Healthy Cooking For All Ages

Fortunately, for all of us, we are being educated on the importance of eating healthy and learning about exactly how best to do that. Grocery stores are required to include ingredients, fat content, calories and other information. However, it's up to us to read the labels. Growing up in the 50's and 60's meant (for me at least), lots of fried or deep fried foods, high sugar desserts, and soda pop. Now, on the flip side of that, we usually had a garden, and spent a lot of time outdoors getting exercise.

Things have certainly changed over the years and how we prepare our food is one of those changes. Gas stoves, electric stoves, convection ovens, microwaves, crock pots, and other advancements over the years has been pretty amazing. The way I prepare my food and what I eat today has gone through a massive transformation.

One of my favorite transformations in this area is going from using the traditional oven in the stove to cooking most of my foods in one of these:

Instant Pot

Ninja Foodi

Ninja Grill

And, there are a variety of similar products with different names, but I love what I am currently using. I started with the Instant Pot and then transitioned to one with an Air Fryer, and then added one with a grill, that I can use both indoors and outdoors. You can find these at Walmart, Sam's, Costco, Target, and many other stores. I do much of my shopping at Amazon, and get my products through my Prime account that provides free shipping.

What is it about these cooking appliances that make them better? First, the amount of electricity used is massively reduced as the cooking time is much less than the traditional oven. Also, the heat generated by an oven is no longer an issue. Compared to other cooking methods, such as baking, boiling, or steaming, pressure cooking can reduce your cook time & energy usage by up to 70%.

Retain Vitamins & Nutrients

Boiling (as well as regular steaming) can cause water-soluble vitamins to leech out of food, diminishing their nutritional value. Pressure cookers cook food quickly, deeply and evenly, and may allow foods to retain up to 90% of those water-soluble vitamins.

Preserve Food’s Appearance and Taste

Cooking in open containers (yes, even ones with a lid) exposes food to oxygen and heat, which can lead to dulled colors and diminished flavor. Pressure cooking saturates food with steam, allowing the retention of bright colors and phytochemicals. Similarly, the airtight design enables flavors to develop faster, and more profoundly.

Eliminate Harmful Microorganisms

By creating an environment that permits water to boil at higher than 100°C (212°F), pressure cookers are exceptional in their multi-faceted ability to effectively destroy harmful bacteria.

They can even be used as a sterilization tool for jars or baby bottles, or for treating water.

To be fair, there are some things I don't like. For example, they are fairly heavy and will take up quite a bit of counter space. Folks with a large kitchen and plenty of space may not be concerned, but moving them around and storing can be a little challenging. And, for me at least, there was a bit of a learning curve to totally feel comfortable using these. My best advice is to be sure to subscribe to some YouTube channels for beginners and you will get tons of resources on how to use these and how to cook exact recipes that are delicious.