What Is Your Opinion on Cooking With an Instant Pot?

Hey JJ Here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays. And Wayfair is my go to for that. Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting, and all those little touches that make you want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my books stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist. Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind. It's the perfect mix of joy and order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with ease. If you're ready to make your home feel as good as it looks, get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on.

Your first order the holidays are almost here, but there's still time to score great gifts at Dick's Sporting Goods. Find everyone's must have gifts from Nike, FP Movement, Adidas, and more. Need your gifts fast? Stop by your local Dick's or shop Dick's.com for fast shipping, curbside pickup or same day delivery. Every holiday starts at Dick's.

What do you think about cooking with an instant pot? This is jj Virgin four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Ginger Carlson from Facebook asks, what do you think about cooking with an instant pot? Hey, it's JJ and I've got my pal, health coach and healthy chef Maru Davila here to answer this question. Maru was born in Mexico City and then immigrated to the US to go to Harvard. Not just undergrad, but B school too. A few of her many business ventures included co founding two banks in San Diego. And then she made a big career change when she realized that she needed to turn her health around and started competing in triathlons and learned to cook at age 40. Now she's known as the Healthy Mexican Food Chef and her Healthy Mexican Food recipes are so delicious you will feel like you're cheating.

Literally.

One of my favorites, her guacamole ice cream. Yep, that's a thing. And trust me, you want it. We'll be right back to answer this question. Stay with me.

Hey, it's J.J. here. Now let's be honest. The holidays are basically a financial ambush. Travel, hosting gifts, surprise holiday school things. Suddenly you're wondering how December turned into a spirit spending spree. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. What really grabbed my attention is how fast those little holiday expenses pile up with Monarch. Seeing everything in one place makes it a lot harder to accidentally overspend. And honestly, I appreciate anything that keeps me from starting January with a money hangover. You'll love exploring the holiday spending category. Imagine how good it will feel to actually see what's happening before your credit card statement does that whole dramatic reveal thing. Monarch basically shows you exactly where the money is going in real time. And that level of clarity could change everything, right? Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year. @monarch.com with code Virgin, the holidays are all about family.

But at the Chrysler Wrap up the Year sales event, it's all about you. Enjoy every mile in the most awarded minivan in America, the Chrysler Pacifica. With the most standard safety features in its class. Available Stow n Go seating and the available Stow n Back built in vacuum. Make the most of the holidays with a great deal at the Chrysler Pacifica Wrap up the Year sales event based on Ward's small van segment. Based upon the latest available competitor information, Chrysler is a registered trademark of FCA US llc.

Instaparts have definitely become one of the hardest things on kitchen appliances and books because there's so many books now written for instant pots. They're basically a pressure cooker with additional features and electrical controls. I think they have some good things and some bad things and I like to discuss this with you. I got to tell you that I have never used a regular pressure cooker and they just seem intimidating to me. They seem complicated and with little predictability. At least that's how I see it. Whereas an instapot was something that was intriguing for me, it has controls and it is highly predictable, which is something that I tend to seek. I like structure and order, especially in the kitchen, and I also favor kitchen gadgets that require less of my attention so that I can do other things while the things I need are being cooked or processed. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not someone who can stand and watch carefully. But something cooking or simmering for a long time, it's just not me. And because of this, it's unavoidable that when I try to do, you know, cook something that lasts a long time, I will do something else at the same time and then I'll forget what I was doing and end up doing a big mess, big disasters like burning or I don't know. So I think for me, needs the pot could add some added benefits. But let's let. So let's go over some of the key benefits that I think the instant pot provides. It's supposedly safer than the pressure cooker, you know, a big plus and less scary, at least to me. It can also do a lot of things. So with one equipment you can do a variety of things. Of course, some will be with better results than others. For example, it can do the pressure cooking, it can do slow cooking. This could come in handy when the time that you need to cook something is so long and you can't stay in the kitchen or home because it's just controllable timing. It's also very good for simmering and specifically for producing clear broth. So it would be a great item to use for bone broth, which I do quite often. It's also good for oil less cooking because it's very easy in this type of pot. I personally don't care for oiless cooking and they also like to recommend it for cooking frozen or dry foods, which is a must for nowadays when you're very busy. I know you, like me, have a variety of frozen items ready to go. So it's good that you can just start cooking it and you know, have it ready when you need it. You can also use it to saute or fry things, but they are not going to be as good as if you do it straight on the stove on a cast iron pan. Some examples of the many dishes you can do with these functions I mentioned are you can cook beans, rice, variety of meat, like roast beef and stew. You can do tender chicken, variety of soups and broths, definitely chili. You can even bake cakes. I haven't tried it for that, but people claim it's really good and easy. And then eggs is also supposed to be very good. And porridges like for example, oatmeal or other grains that are cooked similarly, and yogurt. So you know a big variety of things you can do. You know the other benefit that I see in instant puns is it can be fast when cooking certain foods, like beans, for example. If you were to cook it normally in a stove, it would probably take between one and three hours. That's a long time. Whereas with an instant pot, it's going to take somewhere around 30 minutes or even less. And then for things like meat, soups, vegetables, the recommended cooking time in an instant pot is one third of the time versus a regular oven or stove. Like I said, this is one of my favorite benefits. It does not require you constant attention because it can be programmed. In fact, did you know that you can program it 24 hours ahead of time? This will come in very handy in those super busy days when you're just running around and you need dinner on time. So I like this feature a lot. Now, talking about the negatives, which there are a few. I guess the first thing is that despite its name, it's not always instant. Things do take time. In fact, it can require sometimes up to 15% more time than a traditional pressure cooker. Then the other thing that's not so cool is that cooking times can vary, which means you can't really rely on having a meal at a precise time. For me, this is really bad because I plan my days by the minute, so any random delay would affect many other things. And I don't like this in the oven or the stove. At least I know that how long it's going to take, you know, very close to the exact time. Another negative is that you can't check progress when you're doing these cooking. So if you're really trying to ensure a high quality finished dish, you will have to wait until the end and hope for the best because if it's not ready, you're gonna have to do it again. Whereas in a traditional cooking you can always like, you know, check and adjust. Other negative is that it only works with dishes that have some amount of liquid in them, so dry recipes are not gonna work as well. And the instant pot is not good for things like crispy dishes or stir fries or pressure canning. If these are things that are very important to you, you may look at some other better options. And last but not least, they are bulky and not easy to clean. I mean the bulky part nowadays with so much clutter, at least in my house, I think about it. But I do have an instant pot. I found a place. So I think my conclusion, jj, is that if you do have the space to store it, you don't need to use those precise things that are not very good for this type of pot. Then I think it can be a great addition.

This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com.

Foreigners this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles that they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives. As well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader, and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.