I have a goal for 2009 and that is to lose some weight, but eating healthy and low-fat can be very difficult nowadays. We don’t have time to cook and don’t even have time to go to a good restaurant. The result of this is eating fast foods or snacks and putting on weight. The more unhealthy food we eat, the less good health we have and I have to watch my cholesterol as well these days. But it is possible to eat cook and eat healthy without spending lots of time by using low fat crock pot recipes in our Crock-pot Slow Cookers.
This year I am going to think about my health, and try cooking healthy and low-fat food with my crock pot.
A lot of crock pot recipes use canned food and other prepared mixes, but there are diet crock pot
recipes, that have low sodium and low fat ingredients that will make your food taste better with healthy choices. Use low fat crock pot recipes that have fresh ingredients where possible. Also, trim skin and fat from all the meats you use for cooking, and try using fresh, instead of canned vegetables (when in season) for a healthy recipe alternative.
A few examples of low fat crock pot recipes that you can try:
Pork Roast with Vegetables
This a slow cooking recipe, which takes about 25-30 minutes to prepare. Includes boneless pork roast, vegetable oil, peeled sweet potatoes, acorn squash, apple butter, horseradish, corn and spices. The dish is cooked in the crock pot for about 7 to 9 hours until the pork and vegetables are tender and it tastes delicious.
Beef Stew in Crock Pot
Another diet crock pot recipe that has only five ingredients and only 20 minutes of preparation time is this one and you have a great low-fat and healthy dish ready to cook. Includes beef, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and onions, spices and salt. Cook on low in the crock pot for about 7-8 hours. Thicken with a little flour if needed.
Tender Chicken with Apples
One more of the low fat crock pot recipes that is prepared in 20-25 minutes and cooked about 7 hours on low. Combine orange juice, garlic, onion, chicken breasts, sliced apples, spices.
I will be posting some more low fat crock pot recipes in more detail in the next few weeks. These healthy recipes will help you stay in shape, and cooking with the low fat and diet crock pot recipes will save you time in the kitchen without sacrificing a healthy dinner.
For great recipes RIGHT NOW then buy a great cookbook at Amazon by Judith Finlayson called The Healthy Slow Cooker.
Crock pots have come a long way since their introduction in 1970. Back then choices were pretty simple; one crock pot insert, one crock pot lid option, and one crock pot color. Today our options are nearly endless. We can even purchase crock pot replacement partsfor our favorite crock pot.
There are many options available in crock pots. The shape of the crock pot inserts can be round or oval. Crock pot lids can be a traditional lid or come with a clamp ensuring a spill free trip. Accessories to assist in cooking include; a meat rack in a variety of sizes and styles, stainless steel forks and tongs, non-scratch slotted ladles, additional non scratch utensils are also available for your crock pot.
CROCK POTS certainly make entertaining easy. Use the new individual sauce crocks called Trio Cook and Serve to cook, warm and serve all at once (great for parties). Purchase additional crock pot inserts for additional servings with a large crowd.
No longer do we have to worry about our dishes spilling out as we travel. You can purchase crock pot lids which make the crock pots easily transportable with a clamp lid. Already have a crock pot? You can purchase a travel case for large or small crock pots. Any messes that may occur will be contained in the travel case not all over your vehicle or clothes.
Check out the full line of crock pot replacement parts, crock pot inserts and clamping crock pot lids in stores and online at . You will find their full line of products to meet your every crock pot need.
Crock pots certainly have made making a great dinner in these busy times easy. But what do you do if you lose or break a lid, crock or other accessory for your crock pot? Crock pot manufactures have made even that easy and convenient. Go online at CROCK-POT.COM and find the crock pot replacement parts you need.
There is never a better time to purchase or update your crock pot than now. Enjoy an easy and delicious dinner tonight andknow if accidents happen and you break something you can easy replace it.
This is another chicken crock pot recipe which is easy to make. I like this honey mustard recipe for pork ribs also, so if you like pork ribs better ,go ahead and use them instead. This is a quick and easy CROCK POTrecipe to make and you should have the ingredients in your cupboards.
Honey Mustard Chicken
12 chicken drumettes
1 tab Dijon mustard
1 tab whole grain mustard (you can double the Dijon if you don’t like the whole grain type)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
2 tabs honey
3/4 cup BBQ sauce (the hickory smoked one is nice if you have it)
salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken in your crock pot. Mix together the mustards, garlic, honey, BBQ sauce and salt and pepper in a jug and mix together well. Taste to see if the sauce is how you like it as you can then add more mustard or BBQ sauce to get the taste you like. Pour over chicken, making sure it is coated well. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 7 hours. Mix together 2 tabs cornflower with 2 tabs water and add this to the sauce to thicken if necessary. Serve with rice or mashed potato and vegetables.
I like this easy crock pot recipe as it is one that has only 4 ingredients in it. Cake cooked in the CROCK POT is moist and can be served with coffee or tea or as a dessert served warm with ice cream or cream. A quick and easy icing is to drop chocolate chips and peanut butter on the warm cake and leave a minute or two then swirl them together with a knife.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
2 cups of chocolate cake mix or muffin mix *
3/4 cup of water
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips
1 egg (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well for 2 minutes. Pour batter into greased crock pot or a cake tin that will fit in your crock pot. Cover with paper towels and cover with lid. Cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
*Look at the packet and try and pick a mix that uses only 1 egg if possible. I added the egg with the muffin mix and the chocolate chips. If the mixture looks too thick add a little more water.
