IP Ribs and Other Tales

Last night I decided to get adventurous and stuff a slab of Costco pre-seasoned ribs into my Instant Pot.  I say “stuffed” because I packed the ribs in so tightly that it reminded me of trying to stuff myself into my jeans. That moment you realize that you were able to do it but if anything expands it is not going to be pretty….yeah, same with the ribs. Admittedly, I have never made ribs before but since I have been getting comfortable with using this fabulous cooking tool, I figured they would either be undercooked, overcooked or come out perfect, and in any case, I was fairly confident that they wouldn’t be rendered inedible. I had read somewhere to throw in 1 1/2 cups of apple juice, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke before putting
the ribs on the inside trivet.  I set my Instant Pot on high pressure for 40 minutes. I am not certain how healthy this all was but I steamed some green beans for good measure. When the timer went off and the IP finished a 15-20 minute natural release, I opened the lid and went to pull the ribs out; the meat was falling off of the bone. I was told that I should have pulled them out, slathered them in BBQ sauce and then broiled them for a few minutes, however, they already had a wonderful flavor and I didn’t want extra calories and/or high fructose corn syrup that is in my favorite BBQ sauce.  These ribs may not look like much, however, they were amazing with very little effort.

Today was day two of getting back into the groove of working out. So far I have only tackled the treadmill as I ease into my new lifestyle.  At some point I will add weight training into my workout but for now I am perfectly content with a gentle start.  Halfway through my cardio workout, I had the realization that I would not be a good candidate for a Fifty Shades of Gray type of relationship since I felt spanked hard enough going 3.0 mph on the treadmill. The highlight of my trip to the gym was that Planet Fitness has these incredible hydrotherapy lounge chairs that you can program to focus on a certain part of your back, neck or legs and, additionally, you can adjust the pressure. This after workout delight makes the pain a little more pleasurable. Just a little.