Instant Pot Adventures (001) - Deviled Eggs

By now I'm sure you've all heard of the Instant Pot!
Well, my parents got me one for Christmas, this year!!!

I have been going back & forth between wanting an Instant Pot and an Air Fryer over the past few months...
Even though I've only had the InstaPot a few days & I've only JUST used it for the first time... I must say, I'm glad to have this over the fryer!!!
We don't eat a ton of fried foods to begin with, and this thing is seeming to be SUPER versatile.

I haven't really cooked much since getting it, so today was its maiden voyage. I had heard from someone on Facebook that it makes good hard boiled eggs. I was intrigued.
As someone who makes dozens of dozens of deviled eggs EVERY SINGLE YEAR, the thought of quick hard boiled eggs was a dream come true!!!

Off subject, but over the years I have perfected hard boiled eggs!!!
If you don't have an InstaPot, feel free to find that secret here!!! Perfect EVERY time!

Anywho, having said that ^^^ I will NEVER boil eggs like that again!!!
Now, this InstaPot method only, truly, saves me about 6 minutes of "cook" time, BUT it's still so worth it! We'll get into all of the "whys" in just a moment.

I want to preface this by saying, normally, I cook WAY more than 10 eggs at a time.
This particular family gathering is small, 10 people.
Usually, I will cook 2 to 3 dozen at a time!
I am confident, but curious to see how well it handles all of that, next time.

Alright, let's get into this!!!

First of all, you have to test your Instant Pot prior to actually using it. Just follow the simple instructions in the booklet that it comes with.
Basically, you add 3 cups of water to the pot, attach the lid, set the vent to seal, and run the pressure cooker for 2 minutes. All this does is assure that your cooker is working properly; lid, vents, etc.

Now, I Googled how to hard boil eggs in the InstaPot and pretty much every single tutorial said to add one cup of water & to use the little rack that comes with the pot.

I pressed the "egg" button, then pressed the adjust button until it was on high, & set the time for 5 minutes. 10 seconds later, it beeped and began. It takes about 2 minutes for the pressure to build up, then it will steam for 5 minutes. Once the time runs out, it will automatically set itself on "keep warm". So, you let the eggs sit, while the pot naturally releases pressure, for 5 minutes. (12 minutes in, so far.)

Once 5 minutes has passed, turn the release valve to vent. Do this VERY quickly, and make sure your hand is not anywhere near the release vent!
Use a spoon if you are worried.
Once the steam & pressure is all released, remove the lid.
(14ish minutes, so far.)
By the way, the eggs look great, here. No cracks or spillage.

I used a pair of tongs to remove the eggs, and I put them in a bowl of ice water.
Mostly, this just makes it to where you can handle them while peeling.
Sit in ice for 5 minutes, then peel!
(Done in 19+/- minutes!)

Now, let me tell you...
My LEAST favorite part about making deviled eggs is the peeling!!! Ugh!
Especially when I have to make a few dozen at a time... By the end, my finger tips are so sore.
However, these were the easiest eggs to peel, that I have ever experienced!!!
You crack the shell & it practically slips off! I was extremely impressed. Didn't take long, at all.
But, the best part?!?!?!
NONE of the eggs peeled ugly!!!
If you've ever made boiled eggs, you know what I'm talking about. Some eggs like to hold onto their shells in a couple of places & when you're peeling, the shell takes a bit of egg white off with it, causing the white to look jagged. Not these! All 10 of my eggs are perfectly peeled & beautiful!!!

Here is a cross section of one of the eggs. The yolk is perfectly cooked! There is no gooey center, which was my main concern before starting this.

Again I say, perfectly cooked. The outer edges are still yellow, and haven't been over cooked to that rubbery green color.

After you devil your yolks, spoon the mixture into your whites & sprinkle with your seasonings.
Here they are, all ready to be put in the refrigerator until we head out this afternoon!

How about a close up of those gorgeous eggs?! Delicious!

All in all, I am thoroughly impressed with how well the eggs were cooked. Normally, it would take me 25 minutes, JUST to "cook" them *see link towards beginning*, but these were done & ready to peel in just 19!!!
I will be using this for ALL of my future egg-scursions. ;)

Thanks for reading.
I will be back, next time, with my buffalo chicken dip! (Whole recipe, and all!)

***Sorry, not giving you my deviled egg recipe, that's a secret! Lol.***

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

This is gonna be just a quick blog about how to cook perfect hard boiled eggs!

Take a sharp knife & poke a small hole into the top of each egg.

As you poke them, place them into a big pot.

Once you have finished adding all of your eggs, make sure your pot is large enough to add enough water to completely submerge your eggs, and still have boiling room.

