The Instant Zest rice cooker

I’m back to share my thoughts on another one of my newest kitchen appliances, the Instant Zest rice & grain cooker. If you missed my post on the Instant ACE blender, please check it out.

I wanted to replace my old rice cooker that we bought 10 years ago. I wanted a newer and up to date one with more functions than cook and warm. After some searching, I decided to give the Instant Zest a try. It happened to be much cheaper than the one I had put on my Amazon wish list two years ago. It only cost us $30 at the time we bought it.

This rice and grain cooker is the same size as a regular 8 cup rice cooker. It’s nonstick ceramic and comes with a steamer basket, measuring cup, spoon, Getting Started Guide, and user manual. You can steam veggies, make white rice, brown rice, Quinoa, Oatmeal, and more with it.

I have had my Instant Zest for almost three weeks now and I LOVE it. It gets used at least once each week (sometimes more) at our house. I was a little confused at first on how to operate it. I was glad to find some Youtube videos with owners using theirs. Take a look at some of the things I have made so far....

I have been buying only Brown Rice for the past 8 months. I learned all about soaking grains prior to cooking from Nourishing Traditions. Brown rice never tasted so good. We don't even miss white rice around here. Cooking rice in the Instant Zest is so easy (once I learned how to operate it of course). The measurements for the rice to water ratio is in the Getting Started Guide. Once you put the rice and water in, you close the lid, plug into an outlet, and the screen lights up. You select what you want to cook and the screen reads On. From there you just wait and let the cooker do its thing. Once it's about finished the screen starts counting down until it reaches End. It goes to Warm setting, but it's best to hit Cancel when it's done.

I also tried cooking Quinoa and it's the same process as with the brown rice. I love how well the food comes out so fluffy.

I buy old fashioned oats instead of instant. I give my oats an overnight soak like I do for the brown rice. The next morning you just rinse them well and proceed to cook them. The function for cooking oatmeal was not the same as the rice and Quinoa. When you hit the oatmeal button, you can select the amount of time you want to cook it. From there you can see the time counting down the enter time it cooks (unlike the rice or Quinoa).

Cleanup is a breeze because of the nonstick ceramic inner pot. The pic above shows nothing left behind after removing cooked food. Nothing sticks or browns and I love that. My old rice cooker seemed to brown food on the bottom no matter what I cooked. I think we made a great choice with this one, and I know it will get lots of use for years to come. I hope you have enjoyed hearing my thoughts on our newest Instant Pot brand products.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Instant ACE blender…my thoughts

Last month I shared one of my newest kitchen appliances, the Instant ACE blender. I said I would come back to share my thoughts with you. Let’s get right to that.

First off I’ll share that my hubby first saw this at Walmart and said he thought it looked like something I would love. I had always wanted a better blender (than the cheap ones I have to replace every few years) but never had it in our budget to get one of those good pricey ones like a Vitamix. You see, I make smoothies almost daily every weekday. I have been doing this for quite a while now. I hate eating boxed cereals for breakfast, and I’m not always able to cook every morning if I have nothing (prepped meals) to pull from my freezer. I’ve always been a firm believer that breakfast is important to get the day started.

The Instant ACE Cooking & Beverage Blender only cost us $80 at the store. I’ve never spent that much on a blender before, but it’s MUCH cheaper than the “good” ones. We used some of our tax refund to purchase it. This thing does more than make cold beverages. You can use it for hot stuff too. It’s designed for many things like making smoothies, nut milk, pureed foods/soups, frozen desserts like ice cream, and crushed ice. It even has a self-cleaning function too.

The Instant ACE comes with a food tamper w/measuring cup, cleaning brush, getting started guide, user manual, and a machine-washable/food-safe drawstring strainer bag.

So far I have only used my ACE blender to make our morning smoothies (pictured above). I love how thick but smooth they come out. When I hit the smoothie button, the countdown and it takes under two minutes for the smoothie to be ready.

Cleanup is a breeze with the clean/pulse function (pictured above). The pitcher itself cannot be submerged in water like with most blenders. Underneath the pitcher is the parts that connect to the base in order for it to run. You don’t want that to get wet and cause damage to the appliance. When I’m ready to clean all I have to do is fill the pitcher 1/2 way with hot water, add a few drops of dish soap, and close the lid in place. I hit the clean/pulse button and the countdown begins. In 48 seconds it goes through the cleaning cycle and all I have to do is rinse it with clean hot water afterward then let dry. The top and cap can be hand washed in hot soapy water to be sure they are thoroughly cleaned.

I can’t wait to try more things with my new blender. I know I’m going to try making a nut milk soon. Hubby and I joke about us now being an “Insta Family”. So far there is only one thing (outside of it being heavy) I don't like about this blender. It is so BIG I can't fit it on my counter under my cabinets. I have to move it somewhere else after I finish using it. With that being said I will be sure to share my thoughts on the Instant Zest rice cooker we bought as well.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Wordless Wednesday~ 4/15/20

I do plan to come back and share thoughts about this and my other newest kitchen appliance in an upcoming post :-)

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

My April 2020 Simple Woman Daybook

For Today: 4/6/20

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Looking out my window

It’s nice outside and the weather feels great. I’m glad we can finally open the windows to let some fresh air in. Our high for today is 77 degrees. That’s well over 10 degrees higher than this time last year.

I am thinking

about how COVID- 19 has changed our normal way of life.

I am thankful

My family is healthy and for God’s provision during this Coronavirus pandemic.

One of my favorite things

    A new favorite of mine is dark chocolate with almonds. Once upon a time, I thought I’d never like eating dark chocolate. These days I'm hooked :-)

I am creating

Plans for a nice meal we’ll enjoy at home on Easter Sunday despite all that’s going on right now.

I am wearing

A blue blouse, blue capris, and flip flops.

I am reading

I have been struggling to keep up with the Romans Bible Study with all that’s going on. :(

I’m watching

As little news as possible. I choose to only watch the daily Task Force Briefings with my family. Outside of that I don’t watch or read anything that’s being said because it’s depressing nerve- wrecking hearing so many different people opinions about COVID-19.

I’m listening to

Nothing at the moment.

I am hoping

That this interruption in our daily lives causes more people to put their faith and trust in the Heavenly Father.

I am learning

To be content and not worry because Father God takes care of His children.

In my kitchen

We will be having Nicoise Salad for dinner. YUM!

Post Script

Here are some variations of Nicoise Salads to try (except I don’t like capers and I sub the Anchovy Fillets with the paste):

Classic

Grilled Chicken

Salmon

Shared Quote

“He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.”

~Isaiah 25:8

A moment from my day

Enjoying a smoothie from my new Instant ACE. I plan to post my thoughts on what I think of it soon. I'm waiting on another goodie to get here in a few days.

Closing Notes

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into my life. Be sure to head on over to the host site to read other ladies' Simple Woman Daybooks.

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© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.