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I love the holiday season because of the time you get to spend with your family and loved ones. Although there are many warm and fuzzies about the holidays, that in between time is non-stop for me. It always feels like I have to be going 100 mph to fit everything in during November and December.

Thankfully as hard as I had to work, I was able to play hard with my family and relax as well. After being in and out of town for a bit, I, like many of you, was ready to get back into a good routine come January.

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For Christmas, my Aunt was so sweet and got me an Instant Pot! As a lover and frequent user of the slow cooker, I never really thought about getting an Instant Pot. But it seems that she knows me too well and it is exactly what I needed in my busy life. I have taken to the Instant Pot like a dog to water.

With a fire under me to meal prep and my boyfriend in tow, we set to getting to work in the kitchen like were about to cook a thanksgiving meal! Neither of us have personally used an Instant Pot before so we weren’t 100% sure what to expect.

I knew that its supposed to cook the food very quickly under high pressure and my boyfriend mentioned that people have made bombs out of Instant Pots… “wonderful” I thought to myself.

I figured we would start simply with steel cut oats to break in the ol’ insta pot.

First you’ll need oats, water, oil and salt as well as any other goodies you want to add to your finished oatmeal.

Start by adding in the oats, water, oil and salt to your Instant Pot

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Close that bad boy up by locking the lid into place and setting the steam release to the sealing position.

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The first time I did the Instant Pot, we left the valve open to venting position by accident. Once the pot was pressure cooking it started to release a ton of steam and make an alarming hissing sound almost like a tea kettle. At that point Chad runs in the kitchen and gives me a worried look that made me think of the Instant Pot bombs he mentioned before….

Thankfully, we survived that Instant Pot episode by simply turning the the valve to the sealing position. Honestly, the Instant Pot system has many safety features built in and is much safer than the traditional stovetop pressure cooker. The Instant Pot will even turn the temperature of the pot down if it senses the bottom of the pot getting too hot so you won’t burn your food. What a dream. They really thought of everything!

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Next, press the “multigrain” button on the face of the instant pot. Select “high pressure” and set your timer by using the [-] or [+] buttons to choose 3 minutes pressure cooking time.

Once the timer goes off, open the cooker using…

Natural Pressure Release:

Allow the cooker to cool down naturally until the float valve drops down. This may take 10-15 minutes or even longer depending on the amount of food inside. The cooker will not go into Auto “Keep Warm” Cycle until the pressure has been released.

Now stir in your nut butter. You can play around with the different types of nut butter to find a variety of oatmeal flavors. Peanut butter typically has a sweeter creamier flavor. Almond butter tends to have a more robust nutty flavor and is awesome when it has been roasted. Sunflower seed butter and cashew are also becoming popular as well.

Divide the oats between six bowls (or containers if you are meal prepping.) Top with your desired fruits and spices, drizzle with a little sweetener like maple syrup and enjoy! You can boost the protein in this recipe by adding an egg, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, soy or cows milk, protein powder, hemp hearts, etc.

Try experimenting with different flavors. The items pictured above are some of my personal favorite for oat meal toppings. Mix and match for a new flavor each day!

Do you have a favorite oatmeal topping combo? Comment below! I want to hear!

All, in all, the Instant Pot has been a huge time saver and I am really enjoying it! Where it used to take a few hours to cook up a big pot of beans, I am now able to knock it out in a matter of minutes. If you enjoy a slow cooker or mostly hands off cooking, then an Instant Pot is something you should really consider trying!

To learn how oatmeal can be a part of your winning nutrition program or can help you better manage your weight, contact me today!