redcairo Posted March 10, 2018 I just got an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker et al.) to start experimenting with. I eat real food but no gluten/glutin. I am usually ketogenic except since heart surgery (for a heart-valve birth defect, not a veins health issue), because I lost the majority of my oxygen/nutrients for who knows how long leading up to that, I'm on a 'recovery diet' to re-fortify my body. Trying to eat as much and as "versatile" as I can. So aside from those sorts of grains, as long as it qualifies as real food I have no serious limits to it at the moment. (I limit sugar and caffeine only because I don't want to add fat or stay awake all night, but am happy to have them sometimes.) Because I have a major issue with needing more protein than most people who aren't in bodybuilding competitions (it makes a very noticeable difference in my psychology, strength and energy, so this isn't guessing at a number, it's from a lot of experience), I usually have some kind of protein powder or protein drink every day (or more than one) along with as much food as I can eat... given limits on time and appetite. Those aren't really 'real-food' but I'm willing to suffer a little imperfection for the sake of density-of-nutrition. I despise protein powder. I am a dairy protein 'super-taster.' It's hard even to find milk that is cold enough and has STAYED cold enough. I can taste the denaturing of the proteins when its temperature has risen even a little. I can (I once tried it!) put a single TEASPOON of protein powder into an entire blender of milkshake and still feel the whole thing is ruined by it. It's hilarious and stupid and really sucks for someone who needs to ingest a lot of protein and can't eat tons of food! Over the last 15 years I've tried so many protein powders it's ridiculous. I have actually found a couple that are truly good stuff in terms of quality (unflavored natural factors 'whey factors' and naked corps' 'naked whey' and 'naked casein') but they taste kinda eh, at best. I have found one that is the best tasting I've ever run into, and I really like that the protein is processed in a variety of different ways then combined for a 'spectrum' of digestive speeds -- but it's got a bunch of really crappy ingredients (Syntha-6 esp their chocolate). The good news is, protein powder cooked -- like baked -- is VASTLY better. Why? Because the heat denatures the proteins. I modified a recipe to create a junk food protein ball (with bits of pepperoni, parmesan, italian herbs) but deep frying it properly is a real PITA. I recently had the bright idea that if I FROZE the batter in tiny silicon molds, then I could drop the little pieces into the deep frying coconut oil, and that might work too and be far easier and more consistent. But since now I have an instant pot, I want to find lots of things to experiment with in it! Instant Pot is nearly a cult online. Anything that gets THAT much enthusiasm should be either sleeping with you or paying your rent. Maybe both! According to search engines (or my lousy searching maybe), nobody has any recipes for protein powder-based or -included foods made in a pressure cooker. Apparently I'll be the first! If anybody here is an Instant Pot fan -- or a protein powder fan -- let alone both -- I would love to hear any ideas you have for experiments or recipe options! I have close to zero pressure cooking experience so I can only go off the recipes I find online (apparently the same 45 recipes stolen by 400 different people, so far, haha). Any ideas welcome! If my experimenting comes up with anything decently edible I will post it here for posterity! RC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted March 10, 2018 Protein powder—check Instant Pot...check But not at all clear why you want to denature protein... just for taste? I was under the impression that denatured protein is to be avoided... I'm loving cooking with the instant pot, but do wonder if pressure cooking is actually healthy, in addition to convenient.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted March 10, 2018 (edited) And that protein powder you like the taste of is full of nasty ingredients... including artificial sweeteners... would not eat it! Alas the best-tasting whey powder I've found is no longer made. Dang. It was Show Me the Whey, from a local health food store... Edited March 10, 2018 by cheya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idquest Posted March 10, 2018 I use pressure cooker exclusively to cook chicken feet. I cook them for about 1 hour and the cooker makes all the tendons, ligaments, and small bones in the feet eatable and (hopefully) digestible. And ridiculously tasty. My theory is that tendons and ligaments are composed of the type of protein human bodies need to build its connective tissue. Whether it is true or not, the upside is that I get very tasty meal. I use bouillon from the feet to cook rice, on top of that. Never tried beef tendons even though have been watching it in the local Asian store for a while. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted March 11, 2018 (edited) I like my Instant Pot and its been real good for soups and stews, but can't say I make anything particularly ketonic in it. For a good dose of protein how do you feel about eggs? They can be controversial but I find them great packets of protein and a whole lot more (including dietary cholesterol). Hard boiled they take on the herbal flavorings sprinkled on. As omelets they're cooked in a few minutes and make handy pouches for whatever proteins you put in the middle (my latest is spicy bean dip from jar). If the cholesterol is concerning there's not using the yolk or using less of them. I don't use it but these days the variety of protein powder seems really diverse, from egg white to pea powder, its not just casein based anymore. You could experiment with something tastier. Maybe even hit a juice bar kinda place and see if they'd set you up with some mini-experiments with what they have. Or find a place where you buy by the ounce and try a few in various recipes and see what you like. Sometimes just changing the type of milk in shakes makes a big difference. Lastly for recipes and information on protein powder marksdailyapple.com is a good source- https://www.marksdailyapple.com/?s=protein+powder Edited March 11, 2018 by thelerner 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redcairo Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Thanks you guys. I need a LOT of protein. I eat eggs, beef, chicken, and minimal pork and turkey, already. I want to be able to cook with protein powder because a/ I need more protein/aminos and b/ it can actually contribute to what I call "breadishes" which are not-bread but can function as something to put stuff on and c/ I loathe the taste of protein powder, ALL of them, and denaturing the proteins makes the taste easier for me. @cheya This is the kind I said I thought was best above: https://naturalfactors.com/en-us/product/whey-factors-2-en-us/ Can't figure out what's wrong with the ingredients. I mentioned Syntha-6 for flavor but also mentioned the ingredients were crappy -- seriously on that one. Probably why it tastes better than others. But that is relative because IMO it all tastes bad. There was once a media theory about pressure cooking being problematic but it turns out there were some wrong assumptions in all that. The temp on an Instant Pot I think gets to 200-something, maybe 225 I forget the detail; it's the pressure not the heat that is doing a lot of the work. (Also electronic PC's are like 11.2-11.6 PSI vs. 15 on a canner or stovetop PC.) The timing is much less than many other forms of cooking. Far as I know anyway, protein denatured isn't a negative. Your stomach denatures it, liver bile, the whole digestive system does. Any cooking does 'to some degree.' But there are some advantages to complete proteins that are lost when that's done. Which is fine with me. I could eat jello (un-denatured) or bone broth (denatured gelatin) but I can eat a lot more broth over the course of a week than I can jello! I count denatured aminos (like collagen hydrolysate) as protein. Last night I finally used the Instant Pot for the first time. Don't know why I was so reticent about getting to it! Made a chuck roast with potatoes and carrots. This not so much for me as for the kids. I ate my portion standing at the counter. My body will not let me make roast without my hand and mouth conspiring to just eat it like crazy. They're perfectly happy to suspend my brain activity or attention to allow this theft... so by the time I realized I'd eaten all of mine the veggies were done for the kids. (Kids are young adults.) Then they ran off with their bowls and I never got a photo! I was supposed to make potato leek stew (experiment for daughter), tomato soup (experiment for me), red curry chicken (experiment for me), and ground pork with spinach and chorizo-spice-mix meatballs, but my weekend was seriously slim on getting cooking chores done. I'm back to half-living on "chicken-egg salad," which is just what it sounds like, a blend of those two, along with celery, radish, sweet pepper, hot pepper, scallions. We make it 1 dozen eggs / 5# chicken at a time, and put it in these little 4-5oz storage containers, and the fridge will be packed with them. We grab 1-3 at a time depending on how hungry people are and eat that until we run out. This and stew -- mainly chicken-veggie stew -- and scrambles with veggies and cheese is our staple but I'm getting a bit weary of the same thing all the time. I want the Instant Pot to rescue me! @thelerner I recommend that site to others too! I didn't realize that had protein powder recipes though! Edited (again) to add: Oh. They don't. LOL! Info on protein, but not a category for powder recipes. RC Edited March 19, 2018 by redcairo 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) Hey Redcairo..... Not IP, but....How about some keto pancakes made with protein powder? (also eggs, cream cheese, and butter...no flour) This recipe needs some tweaks, but SO filling! There's a link on this page to a recipe for the same ingredients made into muffins. Haven't tried that one yet, but intend to. Opps! Here's the link to the webpage https://www.ketoconnect.net/keto-macro-cakes/ Edited March 8, 2019 by cheya 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
