• Home
  • Start Here!
    • Subscribe
    • Topics
    • Top Tips!
  • About
    • Services
    • Contact Us!
    • Media
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • Popular Posts
    • Recipe Index
  • Books
    • RD Book Coaching Services
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feed

Maryann Jacobsen

Independent Author & Family Nutrition Expert

  • Home
  • Start Here!
    • Subscribe
    • Topics
    • Top Tips!
  • About
    • Services
    • Contact Us!
    • Media
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • Popular Posts
    • Recipe Index
  • Books
    • RD Book Coaching Services
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy

Spring Dinner Rotation 2018

April 2, 2018

Tweet
Pin
Share
Yum
Email
Share

 

My kids’ spring break was last week. Instead of going somewhere we decided to stay back and do some stuff around the house. And have kind of a staycation.

It was a nice mix of spring cleaning and going places like the ice rink, Balboa Park, and a Padre game. Now we feel ready to start the week. We cleaned out the kids’ room and I went through my kitchen cabinets, fridge, and freezer. To do your own kitchen spring cleaning, see this post.

In this Spring Rotation, I’m adding some new meals with my new Instant Pot in mind (see below). Thursdays will be one-pot/dish meals. I love when I can put everything in one place and basically be done (except a salad and fruit).

And this is why I’m enjoying my InstantPot so much.

Big A took pictures of plant life at Balboa Park

I finally got an Instant Pot

I remember when everyone was talking about Instant Pot and a friend was trying to sell me on one. I didn’t get one because I was content with my cooking appliances at the time.

But last year I started to realize the shortcomings of the slow cooker. I like it for some things, but soups left in too long seem to get mushy. When I make soup over the stove the veggies are still a bit crunchy. I do love chili in the slow cooker (or stove) but found I wasn’t making soup as often. I started to get intrigued with the pressure cooker part of the InstantPot. Plus, I was in desperate need of a new slow cooker. And since the Instant Pot is all in one (a slow cooker and pressure cooker), I asked Santa for one.

Bye bye old slow cooker. You’ve been good to me!

Problem is Santa brought me the wrong InstantPot so we had to take that back. I finally got the right one and started using it recently.

I started off slow using the slow cooker first. I like how it has a sauté function so I don’t have to use up extra pans. Unlike my old slow cooker, you can set the time and it will instantly switch to warm which is nice. Then I tried the pressure cooker. Luckily, my mom was with me and she has one too. I made barbeque chicken legs in there and they turned out fine. I didn’t realize you have to add the time the Instant Pot takes to come to pressure (5-10 minutes) so it took a bit longer than I thought.

Then I moved on to soups, starting with lentil soup. The carrots were soft and the lentils were just the right texture. Then I tried black bean soup with sweet potatoes. What’s amazing is you don’t have to soak the beans ahead of time, something I forget to do 50% of the time. This recipe was 1 hour on high pressure taking about 15 minutes to come to pressure. I let it naturally release the pressure which took another 25 minutes or so. It turned out really good — so filling to have with a sandwich at lunch.

Then I tried my pinto beans I make for burritos and they took less than an hour compared to my usual 3-hour routine. I also cooked pork tenderloin and it overcooked a bit so I’ll decrease the time next time. It’s a trial and error thing.

Needless to say, I’m excited about my new cooking tool. It saves me time and dishes and I think it’s really helpful for busy families. Instead of having to choose between an all-day or 3-4 hour crock pot meal, you have meals that can take 1 hour or less. Great for running home after work before taking kids to an activity, throwing everything the instant pot, and coming home to a cooked meal!

If you have an InstantPot, how do you like it? Let me know your favorite recipe too!

Update on my book

Like always, my book for girls on puberty is taking more time than planned. But rushing is never worth it. I’m still adding my list of beta readers so if you have a 9-14 year old that you think would want to read it and offer feedback, email me at [email protected]

Also, if you would like to share a story of “something you wish you knew” during puberty, email me as well. Do you wish you knew how it’s normal to gain weight, change emotionally, be challenged with making friends? What tidbit of information do you think would have helped you make it through puberty more confident and healthy? Names can be changed.

Links

I don’t think most people realize how hard we are on ourselves and the stress it creates. This is especially true for tweens/teens (even when parents provide little to no pressure). These two articles touch on the benefits of self-compassion.

Be Kinder to Yourself. Research Shows it Could Make You Healthier

The Promise of Self Compassion for Stressed-Out teens

Don’t miss this GMA segment on why parents shouldn’t encourage dieting in the teen.

American College of Sports Medicine is now recommending energy drinks not be consumed by children or adolescents

Got a baby? Don’t forget new guidelines for introducing little ones to peanuts 

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

 

Want to make your own dinner rotation? Check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution.

Related Posts

  • Spring Dinner Rotation 2017

    Spring is here. Can you believe it? For me it signals....oh my gosh, I gotta…

  • Summer Dinner Rotation 2018

    I hope you had a good 4th of July (for those in the U.S.). Every…

  • Dinner Rotation Sept-October

    Fall is in full swing. We are actually starting to feel some cool air in…

  • Dinner Rotation: July-August

    Now that I'm back from vacation, it's time to tweak my rotation for summer. As…

Tweet
Pin
Share
Yum
Email
Share

Categories: Example Dinner Rotation & Meal Plans 3 Comments

« 7 Shifts in Tweens’ Behavior Every Parent Should Know About
Food and Feelings. How to Prevent or Curb Emotional Eating with Karen Koenig [Podcast] »

Comments

  1. Maurie says

    April 2, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    Would you be willing to post your soup recipes, the lentil and the black bean soups? I have an instant pot but do not love it. Maybe I just need better recipes ☺️

    Reply
    • Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD says

      April 2, 2018 at 2:21 pm

      Sorry I meant to include the links. They are in there now so just click on them. Both are great!

      Reply
  2. Jo-Ann Marvin says

    March 18, 2019 at 1:26 pm

    I love the pinto bean recipe, would you share how you adapted it to the instant pot?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi, I’m Maryann…

Hi, I’m a registered dietitian who focuses on developmental stages. Here, you won’t get one-size-fits-all advice. Instead, you’ll get information based on your (and your family’s) age and stage. Make your choice between family and midlife-focused newsletters below and subscribe. Find out more!

Recent Posts

  • Yes, Every Midlife Women Should Take a Multivitamin (And Here’s Why)
  • 10 Signs Intermittent Fasting Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype
  • What do the Latest Vitamin D Studies Really Tell Us?
  • 3 Breathing Exercises That Will Change Your Life with Nick Heath [Podcast]
  • 6 Dietary Supplements Most Teenagers Need

Random Posts

  • 5 Things Parents Who Create Happy Mealtimes Don’t Do5 Things Parents Who Create Happy Mealtimes Don’t Do
  • 25 Healthy Meals in 20 Minutes or Less25 Healthy Meals in 20 Minutes or Less

Categories

Get the books!

The Alliance of Independent Authors - Author Member

Join the Newsletter

Sign up for Maryann’s E-mail Newsletter and get her ebook The Landmines of a Healthy Relationship with Food for FREE. Subscribe now!

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list. You're not done. Check your email to confirm your address. After you do that, you'll receive a link for the free e-book.

.

Copyright © 2023 — Maryann Jacobsen • All rights reserved • Powered by Femme Flora. Designed & Developed by BinaryTurf Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.OK Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT