half teaspoon. As for me, I love a lot of flavor in my recipes so I love all the spices.

Check out my video on how to make this soup:

This post contains affiliate links that help support my blog. When you make purchases using my links, you help me keep it afloat! All opinions are my own and I only recommend products I actually use.

Print Recipe

Modern Day Fox Instant Pot Tortilla "Dump" Soup

Course

Soup

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Passive Time

8 min (time to pressure)

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh chicken breast
• 1 can black bean drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can Rotel (Mild) (Rotel is diced tomatoes w green chile peppers
• 1 TBSP Cumin
• 1 TBSP Salt
• 1 TBSP Chili powder reduce to 1/2 TBSP if sensitive to spice
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if sensitive to spice
• 1 TBSP minced garlic heaping
• 6 cups Chicken broth

Course Soup Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 15 min Passive Time 8 min (time to pressure) Servings servings Ingredients 1 lb fresh chicken breast 1 can black bean drained and rinsed 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can Rotel (Mild) (Rotel is diced tomatoes w green chile peppers 1 TBSP Cumin 1 TBSP Salt 1 TBSP Chili powder reduce to 1/2 TBSP if sensitive to spice 1 teaspoon Black Pepper reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if sensitive to spice 1 TBSP minced garlic heaping 6 cups Chicken broth

Instructions

1. Dump in all ingredients and stir.
2. Set pot to manual HP for 15 min. You can either do a quick release or let steam release naturally. I find the chicken is a bit more tender with a natural release.
3. Remove chicken and shred well.
4. Return to broth and stir.
5. Serve with tortilla chips! Or, save the calories and just sprinkle on cilantro, a little cheese, and a slice of avocado!

Recipe Notes

If you use frozen chicken, I would do 20 min HP to be safe (although 15 min has worked for me in the past. I've found it depends on whether I laid my chicken flat to freeze.) Note that if your chicken is frozen in a big ball, it may not cook thoroughly in the center. If you find your chicken is not cooked through, my quick trick is break it apart and set pot to Sauté. Chicken will finish cooking in the boiling broth.

Share this Recipe

This has nothing to do with stir fry, but don’t you agree that Trolls is the cutest movie ever? I’ve watched it at least 20 times with my boys and I’m still not sick of it. I love the cloud character that makes a cameo! “Little slappy, make Daddy happy?” Laughter across the household ensues every time we see that part. That movie just makes me feel good, and we have the best dance parties every time we watch it.

This post isn’t about the Trolls. This post is about stir-fry. Not the kind with loads of rice though! In fact, there are no grains in this recipe at all. Just tasty vegetables and chicken, and one unexpected ingredient that takes the flavor over the top! This is a perfect meal to prep on Sunday and portion out between four containers for lunches all week long!

PALEO STIR-FRY

(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

1 Riced Cauliflower Head or (2) bags Steamed Riced Cauliflower bags

1 TBSP Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of your choice)

2 cups cooked and chopped chicken (great use for your rotisserie chicken)

1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned

1 Green Bell Pepper, julienned

2 cups Frozen Broccoli

1 8oz can of Water Chestnuts

1/2 cup Sliced Mild Pepperoncinis

1-2 TBSP Modern Day Fox Kitchen Sink Seasoning, or the seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are a great start!), season to your own taste preferences

DIRECTIONS:

If you are using the frozen steam bags of cauliflower, follow the directions to steam in the microwave. Open the bag and drain the water. If you are using raw cauliflower, here is a great link from the Minimalist Baker with concise instructions. Prepare and set to the side. NOTE: It’s important to try to get all the water out of the cooked cauliflower rice before adding to your stir-fry.

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok.

Add julienned peppers and carrots to hot oil and saute until softened.

Add frozen broccoli and saute until defrosted and warmed. You may need to put a lid of your pan to help the frozen broccoli cook. (NOTE: When I am preparing this dish for a weekly food prep, I don’t worry about cooking the broccoli all the way through. When I reheat later in the week, it will cook in the microwave.)

Add water chestnuts and saute until warmed.

Add in cooked chicken and seasoning. Mix well until chicken is hot.

The steamed cauliflower only needs a minute or two of saute since it is already cooked. Add the steamed cauliflower after the other vegetables are cooked as shown in my photos below. The raw riced cauliflower will need a bit more time to saute and cook.

Finally, add in the pepperoncinis. This ingredient adds a lot of flavor and zest to this dish.

Serve immediately, or portion out in four meal prep containers to reheat and enjoy throughout the week.

OPTIONAL – Add Soy Sauce (not Paleo) or Coconut Aminos if you wish. If you do not have allergies to nuts, this stir fry is off the hook topped with roasted cashew pieces on top.

