Healthy Crock-Pot Recipes for Easy Family Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What to make when you have no time to cook? ›

I usually go with yoghourt and oats with banana slices, fried eggs on rice or just grilled cheese sandwiches when I don't have any energy for cooking. Or instant tomato soup with boiled eggs. Noodle wok, pasta salad with chicken, or oven baked vegetables and sausages is also pretty low effort.

A slow cooker can help with eating healthily, as this way of cooking doesn't need much (if any) fat, which can help to lower the calorie content. It also intensifies flavours – which is helpful when cutting down on salt.

If you take an extra 10 minutes to sauté the aromatics before scraping them into the slow-cooker, the finished dish will have deeper flavor and better texture. (And some new slow-cookers allow you to sauté right in the insert, so you don't have to wash a separate skillet.)

Don't leave it on 'warm' all day

Most appliances will automatically shut off after 20 or so hours on this setting, but you shouldn't leave food in a slow cooker for an extended length of time. The general rule of thumb is that 2-4 hours is the maximum length of time you can leave food in a slow cooker on warm.

Your slow cooker can truly help you speed up your weight loss success and boost your health. The benefits will not only apply to you. This style of cooking will mean that the other family members can also eat healthily.

A slow cooker and a Crockpot are the same thing, essentially. A slow cooker is an appliance of which there are lots of brands. Crockpot is one brand of slow cooker. Crockpot popularized slow cookers when they launched their version in the 1970s.

Food texture changes: Canned foods, such as vegetables, can become too mushy in a slow cooker. It's better to use them fresh or frozen. But, frozen veggies tend to make the texture of the dish more “watery”. Defrosting and draining the extra liquid before cooking can help minimize this.

Choose the right cut: Chuck roasts, short ribs, pork shoulders and lamb shanks (think fatty and tougher meats) become meltingly tender with the moist, low heat of a slow cooker. Leaner cuts like pork tenderloin tend to dry out. Likewise, dark meat chicken — thighs, drumsticks, etc.

Onion - the One Ingredient You Must Pre-Cook Before Adding to Your Slow Cooker! Never add onions to a slow cooker dish that you haven't sautéed first – I find you get that slight raw onion flavour throughout and it just ruins the dish for me. I really think it's worth the extra effort.

Should you stir slow cooker recipes? ›

Should I stir ingredients in my Crockpot slow cooker while they're cooking? Although you may be tempted, resist the urge to check on the ingredients during the cooking process! Lifting the lid allows heat and steam to escape, which will cause you to have to increase the cooking time.

Research conducted by USDA FSIS indicates it's safe to cook large cuts of meat and poultry in a slow cooker.

The difference between "High" and "Low" on slow cookers seems to differ with every brand and model. One thing that is consistent, though, is that food takes seven to eight hours to reach a simmer point (around 210°) on low; versus three to four hours on high.

Yes, you can leave your slow cooker on all day or overnight. However, if you are planning to leave your slow cooker on overnight, make sure it's on a low heat.

A food that has a low GI rating lowers blood sugar levels, decreases cravings, and increases focus. Whole grains, beans, seeds, and most vegetables are good choices. A child should consume healthy fats, a combination of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fat, avoiding trans fats at all costs.