Recently with COVID-19 going on, I’ve been cooking a lot more at home. This is great because, with three jobs and school full time, I only ever ate fast food, macaroni and cheese cups or frozen food. I started having time to actually make homemade guacamole, pasta with meat sauce and other meals. Not only was I starting to feel more independent and healthy, but I also felt like I was doing right by my ancestors by not eating all of those processed foods. 

However, after a week or so of cooking, I was beginning to remember why I didn’t cook much before the stay-at-home orders. Freshly made meals are extremely time-consuming. I was saving money by making more food at home but as I was adjusting to my new schedules, it was getting hard to set aside an hour or more for cooking. So like usual, I went to Pinterest to help me find a solution. 

After being on Pinterest for a while, I found the perfect solution… an InstantPot. The only problem with this highly popular pressure cooker was its price. So to find a solution to this problem I went to the app, Let Go. I was able to find a brand new instant pot from a guy who only used it once and he sold it to me for $40, which is way better than the retail price of $90+. I ended up getting a three quart one, which is the smallest size they had. It is perfect because my boyfriend and I hate having leftovers and it makes the amount of food perfect for us to have seconds. 

I knew this was going to be a life-changing kitchen appliance when I read the time cooking table included in the box. When I saw that I could completely cook a lobster in 2 min, my heart skipped a beat and my fingers found themselves searching for InstantPot recipes. And let me tell you, I printed out over 20 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. 

Don’t get me wrong, the InstantPot can be a learning curve but after trying some recipes, I’m loving the food I’m making and the amount of time it takes to make it. I’ve made so far a series of three different dishes and they all took me under 30 minutes to make. Since getting the InstantPot, I’ve made a full pot of Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada (which usually takes about an hour to make), spaghetti and meat sauce (takes up a ton of cooking utensils and time), and tomato bisque (which I’ve heard it’s a pain to make). 

Not only has this kitchen appliance helped me save time and cooking utensils, but it’s changed the way I eat. I’m making the perfect portions and I’m also able to make fresh food that I can freeze or save for meal prep. Hopefully if you have an InstantPot, this article will inspire you to use it more. If you don’t have an InstantPot, then hopefully this article has inspired you to take out your other kitchen appliances to use them to your advantage during this pandemic. 

Rachael Jones can be reached at oali@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @RachAJones99.