Enjoy!

xo Jaime

Since clients are always asking me what accessories they need for meal prep, I decided to dedicate a post to help my followers have an all-in-one reference guide to which they can refer. This will also help me to be able to post a single link to this blog post instead of looking up the products every time! All of these links are Amazon Affiliate links and if you use them then you are helping to support my blog! I assure you that at the time of writing this post, I have no sponsorships and all of these products have come from my own research and subsequent purchases. I love these items, and I just want to share my finds with you! I will also be making a similar post with Instant Pot accessories, so stay tuned for that!

Here are my top ten kitchen essentials for meal prepping:

#1 For prepping egg muffins, you absolutely MUST get a silicone muffin pan. It is life changing! I used to dread making egg muffins because it took me forever to get my pans clean. With the silicone pan, the muffins slide right out and your clean-up is a snap.
Zenware 24 Cup Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mold for Muffins, Cupcakes and Mini Cakes

#2 A friend just introduced me to this manual food chopped. What a lifesaver! I HATE chopping onions. With this, you pull a cord a few times and your onions are diced. No tears, no stinky hands, no effort!

Brieftons Manual Food Chopper: Compact & Powerful Hand Held Vegetable Chopper / Mincer / Blender to Chop Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Herbs, Onions, Garlics for Salsa, Salad, Pesto, Coleslaw, Puree

#3 Every meal prepper needs to invest in BPA free, freezer and microwave-safe sturdy containers. I’m loving these by Freshware!

Freshware 15-Pack 2 Compartment Bento Lunch Boxes with Lids – Stackable, Reusable, Microwave, Dishwasher & Freezer Safe – Meal Prep, Portion Control, 21 Day Fix & Food Storage Containers (25oz)

#4 An apple corer is another handy-dandy device that will save you time and energy. I use this for preparing apple slices for my kids almost on a daily basis. It can also be used to help quickly slice potatoes.

Calphalon Easy Grip Apple Corer Slicer

#5 There is a reason why “zoodles” are all the rage! They are a delicious low carb alternative to pasta. But, you need to have the right tools which is why I invested in this spiralizer several months ago. It hasn’t failed me yet!

Paderno World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-Blade Vegetable Spiral Slicer

If you aren’t ready to spend $22 on a spiralizer, the Veggeti is another great option which I also own. This requires slightly more effort (not much) and is better if you are only prepping for one.

Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta

#6 If you are going to impress your co-workers with your gorgeous mason jar salads, you’d better buy some jars!

Kerr 0519 wide mouth jar quart, 32oz (case of 12)

For your overnight oats, it’s best to use the pint size:

Ball Jar 1pt Ball Mason Jars, Case of 12

#7 I use my cutting board on a daily basis. I like this one because it is very easy to clean and it stays put on the counter.

OXO Good Grips Utility Cutting Board

#8 If you are prepping food, do yourself a favor and invest in a quality knife set. Full disclosure, I need to buy one. This is the one I have my eye on it because it is a great value and five star reviews.

Rada Cutlery S05 Meal Prep Knife Gift Set

#9 You should also have measuring tools not only for use in recipes, but also for portion control! For general cooking, I use the glass Pyrex measuring cups:

Pyrex 3-Piece Glass Measuring Cup Set

For portion control containers,I recommend looking into the 21 Day Fix program. The Fix nutrition plan is incredibly effective and the program comes with a set of color coded container which represent one servings of each of the food groups in the plan. It takes all the guess work of how much to eat of what foods each day.

And, finally, #10! You didn’t think I’d leave out the Instant Pot, did you? This appliance has changed everything for me when it comes to food prep. I use it to cook whole chickens each week, to make hard boiled eggs, steamed rice and homemade yogurt, and countless other recipes. This is the one I have:

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W

This arsenal of kitchen essential will make you a champion meal prepper in no time!

So, what did I leave out? Are there any kitchen tools that have helped you in your meal prep efforts. I’d love to know, and am always looking for a reason to buy new stuff! Hook me up in the comments!

xo Jaime

#1 Use a simple weekly planner and grocery list to plan out your meals the day before. Click these links for nice templates I found online for a weekly meal plan schedule and a grocery list. Once you do this type of planning for 4-5 weeks, you can reuse your schedules from month to month, or from season to season. No reason to cook the same tired thing every single week!

#2 Use what you’ve got. Every weekend, review what’s in your fridge. Have spinach that is about to turn? Throw it into a risotto. Have some chicken that you need to cook? Make soup!

#3 Be prepared with the right tools. Sturdy, BPA-free, microwave and freezer-safe containers like these will do you a world of good when reheating or storing your meals.

#4 You are more apt to make a green smoothie if you have prepped the ingredients in advance. Here is a video I put together on how to prep “smoothie packs.” I throw these into my Shakeology to give it an extra kick. For my kids, I use one frozen baggie along with one container of low sugar fruit yogurt and almond milk. They love them, and have no idea how much extra nutrition I’ve packed into their yummy drink! (Note: Freezing the produce improves the texture of your shake, and is also a great way to utilize produce that is close to turning bad.)

