Power Pressure Cooker Review

[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”395″ identifier=”B01BVV07KO” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41MH3ejaDFL.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”395″]Power Pressure Cooker Review

Name: Power Pressure Cooker XL 6 quart
Website: powerpressurecooker.com
Price: $99.99
Owners: Eric Theiss
Overall Rank: 90 out of 100

Power Pressure Cooker, Product Overview

This is an electric pressure cooker.

The Good & the Bad

The Good: Very easy to use!

PRO #1: The power pressure cooker is very easy to use. It comes with an instruction manual that details what each button is for and how to set up the power pressure cooker.
PRO #2: It is far safer than using a pressure cooker on the stove. The power pressure cooker has a timer feature that will turn itself off when you are finished with it. This reduces the chances that you will leave it on all day and burn your house down.
PRO #3: The power pressure cooker will cook your meal fast. You can be sure that you will be getting tender meat dishes in record time with the power pressure cooker. It has smaller time settings to do things like vegetables and soups too!

The Bad: Clunky

CON #1: The power pressure cooker is large and clunky. I have the smallest version of the power pressure cooker and it does seem to take up a lot of space. I only pull it out once a week to cook and store it in the bottom cabinet.
CON #2: It takes ten minutes to build up pressure, so you may just want to steam the vegetables instead of pressure cook them because by the time you build up pressure and release the pressure, you could have steamed those vegetables. However, meats and roasts do very well because they would have required a few hours time to cook.

Who is Power Pressure Cooker For?

The power pressure cooker is ideal for moms and cooks who don’t have a lot of time. It may not be ideal for a single person because it takes up a lot of space and the smallest size is 6 quarts, which is pretty large.

Power Pressure Cooker Support

The power pressure cooker does have a customer service line! They are very responsive. I received the power pressure cooker as a gift and wanted a 6 quart one instead of a 10 quart one. They gave me instructions on how to send it back and order the correct size. They estimated the amount of time that it would take so that I would know when to expect it. I was not thrilled that I had to pay the shipping to return it, but in the end, I got the right size for my usage.

Power Pressure Cooker Price

The price of the power pressure cooker is very comparable to other pressure cookers on the market. The six quart pressure cooker is priced at $99.

My Final Opinion of Power Pressure Cooker

Honestly, I didn’t think I needed or wanted it. I had a crock pot that worked and did a fine job with roasts and stews. However, since I received it as a gift, I decided to make use of it instead of returning it. It turned out to be fantastic at making roasts and made short time of preparing ingredients like butternut squash for a soup. The benefit of a pressure cooker versus a crock pot is that it cuts the cooking time into a fourth of the time that would normally be needed. It is a great kitchen tool that I use regularly now.

Power Pressure Cooker at a Glance…

Name: Power Pressure Cooker XL 6 quart

Website: powerpressurecooker.com
Owners: Eric Theiss
Price: 99.99
Overall Scam Rank: 90 out of 100

VERDICT: Good buy!

Doing the Keto Diet on a Budget

The ketogenic diet does not have to be expensive unless you want it to be. In fact, after ditching most of the convenience foods that I had been eating, I noticed that the food budget actually went down! While you always want to strive to buy organic foods and high quality meats, there are ways to do this diet on a budget!

Using Coupons for the Ketogenic Foods

There are times when the foods on a ketogenic diet will have a coupon. Most of the time, you won’t find coupons for fresh produce or meats. However, there are staples on the ketogenic diet that often do have coupons or go on sale. These include frozen veggies, frozen berries, mayonnaise and other canned vegetables. Often deli meats do have coupons. Occasionally, brand name dairy products like heavy whipping cream or cheese will have a good coupon. Most of the time, coupons are advertisements for products that are convenience foods, so this isn’t going to be a big source of savings on your ketogenic diet. Before you leave for the grocery store, scan through the coupons to see if there are any for the foods that you buy.

If your grocery store doubles coupons, shop on the day when they are doubling the coupons. It can make a big difference in your bottom line! Many people become very proficient at combining coupons and sales to reduce their cost to almost nothing.

Buy the Frozen or Canned Version

Canned seafood is much less expensive and can be very versatile. I buy cans of wild caught salmon and tuna from Costco. It is so convenient for lunches. You can easily add tuna fish or salmon to a salad for a boost of protein to your meal. Canned tuna makes a good tuna salad if you add mayonnaise, celery and some relish. You can use canned salmon to make salmon patties and fry them in olive oil for a fun entree.