Sprinkle about 2tsp of salt into the water.

Place on your stove & turn it on high.

It will take about 5 minutes for the water to begin to boil, once it is boiling let it boil for 10 minutes.

After your timer goes off, take the pot off of the heat, immediately, and put a lid on.
Let the eggs sit in the pot for an additional 15 minutes.

(About 30 minutes in, so far.)

After that timer goes off, you can drain the eggs & add ice water to the pot. Let that sit about 5 minutes so that the eggs are easier to handle while peeling.

That's it! That's the secret!
Perfectly boiled eggs, every time.

If you have an Instant Pot, and you want to boil eggs in that, I have a blog explaining how, as well.
Click here to read that one.

Saving Myself from Myself

People who know me, know that I have struggled with my weight a lot over the last 11 years.

All through High School, I was never a size 2, like most of my friends, but I was ok with my body. I enjoyed what I looked like, for the most part.
At 17 I was 160lbs, and I loved my body!
That was really the first time that I ever wondered how much I weighed, so I couldn't tell you any other weights from prior to 17.

However, once I turned 18, I gained about 25lbs. I was 185 at 19, when I got pregnant.
However, I had lost about 10lbs before I found out! So, I was feeling good, losing weight without really trying, then it turned out, I was just pregnant... Bahaha.
By the day I gave birth to Ty I was 38.5 weeks pregnant & 198lbs.
About a month after I gave birth I had dropped back down to 174!!!
The lightest I am aware of being since.
I am certain that I weighed less after starting work at Dodge, but I never weighed myself. I just know by the way my clothes were fitting after 2 months. However, that's when my accident happened.

For those who may be reading this who don't know me, personally, on April 26, 2010 a man ran a stop sign doing about 60mph & slammed into the front quater panel of my car. I spun a couple of times, took out a stop sign & almost hit a giant tree. My son, 8 months old at the time, was in the back seat. My head busted out my driver's side window, my left arm punched through my windshield, and my right knee was jammed into the dashboard.
Ty was, so thankfully, unharmed!!!
I, however, was quite banged up.
I remember turning around to look at Ty after it was over, he was in his carseat & it hadn't moved. I unbuckled so quickly & climbed out of my broken window. The Drs at the hospital told me that I had a tibial plataue fracture & put me in a leg brace until I could get in to see an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Well, between car insurances & other BS it took 2 months to get into one!!!
At that time, they told me my leg was not broken, but I had severely sprained my MCL, AND both of my bursas in my right knee had burst! (Those are the little sacks that surround your knee & joint for lubrication.)
Needless to say, after being in a brace for 2 months, my leg needed a TON of physical therapy!!!
It was horrible & painful & I've told you all of this to say that my knee has always been an issue since, AND that that is when my weight REALLY got out of control.

After 2 months of just sitting around due to my "broken" leg, and then the pain over the next few months of PT. I just started gaining.

In 2012, I had decided enough was enough & I lost about 40lbs, just from eating less (not calorie counting or anything), drinking a gallon of water a day, and walking 4 miles a day/3 days a week.

For whatever reason, after I hit 193, I gave up... I, honestly, can not remember why... I know that my mother-in-law passed away that October & life was not very good for a few months after that, I suspect that's what happened.. That's neither here nor there. Between the beginning of 2013 & the end of 2017 I gained every pound back.

Here were get to 2018. Fresh 2018!!!
January 7th, to be exact.
It wasnt a "New Year's Resolution", I just happened to start in January lol.
My husband had recently switched jobs & we had some extra spending money. He had bought himself some things & I just could NOT figure out what I wanted for myself.
Finally, I said to him, just give me $200, I will keep it in my account & let it pay a gym membership each month!
At that point, he told me that I didnt need to use the money for that, to just join & that he would just pay the membership fee, normally.
I almost cried lol.
We had tossed around the idea of joining a gym for YEARS. Something inside of me just knew it was time!!!

I went the next day to check out Anytime Fitness & Planet Fitness. When I arrived at Anytime, at the time I would have to be there each morning, it was not "open". But, you could get in with the fob. I found out that employees didnt show up until 11am, and I did NOT feel comfortable knowing that I could be at the gym, completely alone at Anytime.
So, in their parking lot, I called Planet.
Someone answered! I asked a few questions & once I found out that if PF was open, there was ALWAYS an employee there, I just knew that was the one.

I went on the tour. Then, I opted for the $22.95/mo membership instead of the $10!!! But, I'm SO glad that I did! Over the summer, my step-mom started going with me, as my guest, & that was just an even better added bonus to my life change. We bonded so much, and she eventually got her own membership & still goes!

