AIP & Paleo Meal Planning in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
AIP & Paleo Meal Planning in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker can help you get healthy meals on the table in no time!
I’ve even got my best tips and some of my favorite easy recipes for both types of cookers! So if you are following the Autoimmune Protocol and need to keep your meal prep even more anti-inflammatory, I’ve got you covered.
Tips For AIP & Paleo Meal Planning With Your Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is a type of cooking appliance that uses pressure cooking for rapid cooking of your meals and ingredients.
It is becoming very popular for people who want to cook foods in record time, and is especially helpful when you are cooking a lot of meals on prep day. Here are some things to know about using an Instant Pot for your Paleo and AIP meal planning and prepping!
Freeze Ingredients Ahead of Time
One of the reasons the Instant Pot is perfect for meal planning and prepping is because it can cook foods that are frozen.
This is great news, since many other cooking methods and appliances don’t cook frozen food evenly. It can be a huge pain having to defrost everything first, then get to cooking.
But with an Instant Pot, you put your frozen chicken or veggies right in the pot, and just give it a little extra time to cook the foods through. It is going to use pressure cooking instead of direct heat, so this is why it is safe to cook when something is frozen.
Start With Simple Recipes
Until you get used to the Instant Pot and how it actually works, you should start with some simpler recipes.
Some things that are easy to make and can also provide you with healthy meals are vegetable side dishes, soups, stews, whole roasts, and hard-boiled eggs. These are very simple foods that can be made until delicious and healthy meals, and don’t require a lot of prep work beforehand.
You can start with these simpler things because the Instant Pot has various settings and cooking variances you will want to get accustomed to, then you can call yourself an IP Pro!
Here Are Some of My Favorite Easy Paleo Aip Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Honey Glazed Ham by Unrefined Junkie
Instant Pot Basil Zucchini Summer Soup by Unbound Wellness
Learn the Basics of Using an Instant Pot
This type of pressure cooking appliance is not the same as a slow cooker, so knowing the differences between this machine and others is important for safety and efficiency.
First instance, when using the SAUTE function, you turn the appliance on, then adjust the machine to the temperature you want, and wait for it to beep and say “HOT.” This lets you know that the pot has come to temperature and is hot enough to start adding food to the pot. Similar to an oven, it needs to be preheated to the desired temperature first.
You should also make sure some liquid is in the pot every time you cook something, unlike a slow cooker that doesn’t always require it. The simplest thing to do is look up recipes and prepare those first before you begin experimenting with your own.
Be sure to read through your instruction manual fully. This way you’ll learn how to safely use your new appliance as well as know how to take advantage of all of its wonderful functions!
Tips For AIP & Paleo Meal Planning With Your Slow Cooker
Meal planning usually brings to mind ideas like boneless skinless chicken breasts and steamed vegetables. Though this can be a good meal, there are other meals open to you.
In fact, if you have a slow cooker, you have an entire world of meals open to you that take little prep and time. Before you get stuck in a boiled and baked rut, consider these slow cooker options.
Plan Larger Meals
When you plan your slow cooker meals, try planning for much larger meals that fill your slow cooker. This can easily give you two to three dinners and a lunch or two.
You don’t have to eat on it for a week either. You can dish out the meal for the evening, then take the rest and freeze it for later meals.
This can cut down on prep time later in the month and give you more meals than you expected for your money. Some meals to consider for this are pork white chili, beef stew, and crock pot roast chicken.
Cook Meats First
If you have several crockpot meals that use shredded chicken or pork, consider making all the meat first. You can put in a crockpot full of chicken or pork, add a cup of bone broth, and cook on low for six to eight hours.
This will allow you to cook the meat base for several meals at once. You can even separate the shredded meat into multiple bags with a little of the broth and no seasoning.
When you get ready to make your meal, pull out the meat, and use your choice of spices or add it to your meal. This way you don’t have a ton of taco meat or seasoned meat ready for a specific meal instead of meat ready for any meal.
Plan Longer Meals for Overnight
If you have meals that require eight hours of cooking in the slow cooker, consider starting them when you go to bed. Most people sleep between six and eight hours a night which allows you to sleep while letting the food cook.
You don’t have to worry about it burning and you are home if something goes wrong. This also means your meal for the day is ready to go without any stress.
Remember, slow cookers can make a lot of food. So, when you make a meal, consider freezing the remainder or having it again in the week. It will save you time and money and will help you stick to your meal plan and diet plan.
Here Are Some of Favorite Easy Paleo AIP Slow Cooker Recipes:
Paleo AIP Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
Pineapple “Coffee” Chicken (Paleo, AIP) by Real Food & Love
Paleo Cocktail Meatballs with Grape Jelly (with AIP Option) by Unbound Wellness
Can Instant Pot recipes be converted to Slow Cooker recipes?
Yes! You can totally make a lot of recipes that are created for the Instant Pot in your slow cooker too! Just be aware that the types of recipes which convert well are soft recipes, stews, soups, etc. rather than recipes that require cerisping or browning in the Instant Pot.
I’ve found that a good rule of thumb is to FIRST add all of the hardy ingredients (meat, onions, celery, carrots, large-chopped sweet potatoes, etc) in with your liquid, fat, and seasonings. Then slow cook for 3 to 4 hours on high or until those are nearly tender.
Then you can NEXT add in the more fragile ingredients like fresh herbs, leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc) and cook for another hour.
Or if you need to cook something on the slow cooker’s low setting overnight, then you would follow the same formula above. Do so by adding the hardy ingredients first (like before you go to bed) then in the morning you would add the fragile ingredients to finish the recipe.
Do you use an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker to prep your AIP / Paleo meals?
Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear what works for you in your home kitchen.