For some vegetables, it just makes more sense to buy the canned version. For a pumpkin recipe, canned pumpkin puree is going to save you a ton of time and money over buying the whole pumpkin! This doesn’t even include the time that I would spend preparing the pumpkin. I’m planning on using canned pumpkin for my pumpkin cheesecake bites and my pumpkin soup recipes this fall. It will save me a ton of time and headache![easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B0062A87HA” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gKG9HfbqL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”104″]

Buy fresh when it is in season. Buy frozen when it is not. Most of the time fresh vegetables are going to be more expensive than frozen. Frozen food have the added convenience of being washed and chopped beforehand. They are flash frozen and often retain more nutrients than their fresh counterparts which tend to lose some in transit.

Some people may not like the texture of frozen spinach or broccoli. However, this can easily be remedied by using them as an ingredient in other foods, such as casseroles, quiches and soups.

Shop seasonally!

This goes along with shopping the sales. When vegetables and berries are in season, they are going to be in abundance and grocery stores will want to move them faster. They are going to be more likely to be on sale during those times. Knowing what is in season and when will help you when you are making decisions on what to buy. Berries are going to be summer fruits. Most grocery stores are shipping them in from other countries, but during the summer months, they will likely be less expensive.

Broccoli, spinach and winter squashes are going to be priced the best during the fall and spring months. They are “cold weather” crops. These vegetables do best in cooler temperatures. Look for their prices to be best during the fall.

Certain meats will go on sale a week before a holiday. You will likely to find good prices on turkeys during November and just prior to Christmas. Ham is almost always on sale around Easter time. I purchased corned beef just prior to St. Patrick’s day for a little over a dollar a pound.The next week, I noticed that the price had risen considerably. If you are flexible with your meat purchases, you can get great deals around the holiday times. For people with large freezers, you may want to purchase an additional turkey or ham and plan ahead for future meals.

My strategy has always been to buy the meat that is on sale and then find a recipe for it. This is easily accomplished with the use of google. You can always type in “ketogenic recipe for xyz” and come up with a lot of great ideas!

Invest in a pressure cooker or a crock pot. The least expensive cuts of meat often are the toughest cuts of meat. However, if you make use of a crock pot or a pressure cooker, you can turn the toughest piece of meat into a tender entree!

Costco and Other Wholesale Clubs

Costco can offer a lot of great deals when it comes to the ketogenic diet. Nuts are priced well at costco. I pick up canned wild caught salmon from Costco, as well as olive oil. When I lived near a costco and didn’t have a car, I frequently bought my groceries there, which is really unusual for a single person, but it was a lifesaver. They have good quality produce and meats that are usually great prices.

Shopping at Costco will save you lots of money if you are buying staples for ketogenic baking, such as almond meal or almond flour. It is about 60% of the cost of almond flour on Amazon or in the grocery store. However, don’t feel like you need to do baking. That tends to be a bit more expensive.

I discovered great prices at the local Super H (Korean grocery store in Fairfax, VA) when  I lived near a Super H. While I didn’t recognize many of the vegetables, I could almost always find a great deal on produce. Get outside your comfort zone and try out ethnic grocery stores, you may discover some great deals!

[easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”B0189HA9ZG” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vT2FdeJVL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”67″][easyazon_image align=”none” height=”92″ identifier=”B005YQ1RO8″ locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51XlwEQJS2L._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”160″]

 

My Sample Keto Diet

Before starting the ketogenic diet, I really thought that it was all lettuce, mayonnaise and heavy whipping cream. I had no idea what I could put together that would taste good and sustain me throughout the day. Not only that, but my neurologist told me that the ketogenic diet wasn’t right for me. It wouldn’t work for me. Of course, as a teenager, it was far easier to take the anticonvulsant that the doctor was prescribing. After all, it provided instant results and the side effects were tolerable, or so I thought! As the years wore on, I realized that I couldn’t improve my health as long as I was taking an anticonvulsant. It would be constantly working against my liver. So, after a couple decades, I took the plunge and went keto. This page is a sample of the things that I am eating on the keto diet.

Get the recipe for this chicken stir fry
You don’t need bread! A lettuce wrap with tuna fish and tomatoes is great!
Lunch can be salads with deviled eggs! It is great!
Berries are a low carbohydrate fruit and a great way to make a smoothie!