Moving on to the start.
I was so nervous, my first day was the 9th, because I didn't know that I would be able to start the day I joined, and I went in normal clothes lol. Didn't have time to go home & come back before Ty got out of school.
So, I walk in.. I was so glad to see SO many people in all different points of their journey. Not everyone looked perfect, and that was a little less intimidating.
I went to the treadmill, walked one mile as a warm up. Then, I moved on to the 30 minute circut room, and finished off with 5 miles on the bike.
I left feeling so good!!!

I continued that same routine for the first 4 weeks. Then, I got the nerve to take a class with the trainer!

My first time, I took 4 classes in a row.
Arms, legs, shoulders, abs. (Not necessarily in that order lol).
There were 3 other women taking the first & since I was the only one in the other 3 they agreed to join me for those, as well.

I ended up taking 3 more focused classes before I was ready to take on a "design your own". Luckily, he had gotten to know my body a little. So he knew how to modify workouts to suit my specific issues/crutches (knee, mostly).

So, after that, I was on my own with that routine for 6 weeks.

About 3 weeks in, I forgot my leg brace on top of the dryer... It was leg day... I decided to go easy, but I felt like it wasn't really working me out as good as usual. So, I figured I could just put my weights back up & just do less reps.... But, it blew me away that my knee didn't hurt, at all!!! I got through my ENTIRE leg day without any pain!!!
I assumed the pain would come later, and it never did!!!
To this day, I have not had any knee pain!!!
Just like that, I had healed myself without even knowing it!
So, on top of EVERYTHING else, this was my favorite side effect! This has been quite a Chilly winter for Florida, and the cold weather usually KILLS my knee. That, I figured, would be the true test. NOTHING! NO pain! It's truly amazing!

I ended up taking the class again a couple more times, then I decided that I was confident & educated enough to design my own.

I have been doing that ever since!
I took a couple of 3 week long design classes with a couple of other trainers, as they came through. (Turnover for a trainer has been kind of high at my gym lol. After John left, we are on our 3rd one!!!)

But, mostly, just to get new ideas & run ideas that I've seen past them lol.

I follow quite a bit of people on my Fitstagram (as my Sister-in-Law called it over Christmas haha), & I save a ton of workout videos & try them when I'm feeling brave!

Now, it wasn't just exercise, alone, that helped me shed the weight. For the majority of my journey I have been in a caloric deficit! I still eat carbs, and anything else I want to eat, I just make sure it all adheres to my daily calorie allowance.

Over the course of this journey, I KNEW only one thing. That I didn't care how slow going it was, as long as it was always going! When I first started taking classes with John, we had conversations about weightloss & such. I told him I was only losing one pound a week, and he said it was perfect. You really want to aim at losing 1 to 2lbs a week, to give your body time to get into your new habits, and to allow your skin to regain its elasticity.
I have seen so many amazing, beautiful bodies over the last year that have excess skin, and I am not afraid of it. I know it's a possibility. However, I am glad that i chose to take it slow & am doing my best to minimize the chance, or amount.
I have, consistently, lost 1lbs a week, since beginning. With the exception of a handful of weeks where I lost 2 or 3.

I am on week 51 & I have lost 57lbs!
236 down to 179!!!
I have gone from a size 18 pants to a loose fitting 13/14.
Size XXL shirt to a loose fitting L.
42DDD bra to a 36DD.
Size 10 wedding rings to size 8.
AND a 9.5 shoe to an 8!!! That one caught me by surprise! Lol.
I have so much stamina, I am so much stronger!
***Editing on January 3rd, to add that from week 24 (about 212lbs) until now, week 52 (179lbs) I have lost 39" Total across my whole body!!! I don't know how many total inches are lost since the start, because I didn't measure until week 24.**

I even gave myself a small, personal goal aside from weightloss..
To do ONE pushup by the end of December.
I reached that goal on November 27th!!!

I won't be adding any photos on this blog post, however, I will link my Instagram, if you'd like to check it out for yourself.

Once I have reached, what I'm hoping will be, my final goal weight (160), I will post a new blog with tons of photos of my journey.

I really just wanted to get this out & maybe help anyone who may be struggling like I was! Someone who maybe needs to know that it doesn't have to be hard. You don't HAVE to lose it all in one year. One pound lost is still ONE POUND LOST!!! 20 weeks from now you could be 20lbs closer to your goal, or you could be exactly where you are right now!

All it takes is wanting to change, and taking action!

After all it is the "time" for resolutions, and although that's not what mine started out as, it doesn't mean it couldn't have. I know there's a stigma around "NYRs", but I think if you REALLY want it, you can make it happen!!!
I think the issue is, people thinking that they HAVE to start on the 1st. Like, if they start before or after it doesn't count.
I promise, it DOES count!!!