Top 7 Healthy Easy Recipes For A Slow Cooker

After a long stressful day, nothing beats a delicious hot meal that has been cooking for hours. For the time-strapped home cook, the slow cooker is a savior. Simply combine the ingredients in the morning, and by nighttime you have a tasty meal waiting for you.

Slow cookers are great for healthy eating because they work great with lean cuts of meat. The long cooking process adds healthy flavor, meaning you don't need to flavor a slow cooker dish with lots of salt or fat to have it taste great. Here are our top 7 easy recipes for a slow cooker, plus some great slow cooker tips.

Easy Recipes For A Slow Cooker:

Slow Cooked Asian Chicken - This sweet Asian soy chicken is a simple meal that comes together in your slow cooker.

Poached Salmon Cutlets - What a pleasant, easy departure from grilling or frying fish!

Slow Cooker Curry Chicken - It has a delicious curry and amaretto flavor that is marvelous with rice.

Apple Cider Pork - This warm and tasty apple cider pork and vegetables for a great autumn meal.

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs - The ingredients are all low-fat, so it's okay to indulge in a little red meat once in a while, just be sure to keep portions small.

Potato Soup with Black Beans - The seasonings and black beans add a southwest flair to the traditional soup.

Ginger and Apple Crumble - Throw everything into your slow cooker and a few hours later you will have a warm, gooey dessert perfect with ice cream.
 

Slow Cooker Recipe Tips:

Slow Cooker Temperatures: Most slow cookers have two main temperature settings: high and low. Expect about an hour per pound of meat cooking time on the high setting and about an hour and 45 minutes per pound on the low setting.

Extended Time: For even longer cooking times, get a slow cooker with a warming function. The warming function will keep the food warm past the cooking time if you are away from your kitchen for long periods of time.

Liquid: A slow cooker should only be about halfway filled for best results.

Cleaning: Use a plastic liner that can be easily removed from the slow cooker for easy cleaning.

Prep Work: Defrost meat and veggies before you put them into the slow cooker. Although not necessary, browning meat will add extra flavor to the slow cooker recipe.

Cooking Process: Lift the lid as little as possible. Each time the lid comes off, heat escapes and the dish takes even longer to make. However, you do want to stir occasionally because ingredients at the bottom tend to cook faster. Add softer veggies and spices towards the end of cooking. Softer ingredients become mushy when cooked too long and spices become dull if added too early.

For more healthy slow cooker recipes, download the 31 Healthy Easy Recipes for a Slow Cooker Free eCookbook.