As you can see, this sample keto diet demonstrates that there are a wide variety of things that you can add to your menu. Berries are great for breakfast smoothies and as a side dish or dessert! There are lots of different vegetables that you can eat and combine with other vegetables to make them taste great! A hamburger does not require a bun and can be jazzed up with sauteed onions and mushrooms or served with a slice of cheese for added flavor!

 

How To Get Motivated For Exercise

Exercise is not everyone’s favorite thing to do. Telling someone to exercise sounds a bit like a punishment. It is all psychological though. You can motivate yourself for exercise in the morning or evening. It doesn’t have to feel like a chore, you can discover that you love it and begin to embrace a healthier lifestyle for yourself.

Make the Decision to Exercise

The first step for achieving any goal is to simply make the decision that you will do it. If you are waffling on whether or not you will do it, most likely when the going gets tough, you will quit. I know. I’ve been there and done that. When exercising is a choice and you are tired or have a busy day lined up the next day, you may decide the movie on television holds your interest more and you will procrastinate starting to exercise. Make the decision that you will exercise.

Set Aside a Convenient Time

Schedule it into your routine. The exercise will get done when you have a set time and place to do it. It won’t get done if you think, I’ll squeeze in fifteen minutes of walking sometime tomorrow. That fifteen minutes gets eaten up by cleaning, taking care of the kids, running errands and before you know it there was no time in the day to exercise.

Tap Into the Power of Your Subconscious

This is perhaps one of the most underutilized strategies for motivating yourself to exercise. Listen to positive affirmations everyday. I listen to the Think Right Now programs as I sleep and throughout the day. I’m amazed that after listening to them consistently for a week or two that my behaviors start to change. Things that I may have been procrastinating start to get incorporated into my day. For example, when I was listening to the “I am organized now!” program, I didn’t get immediately organized, but I discovered that I was starting to put things away instead of leaving them out. The dishes would get done on time. Mail would be opened and answered in a timely manner.

As I listened to the Setting and Achieving Goals program, I made the decision to exercise everyday. I started running on my treadmill, doing yoga poses, and taking daily walks within a week of setting the goal. I am not averse to exercise. In fact, most of the time I love it. However, I can get out of the habit of exercising due to an injury or a setback. It was a simple and easy thing to play the audio in the background as I completed other tasks or during the night while I slept. I discovered that I took action incredibly fast. It was amazing! [easyazon_image align=”left” height=”120″ identifier=”B007O98NMW” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/411sjjchJhL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”160″]

Get a Support System

Your friends and family that are embarking on the same fitness journey can be a great source of motivation. As I have been doing the ketogenic diet, I discovered the power of innundating myself with positive people who are doing the same thing. I joined a bunch of facebook groups on the ketogenic diet. I also started following people on youtube who were interested in doing the low carbohydrate, high fat diet. It was wonderful to share encouraging words and kept me on track with healthier eating.

Having a support system gives you accountability. You are more likely to take the steps towards your goals when you know other people are cheering you on. Being in social media groups and sharing your progress and results keeps you accountable. It keeps you on track. The people in the group may also motivate you through their successes. You may discover that you are inspired through their different work out ideas as well.

Conclusion

Sometimes it is our attitudes that are keeping us from success. You can change your attitude towards exercising and motivate yourself to do it consistently when you put it in a positive light. You’ll start to enjoy exercise and even crave it when you view it as a positive in your life. Support groups and positive affirmation tapes can go a long way in getting you motivated for exercise. Not only will you be motivated, you’ll actually start doing it!

 

 

 

Ketogenic Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

Chicken broccoli stir fry is one of my favorite ketogenic recipes. It can be very easy to make it quickly. If you have the ingredients handy and cook them in the proper order. This is an ideal go-to recipe because it can be cooked in fifteen minutes and often the ingredients are on hand in my kitchen. Also, if you don’t have one of the vegetables, you can swap it out for another stir fry type of vegetable. For example, onions can be swapped out for green onions or scallions. Bell peppers are not essential, but add great flavor. The broccoli can be fresh or frozen. Mushrooms can be added or left out depending on whether you have them on hand or not. If you happen to have sugar snap peas, you could add those. I don’t tend to keep those on hand, but they are a great stiry fry ingredient too! 