#5 Don’t eyeball your portions. Use these color-coded containers (contact me for more info on these) or basic measuring cups to make sure you are getting the appropriate amount of each food group. It’s so easy to put in twice the serving size of rice if you are just spooning it into the container.

#6 Everybody loves snacks, right? There is nothing worse than bring stuck in a meeting or in a traffic jam with no healthy options available. Your head is hurting, your energy level is falling, and your “bathroom break” really consists of you running with a dollar in your hand to the nearest vending machine and then inhaling peanut M&Ms and pork rinds. Don’t go there. Portion out almonds, rice crackers, or sunflower seeds and put them in your laptop bag. Grab an apple, or a Lara Bar and stick it in your purse or glove box. Just make sure you choose something that won’t spoil quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I have found a bag of nuts in the bottom of my briefcase and practically cried tears of joy.

#7 Don’t do too much right off the bat. You are sure to become overwhelmed and burn yourself out almost immediately if you try to do too much too soon. I advise my clients to start with baking a whole chicken, hard boiling some eggs, and cooking a batch of rice and broccoli. Those simple items are a great way to get started. The following week you can throw in some mason jar salads and change up your vegetable to cooked carrots. The week after that, throw in a batch of soup. Soon it will be become like clockwork and you will have a manageable meal prep that takes around two hours, but saves you at least ten hours throughout the week!

What other tips do you have for our readers for a successful meal prep! Share in the comments, along with any questions you may have.

Happy Prepping!

xo Jaime

This post contains some affiliate links for products I use and love. When you purchase off these links, you are helping to directly support this blog! I thank you for that!

You guys really inspired me after your response to my last meal prep post on social media! Apparently, there is demand for this type of content so I happily made another post.
Here is a link to a video I created documenting the whole process:

Here are the instructions for cooking:

Hardboiled Eggs (using This Old Gal recipe)

1 cup water, eggs in steamer basket 2 min High Pressure, NPR, and Done!

Whole Chicken (modified from Healing Gourmet recipe)

Remove gizzards and season well on both sides.

Using Sauté setting on Normal, place breast side down and brown in 1 TBPN coconut oil for 6 minutes.

Flip chicken and add one cup chicken stock to the pot.

Manual High Pressure for 25 min (although I might do 24 min next time) with NPR

(Reserve your broth!)

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Pour 1 cup broth from your chicken into pot.

Add Potatoes in your mesh steam pot (or on trivet) inside pot.

Manual High Pressure 10 min with NPR
Cooked Carrots

1 cup broth from your chicken

1 bag of carrots in your mesh steam pot

3 min Manual High Pressure with QR

Divide into your Tupperware using your color-coded portion containers!

1 Red (chicken), 1 Yellow (potato), 1 Green (carrots) and 1 teaspoon if you add butter or oil to your potato

I used the hard boiled egg for a snack. One egg is half a Red and I will eat it with a piece of fruit which is one Purple!

What’s in your pot??

As always, hit me up if you want to know more about 21 Day Fix! Let’s get in shape together!

xo Jaime

My Instant Pot is my newest obsession. It is a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, a yogurt maker and more. It cuts a lot of time off prepping meals. I put this post together for all you of you fellow dieters out there who meal prep (and need to balance out all those delicious Instant Pot cheesecakes)! Easy meal prep in the Instant Pot that actually tastes good! 
This makes four meals and when portioned out to the 21 Day Fix meal plan, each meal equals the following: 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green and one orange if you use the barbecue sauce.

Brown Basmati Rice – 1 cup brown basmati rice, 1 1/4 cup water, teaspoon butter, big pinch of sea salt

Manual, High Pressure, 22 min with QR

Chicken Breast – 2 cup chicken stock, three chicken breast with seasonings of your choice, put the chicken in the broth, Manual High Pressure 12 min with QR

Fresh Steamed Broccoli – Use chicken stock that’s in the pot from the chicken, 3 cups of fresh broccoli in your steam basket, Manual Low Pressure 0 min, QR

**I still haven’t completely mastered steaming fresh broccoli. My first batch overcooked so I made cream of broccoli soup with it. My second batch was better (user error first time around) but it was still a little more done than I’d prefer. Any suggestions welcome! ***

Here is a photo of my cream of broccoli soup that ended up being a happy mistake! I just used two cups milk, two cups chicken stock, a couple tablespoons flour and a tablespoon butter. Seasoned it up well and mixed it in my Vitamix. Added some cheddar cheese at my husband’s request! Not clean eating, but great for a winter’s evening!

Back to the meal prep:

Portion out into four containers, brush on some BBQ sauce if you want. There you go… four healthy meals in your fridge to help you stick to your diet goals!

I also made a video on my Modern Day Fox YouTube channel. Check it out here:

Happy prepping in your IP!

Have prepping ideas? Share them in the comments!

xo Jaime