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Protective Diet Class #123

Set It and Forget It Meals

This class demonstrates another option for ease at mealtime. Investing 15 minutes to set up a meal in the morning offers greater rewards than a morning workout, with healing nutrients that stop inflammation, reverse disease and provide energy without fat storage more effectively than any treadmill. This method reduces kitchen hours while improving meal satisfaction. It’s a win-win.

Announcements

• Engage in our support group, Protective Diet Living (PDL) to connect with others that prioritize optimal health.
• Shop http://www.protectivediet.com/azure for many PD staples in bulk at low prices.
• Julie celebrates Barb’s two-year anniversary and her family’s choice to join her on a Protective Diet.
• Read the Newsletter associated with this class.

Vocabulary

Set Up for Success (SUS)

Batch Cooking

Time Delay

Meal Satisfaction

Optimal Health

Action Steps to Easy Protective Meals

• Invest Time in the Morning for Ease Later
• Set It and Forget It meals take 15-20 minutes to set up and the results are so beneficial, it is worth cutting your workout short to accommodate them. These meals offer less kitchen time and greater meal satisfaction than batch cooking can.

Batch Cooking	Set It and Forget It (Preferred)
lose 1 full day to cooking uses a lot of containers and dishes takes up all the room in the fridge food is not fresh reheating required food waste is more likely	15 to 20 minutes in the morningless dishwashing no room in the refrigerator hot and ready at mealtime no reheating needed fresh made meals provide aroma appetizers

• A pressure cooker or a slow cooker is needed to make Set It and Forget It Meals.
• Read the recipe: some recipes are only written for the pressure cooker, some are written for the slow cooker, and some are dual with options for using either appliance with specific ingredient adjustments for each.
• If a recipe specifies using a slow cooker, use your slow cooker rather than the slow cook function on a pressure cooker.
• Use a slow cook lid if you are using the slow cooking function on a pressure cooker. This lid allows moisture to escape.
• Choose the proper ingredients for the cooking method you are using. Note that the pressure cooker uses less liquid.
• Adapting a recipe from one appliance to the other is not recommended. Significant adjustments are needed.
• If a recipe includes both slow cooking and pressure cooking options, chose a method based on your time window and the cook time in the recipe. If you are going to be gone for 8 hours, don’t choose a recipe that cooks for 6 hours. It will be mush.
• To serve a crowd or stretch a meal, make rice in the pressure cooker to accompany a slow cooker selection.
• Make condiments/meal accompaniments on your Set Up day (SUS). Chop fresh herbs during morning meal prep time.
• Add pre-chopped fresh herbs, chop lettuce, toss salad and warm tortillas just before serving the meal.

Electric Pressure Cooker Options (with Time Delay Feature)
press “Manual”–adjust pressure & cooking time–press “Timer” & program wait time–press “Manual” to turn off “Keep Warm”
Time-saving option: Set it up the night before and refrigerate. Pull it out of the fridge & let it come to room temperature while you shower. Pop the pot into the cooking unit and program cooking time/time delay. Turn off the “Keep Warm” function by double clicking on the manual/pressure cook button so food does not overcook.Delayed start time = (time you want to eat) – (time to come to pressure + cooking time + time to release pressure)When programming a delay, you are telling it how many hours to wait before starting to come to pressure. Julie demonstrates a meal of Good Ol’ Minestrone Soup and tossed salad. Try these other pressure cooker options:
Annatto Rice	Beans and Rice	Hoppin John	Spanish Rice	Indian Spice Rice
Lentil and Rice Onepot	Cilantro Lime Rice	Chickenless Noodle Soup	Lentil Stew	Good Ol’ Minestrone Soup
Farro and Kale Soup	Dill Rice	Arrabbiata Pasta Dinner	Julie’s Beans

Slow Cooker Options (or Pressure Cooker “Slow Cook” function with Slow Cooker Lid)
Busy Day Chili	Cuban Black Bean Soup	Summertime Slowcooker BBQ Beans	Sloppy Jerry
Veggie Chili	Roasted Chili Verde	Potato Corn Chowder	Jacked Up Pulled “Pork”