Ingredients:

  • Frozen chicken tenders
  • bell pepper
  • onions
  • mushrooms
  • broccoli
  • olive oil
  • Tamari (soy sauce – optional)
  • salt and pepper

 

Directions:

For this, I start my chicken broccoli stir fry with the thing that cooks the slowest first. I place my frozen chicken tenders in the pan and turn it on high.

I get out the next slowest thing to cook, the broccoli. I cut and break the broccoli into bite size pieces and toss it in the cast iron skillet. I stir up the broccoli and the chicken so that the olive oil coats it a little and it evenly cooks. Next, I grab a pepper and chop it into bite sized pieces.

I toss the pepper into the hot skillet with the chicken and broccoli.

Next, I slice the mushrooms and add them.

Finally, I chop the scallions and add them to the pan. At this point, the chicken is half-way cooked and can easily be cut into bite sized pieces. I remove the chicken and then cut it into bite sized pieces. I cook it for a few more minutes (until the chicken has turned white and looks cooked).

Finally, I season it with about a teaspoon of Tamari, a dash of salt and pepper and serve![easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”B000EITYUU” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/513hqJgMaEL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”101″][easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”B01BMYSNSS” locale=”US” src=”https://getfitandhealthyathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/41mgdQr2YyL.SL160.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”47″]

 

Love chicken and broccoli? Check out my ketogenic chicken and broccoli casserole recipe! You’ll love it!

Need more ketogenic recipes? Check out the FREE Bacon and Butter Cookbook! 

How to Bounce on a Trampoline to Improve Your Health

Rebounding, or bouncing on a trampoline, has many health benefits to it. It improves your coordination, it strengthens your muscles, and it improves your lymphatic circulation, which stimulates the removal of toxins and improves your immune system.

Bouncing on a trampoline can be done in many ways. You can try to jump as high as you can, you can do twists and tricks, you can flip over. There are a million combinations to bouncing on a trampoline. There are probably just as many ways to hurt yourself if you land improperly. Therefore, I wanted to share some safety tips for bouncing on a trampoline.

 

  1. Bounce by yourself. The more people that are added to the trampoline, the more likely that you will collide into each other. On larger trampolines it is often more fun to bounce with friends. Following a few simple rules with multiple people can keep you safer.
  2. Smaller, more frequent bounces stimulate the lymphatic system more than big bounces. Start with a health bounce where you feet don’t leave the mat and begin with the vertical motion of up and down. This is the safest way to use your trampoline.
  3. On larger trampolines, use a safety net. This won’t be necessary with a health bounce, but as you advance to jumping higher, you may land wrong and bounce into the net. Having a net can prevent you from falling off and stabilize you. On a mini-trampoline, you may want to use a stability bar as you begin to feel more and more comfortable with your bouncing technique.

As you bounce on a trampoline, it stimulates peristalsis, which is the the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles of the intestine, creating wavelike movements that push the contents of the intestines forward. Your digestion should improve as you regularly bounce on a trampoline. You may want to consider drinking a glass of water prior to bounding on a trampoline and using the restroom afterwards to help the elimination process along.[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”500″ identifier=”B00JOIKSTM” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51YMo6mza%2BL.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”313″]

You’ll have the best results when you match the type of trampoline with the goal that you want to achieve from bouncing on a trampoline. There are cheap trampolines that will help you get started rebounding without much investment, however if your goal is to be using the trampoline daily for an hour or two, you may want to invest a bit more. For the simple health bounce, you may not want the bounciest trampoline because you want to focus your efforts on frequent up and down movements instead of powerfully pushing up and jumping as high as you can.

Ketogenic Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche Recipe

One of my absolute favorite breakfast meals is a crustless quiche. I love a great quiche and with this recipe, I barely notice that there is no crust because it is so

The first time I made this, I used multiple pans to mix the ingredients. I now heat the spinach and veggies up in a cast iron skillet and cook it in a cast iron skillet. It makes fewer dishes to clean up!

flavorful. The other thing that I love about this spinach mushroom quiche is that I can transform the frozen spinach from something gross into something totally delicious. It amazes me each time. (Without some additions, I think frozen spinach is disgusting.)

The other great thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead. It stores in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, so you can get extra mileage out of your efforts. I know that some people are not fans of leftovers, but for me they are timesavers.  I like to make this on a Sunday when I have plenty of time and put a few extra servings in tupperware containers for the next few breakfasts. It keeps me on time and on track with my ketogenic eating plan!

