ExamineHealth

 

One of the things that the cleanse did for me was blow open my previous conceptions of cooking. Now I've always been, what I would probably call, your average cook. I could cook 10 or 15 meals really well. They were my specialties. I had perfected them to the point that I was proud of them. I also was stuck in a rut with them. However, having to follow the rules of the cleanse, and opening myself up to a new style of cooking (vegetarian) and several new cookbooks, provided a welcome variation to my standard meals. Many of the meals that we made during the cleanse, we're still making today. In fact, I'd argue a vast majority of them.

However, one aspect of this cooking style that we had a challenge getting used to, was the preparation of the ingredients. Primarily, beans and grains. Many of the recipes called for beans or grains. In fact, they opened my eyes to a whole new world of preparing beans and grains. The problem is that they take FOREVER to prepare and cook. Beans need to be soaked overnight, then cooked for 4 hours. Grains are better after being cooked for 6 hours. Now obviously you're not constantly tending them during the periods of time, but it certainly requires some careful planning. We had to get into the habit of shopping for meals that were two nights out, in case we needed to soak something overnight. It really takes the spontaneity out of cooking.

Luckily, I found the ultimate solution to this problem! Once I stumbled across this piece of equipment, it changed my whole world. We now use it every day, and it's by far the most important item in the kitchen.

It started when I was cooking overnight oatmeal for the next morning. This is one of the most delicious breakfasts that I've ever had, and basically consists of whole oat groats in a slow-cooker, along with whatever spices, dried fruit, nuts, or other fun things you want in your bowl. Then you slow-cook it for 8 hours and you're treated with a hearty, creamy, delicious bowl of oatmeal - cooked to perfection. The problem was, that it was only 8pm, and I didn't want to stay up until midnight to put the meal on so that it would be ready when I woke up. I figured that it wouldn't matter that much, and threw caution to the wind. The result was edible, but most definitely overcooked. So I set out on a mission to find a solution. I wanted a slow cooker that I could program to delay it's start, OR that would automatically go into some sort of a warming mode after it's prescribed cooking time is completed. That way I could load it up at 8pm, or whenever was convenient, and still be treated with perfectly cooked, hot cereal, 13 hours later.

 

Well, what I found was so much more!

Apparently there are electronic multi-function cookers that essentially combine a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, a steamer, a rice cooker, and even a griddle, all into one unit! This is the ultimate multi-functional cooker. I did a bunch of research on these things, and I ultimately decided on the first one that I came across, which is the Fagor 670040230 Stainless-Steel 3-in-1 6-Quart Multi-Cooker.   They can be purchased from Amazon for around $100.

The primary reasons that I decided on this model was the capacity and the versatility. I wanted something that gave me the timer options that we discussed. This does both, it includes a delay start, as well as automatically reverting to a warming mode as soon as the cook timer is complete. There were other models that I looked at that seemed to get more granular in the different cook types they did. For instance, one had a different setting for each of 12 different types of rice. This seems a bit overboard for me, and it also didn't have a high-pressure setting. There are quite a few electric rice cookers out there, that have a lot of the same functionality, however they don't build up to the same level of pressure. And you need high pressure to cook beans. And cook beans this thing does...

This unit will basically cook a meal's worth of dried beans in under 20 minutes. Yes, you heard me correctly. What used to take an overnight of soaking, and another minimum of 4 hours cooking, now takes 20 minutes, total! There is a quick soak procedure that you can perform with the pressure cooker that allows you to condense 12 hours of soaking into a single hour, however I've found that isn't even always necessary.

This thing will steam your vegetables in just a couple of minutes flat. Which isn't all the much faster than steaming them in a regular pot or steamer. However, the difference is that since they're being steamed in a closed system, there is no air circulation when they are cooking. And air is what reduces the amount of nutrients from your vegetables when you cook them. It's the process of oxidation, increased by heat, that causes the nutrients to be released from the food and your green broccoli to come out looking wilted and brown. This cooker heats the broccoli with steam, but no air, there is no oxidation occurring, and therefore those nutrients get trapped in the food! Your veggies will come out looking bright and fresh. They taste outstanding and have retained significantly more nutrients than most other forms of cooking.

This unit has a browning feature, so that you can throw your roasts or meat cuts into the removable non-stick cook pot and sear your meat with a high-level heat, then simply throw the rest of your ingredients in on top and set the pressure and time that you want, put the lid on and your meal will finish itself off for you.

I've found the usability of this very easy. The pot that you actually cook your food in pulls right out of the cooker and can be washed or thrown into the dishwasher. Occasionally you'll need to clean out the pressure valves and mechanisms, this only needs to be done when cooking certain things that cause a lot of foam to build up. I've found that I rarely need to do this, but have gotten into the habit of cleaning those parts out once a week or so, just to keep everything running smoothly.

This thing has truly changed the way that I cook. Now I can make almost any meal with just a couple hours notice, including prep time. Breakfast tastes like it's been cooked for hours, or if I want, it can be. It's taken our oatmeal to a whole new level and opened up a variety of stews and soups that have been absolutely delicious.

I can't recommend enough that you get one of these, they far exceed their price in value and open up a lot of possibilities in the kitchen. It's my new favorite toy.

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