Cooking Methods

[retiredonaharley]

My wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011. She is double APOE3. She has been on the Bredesen Plan since Jan 2018 and suffered a 40 lb loss of weight. Our food coach says to stray from the plan and fatten her up but we've only been able to put 5 lbs back on her. The question I have is about the methods of cooking.

I found a couple of references to Instant Pot on your forums regarding recipe books but I have not had anyone tell me if cooking via Instant Pot on a regular basis is nutritious for a Bredesen Patient. Jeff W of the Bredesen group referred me to your website.

I am very familiar with pressure cooking and have been using a non-electronic pressure cooker for years and i am sure that I could master the electronics of an Instant Pot. My granddaughter insists that this is the only way to cook if you do not have a lot of time to spend.

So, is an Instant Pot OK for Bredesen patients? How about a Ninja cooker which I believe is similar to an Instant Pot. I've also seen air fryers advertised that I believe pressure cooks the food and then injects air into the process to brown any meat contained within. I am ready to make a purchase as soon as I get some input.

Thank you for providing this website for those of us needing answers to our questions and thanx in advance to anyone who can answer these questions for me. My motto is that it is not over-until it's over. Until then keep fighting.

Jim Jacobs
LA County CA

[donbob]

I use a method called “sous vide”. The advantage in my mind is low temperatures which reduce formation of AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products). Douglas Baldwin has extensive safety and process information on line. He also published a very good guide to sous vide cooking.

[IForgot]

My wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011. She is double APOE3. She has been on the Bredesen Plan since Jan 2018 and suffered a 40 lb loss of weight. Our food coach says to stray from the plan and fatten her up but we've only been able to put 5 lbs back on her. The question I have is about the methods of cooking.

I found a couple of references to Instant Pot on your forums regarding recipe books but I have not had anyone tell me if cooking via Instant Pot on a regular basis is nutritious for a Bredesen Patient. Jeff W of the Bredesen group referred me to your website.

I am very familiar with pressure cooking and have been using a non-electronic pressure cooker for years and i am sure that I could master the electronics of an Instant Pot. My granddaughter insists that this is the only way to cook if you do not have a lot of time to spend.

So, is an Instant Pot OK for Bredesen patients? How about a Ninja cooker which I believe is similar to an Instant Pot. I've also seen air fryers advertised that I believe pressure cooks the food and then injects air into the process to brown any meat contained within. I am ready to make a purchase as soon as I get some input.

Thank you for providing this website for those of us needing answers to our questions and thanx in advance to anyone who can answer these questions for me. My motto is that it is not over-until it's over. Until then keep fighting.

Jim Jacobs
LA County CA

Hi Jim,
I'm new to the site as well but I'll give my two cents. I too, use the Sous Vide method of cooking for the same reason as donbob. You can try the recipe for those tasty Starbucks Egg Sous Vide bites. Sous Vide cooking is very precise and leaves food with the most intact nutrients, in my opinion.

[retiredonaharley]

To clarify my request: I am not interested in learning a new cooking method at this time. I am familiar with pressure cooking and with the Instant Pot I can cook meals much faster. Even with the assistance of a caregiver for my wife, I an still averaging only 5-6 hours of sleep a night and I am hoping with the Instant Pot I might snatch another hour or two of sleep.

All I would like to know is whether or not an Instant Pot, a Ninja Cooker or an Air Fryer is an acceptable means of cooking under the Bredesen protocol.

[SusanJ]

I use my Instant Pot for fix and forget meals, or to speed up fixing foods (like beets) and I'd guess as long as you aren't browning the heck out of stuff first, it's just fine.

[circular]

All I would like to know is whether or not an Instant Pot, a Ninja Cooker or an Air Fryer is an acceptable means of cooking under the Bredesen protocol.

I'm not really familiar with air fryers or how hot they get, but dry heat can contribute to AGE load (advanced glycation end products). You might want to look into that. Wet and low heat are best.