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. chopped frozen spinach
  • 5-6 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 medium sized onion
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 sausage (optional, for flavor)
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 7 eggs (medium or large)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat a cast iron skillet to high or medium high. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the frozen spinach. Chop up the sausage into a small dice and place into the pan with the spinach. While the frozen spinach is thawing out on one side in the pan, focus your efforts on chopping up the onion and mushrooms. Once you have diced the onion and sliced the mushrooms, flip o

You can serve with a side dish of broccoli and mushrooms!

ver the brick of frozen spinach to allow for it to thaw out on the other side. Add the mushrooms and onions to the olive oil. Stir. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. You will want to break up the frozen spinach. Add salt an

d pepper.

As the onions, mushrooms and spinach are cooking, grate the cheese and break the eggs into a bowl. Whisk half of the grated cheese with the eggs. Turn the heat off and remove the skillet from the burner. Place on a hot pad so you don’t burn your counter. Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the cast iron skillet and gently stir to mix up the ingredients. Top the eggs and veggies with more cheese.

Place the cast iron skillet into the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Most of the ingredients have been half way cooked at this point, so it is just a matter of cooking the eggs and allowing the flavors to blend together.

Enjoy!

 

And again with avocados for more healthy fats!

For more ketogenic breakfast ideas, click here!

Low Carb Spaghetti Sauce

While doing the ketogenic or very low carbohydrate diet, I have been missing pasta, but not so much the pasta, but the sauces that go along with them. I love spaghetti sauce! It is so delicious! I love the combination of tomatoes, olive oil and basil.

Today, I made a low carb spaghetti sauce and put it on top of spaghetti squash. While the spaghetti squash is a healthier option than noodles, it doesn’t really replicate the noodle texture all that well. However, it does provide a great base for the sauce, which is where all the flavor in a dish of spaghetti is anyways!

Here is my Low Carb Spaghetti Sauce Recipe that I created today! (I’m all about throwing things in a pot. Every time I make something it is a new recipe.)

Ingredients:

  • 2 large sausages
  • 32 ounces canned tomato sauce
  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 stalk of celery (not the whole bunch, just one piece)
  • 4 mushrooms
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/3 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

On medium heat, saute the sausages, onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms for 1-2 minutes. Add in the canned spaghetti sauce and seasonings – Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, olive oil.  Let simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Today, I used the Kirkland brand of tomato sauce, which actually did have some added sugar, but the carbohydrate count was pretty low, so it still fit into my macros. I decided to search online for a better option and discovered that Hunt’s has a no sugar added canned pasta sauce, which would probably be a great option. It is zero carbohydrates and the added mushrooms, onions and sausage that you add would make it taste great if it doesn’t already! [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B005OSRUU6″ locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31KxQ79gFbL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”137″]The other thing that you may want to purchase is a nice Italian seasoning. [easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”B001PQREOI” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51rNfo9Qf5L._SL160_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”160″]

 

 

 

Check out my ketogenic chili recipe! For ideas on the best ketogenic snacks click here!

 

 

Roast Beef Lettuce Wrap Recipe

Starting out with lettuce, cucumbers and mayonaise

This ketogenic lunch utilized leftovers from my pot roast dinner last night as well as some fresh vegetables.  I started out by washing two leaves of lettuce and overlapping them. One thing that I did with the romaine was to bend the stalk in a few places, so that I could roll the ingredients that were inside the wrap.  This actually turned out to be really helpful.

I spread mayonnaise on top of the lettuce and added some thinly sliced cucumbers that I had on had.

Next, I sliced some roast beef, tomatoes, red onions and added some avocado. I tried to keep the ingredients as thin as possible to make rolling it easy.

The rolling of it was tricky. I won’t lie. It isn’t like stuffing it into a tortilla. Lettuce tends to break easier than tortillas and not fold quite as easily, but it did work!

The rolled product.
The final product. It tasted great!
Adding in the tomato, roast beef, avocado and red onions
It rolled up!

One thing that did help was I used a paper towel to wrap around it so that it wasn’t as messy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 leaves of Romaine lettuce
  • 3 slices of roast beef
  • 4 slices of cucumber
  • 1 slice of red onion
  • 1/4 avocado sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions: Lay the lettuce flat on the cutting board. Spread mayonnaise over the lettuce. Add the veggies and the roast beef. Roll the lettuce and other ingredients together. Wrap a paper towel around it to make eating it easier! Enjoy!