Dual Options (choose appliance based on recipe cook time and your time window)
Be sure to use the proper ingredient measurements for the method you select. Julie demonstrates a meal of Beefless Taco Filling, Guac Faux Mole, chopped onion & warmed corn tortillas
Cuban Black Bean Soup	Black Bean Chili	Beef-less Taco Filling	Yellow Lentil Soup	Split Pea Soup

Cooking Tips

• Sort through dried beans or lentils before adding them to a recipe to find any stones that may have been missed in the packaging.
• Rinse dried beans and lentils to remove harvest dust; otherwise, your meal may taste like dirt.
• Make pre-measured custom spice blends for your favorite Set It and Forget It recipes; saves prep time if you can just dump pre-measured spices into the pot. Save empty spice jars and relabel for your custom spice blend storage.
• Spice things up according to your preference. Crushed Red Pepper is always optional. Use King Sauce or Franks Hot Sauce as a tableside option instead if you are accommodating multiple eaters with various tolerances for spicy food.
• A burn signal on the Instant Pot indicates you forgot to add the water or the lid needs to be cleaned of starch build-up.
• Remove the liner from the cooking base before serving from the Instant Pot to keep the rim of the cooking base clean.
• Learn the Storing Herbs Technique for handy addition of fresh greens to every meal.
• Dice an extra onion on your Set Up day (SUS) for a fresh, crunchy addition to Set It and Forget It meals.
• The Premium version of a recipe offers the most updated taste experience. Choose Premium over Free when available.
• Reheat frozen tortillas on the flame over a gas stovetop burner, flip frequently with tongs. Alternatives: oven or toaster oven.
• Mixed greens make an instant salad with prepared dressing. Use these more delicate greens first, saving hearty greens for later.
• Toss salad in a big bowl with generous dressing then plate in individual servings to evenly distribute flavor.
• Wash and dry chopped lettuce in a salad spinner if needed. Tight, compact romaine hearts are clean enough to skip washing.
• Add fresh spinach to hot soups just before serving for additional protection.
• To keep Guac Faux Mole thick: seed tomatoes, drain beans thoroughly and layer blended ingredients in order listed in recipe.

Student Q&A

• Q: If the recipe doesn’t specify, should we assume that we should let the pressure release naturally (natural release)? (17:00)
• Q: Is it necessary to rinse brown rice to remove dust from harvest? (20:32)
• Q: Are you concerned about the food spoiling if it is put on time delay? (26:34)
• Q: Wouldn’t it take longer to cook the beans if they are soaking all day? (28:55)
• Q: How long do tortillas last in the freezer? (46:46)
• Q: Why was my Guac Faux Mole runny? (52:58)
• Q: Should we use wet or dry measuring cups in Protective Diet recipes? (56:49)

Encouragement

• If Optimal Health is your goal, it takes 15 to 20 minutes in the morning.
• If you haven’t used the Time Delay feature on your Instant Pot, I don’t know what you are waiting for.
• This is a life-changer. You can do what you need to be doing all day long and arrive home to an awesome hot meal.

“If you know there is a hot pot of chili or soup waiting for you at home, you are not going to go through the drive-thru. I want to eliminate that possibility and if you prep this in the morning, you are not going to do it, guaranteed.”

Recommended Recipes

Beef-less Taco Filling	Good Ol’ Minestrone Soup	Everything Bagels
Guac Faux Mole	Daily Dressing	Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice
King Sauce	Probiotic Protective Pepper Sauce	Spanish Rice

Recommended Classes

#098 Set Up Sunday	#119 Chili Cook-off on Game Day	#064 Secure Your Own Mask First
#118 Set Up For Success (SUS)	#072 PD Practice Check Up: 50/50 Plate	#183 Batch Cooking Can Stall Weight Loss
#236 Weeknight Set Up (SUS)	#097 21 Meals to PD Mastery	#045 Weight Loss on a Protective Diet
#246 The Instant Pot Advantage	#030 Workouts and Weight Loss	#271 You Can’t Outrun an Unhealthy Diet

Class Description:

This class demonstrates another option for ease at mealtime. Investing 15 minutes to set up a meal in the morning offers greater rewards than a morning workout, with healing nutrients that stop inflammation, reverse disease and provide energy without fat storage more effectively than any treadmill. This method reduces kitchen hours while improving meal satisfaction. It’s a win-win.

Class URL: https://protectivediet.com/courses/protective-diet-education/lessons/class-123-set-it-forget-it-meals/