This crock pot recipe for apricot chicken is one that I used to make in the 70s, when I first started using my CROCK POT.Tastes have changed since then, and I know mine has a lot, but I recently made this dish again and was surprised that it still tastes just as it did back then and I enjoyed it just as much. You can use chicken breast or chicken legs for this recipe. I used chicken breast but I think next time I will try the legs instead.
Apricot Chicken
2 lbs (1 kg ) chicken breast (cut into cubes) or chicken legs
15 oz (410-425g) can apricot nectar
1 pkt (1.5 oz)) french onion soup mix (Maggi or Lipton)
2 teasps curry powder (optional but recommended)
1 teasp ginger powder
15 oz (425g) can apricot halves - drained
2 tabs sour cream (optional)
chopped parsley to garnish
Put all ingredients except the last three into the crock pot and stir well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Half way through the cooking time add the apricot halves and stir through. When cooked, thicken if necessary and stir through the sour cream. Serve with rice and vegetables and garnish with the parsley.
I love the convenience the CROCK-POT gives me for having a home cooked meal on my dinner table during my working week. I made this little You Tube video and I thought I would share some Crock Pot Love with you. Its just a bit of fun with some funky music.
Just a note: I will be adding some more recipes for the holidays in the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them and if you have any suggestions please let me know. I love this time of year especially leading up to Christmas so spread a little crock pot love yourself.
Let’s use our crock pots to make the holiday season a little easier and let’s spend less time in the kitchen and more time with our families and friends. I love cooking but I love to relax with great food without the work even better.
Having friends and family coming to visit over the holidays or are you visiting them? Why not try a new recipe as your Crock-Pot Cooks All Day While The Cooks Away! Try this Cheese and Bacon Dip and let it cook while you entertain your guests and its even easy to make and you can serve it straight from the crock pot itself which also means less cleaning up. Crock pot entertaining couldn’t be easier.
Cheese and Bacon Dip
16 oz (450g) cream cheese softened and cut into cubes
4 cups shredded cheese (Colby-jack or cheddar)
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablsp mustard
1 tablsp finely chopped onion
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch salt
dash hot pepper sauce (to taste)
1 lb (450g) bacon cooked and crumbled
Place cream cheese, Colby-Jack or cheddar cheese, half-and-half, mustard, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper sauce in a smaller (4 quart) Crock-Pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, on low for 1 hour or until cheese melts. Stir in the bacon and adjust the seasonings if needed.
Serve with crackers, crusty bread or tortilla chips.
Entertaining this holiday season can be easy with the crock pot. Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family and friends.
I am not a big fan of turkey and would prefer a baked ham or chicken but I know most people do and turkey is a traditional Thanksgiving food so here’s a fast and easy Thanksgiving turkey recipe that you can cook in the CROCK-POT.
Turkey breast with cranberry and apple
2 teasp melted butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 large apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup cranberry sauce
3/4 teasp chicken seasoning
2 cups fine bread crumbs, seasoned
2 - 3 pounds turkey breast cutlets
Combine the butter, chicken broth, apple, onion, celery, cranberry sauce, chicken seasoning and stuffing.
Place 3 tablespoons of this stuffing mix on each turkey cutlet and roll up and tie. Place in the CROCK-POT. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Serve with extra cranberry sauce.
This pineapple upside down cake is one of my recipes that I have adapted for the CROCK-POT. I can let it cook while I’m out shopping or in the yard, gardening and I have a dessert cake for afternoon tea or for dinner. I used a 7 - 8 inch cake tin that fits into my crock pot but you don’t need to if yours has a removable liner. I just find it easier to turn the cake out onto a plate without it sticking.
Ingredients:
4 rings of sliced pineapple
2 oz (60 g) butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablspn dessicated coconut (optional)
6 red glace cherries
Cake Mix:
2 oz (60 g) soft butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 teasp vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups Self Raising Flour
1/2 cup milk
Pour the melted butter into the crock pot base and sprinkle over the brown sugar. Arrange the pineapple rings over the top with the glace cherries. If your crock pot base is oval cutting the pineapple will help to arrange it more evenly.
To make up the cake mix cream the butter and caster sugar until light and then beat in the egg and vanilla, mixing well. Sift the flour and fold into the batter alternatively with the milk. Pour into the CROCK-POT over the pineapple base. Cover with several paper towels and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Don’t open the lid until cooking nearly finished. Turn onto serving plate while still very warm so the topping doesn’t stick to the base of the pot.
Serve the pineapple upside down cake with a dab of cream or ice cream for a dessert or just warmed up with a cup of tea or coffee.
Oops I got tagged by KellyK at http://dewdropcity.blogspot.com/
The rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Seven facts about me umm……let me think…..
1. I haven’t been a blogger for very long, only for about 3 months or so and have two blogs so far.
2. I love to cook when I have the time, especially for the family. As you can see by this blog I love crock pot cooking especially on weekdays when I am busy at work all day and can come home to a hot meal already cooked.
3. My birthday is today, 1 November (but I’m not telling you how old I am bit I am a BabyBoomer).
4. My favorite color is probably blueorpinkorpurpleorgreen. Ok, Im not a good decision maker.
5. I love the internet and the social networks you can make on here. I have made many friends too.
6. I am also a procrastinator like KellyK, for example I only managed to do my tax at the very last minute.
7. My favorite TV show would be CSI (the original) but the English shows like Taggart are pretty good (if you can understand the heavy Scottish accent) and Midsomer Murders has great twists and turns of story line.
My tag list… I’m sorry if it hurts, I didn’t intend to tag you without an anesthetic
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