Autumnal Slow Cooker Recipes for a Hearty, Healthy Diet

Introduction

Summer is now behind us and that means we have said good bye to cold refreshing salads and hello to more warming dishes like stews and casseroles.

What better way to prepare those meals than with the help of a slow cooker! A slow cooker, also known as a crock pot cooks food over a few hours at a low temperature, they generally have both a high and low setting, the difference being the time it takes to cook not temperature. Using a slow cooker means the food develops much deeper flavours.

Slow cookers are also very forgiving so if you leave it an hour over cooking time, the meal will not be burnt or affected, it may actually give the meal a fuller flavour.

Easy To Use

Most slow cooker recipes require minimal effort at all, usually just calling for all the ingredients to be thrown in together, and then you can leave it unattended.  Some recipes that include mince, beef chunks or sausages may call for the meat to be browned first to caramelise the meat, the same for onions, though this can depend on your preference and you can skip this step altogether. As the cooking time is so long you can rest assured that the meat you use will be fully cooked so no need to worry about under cooked meat!

Using only a slow cooker saves you from lifting heavy pots and pans, standing over a hob, bending low down and picking up a heavy dish out from the oven. You can also keep the left overs in the pot and store in the fridge for the next day.

Reduces Washing Up

Saves on you having to stand for long periods of time washing up multiple pans as it is all cooked in one pan. If you are making any dishes that require pasta, simply add the pasta when the meal has 30 minutes left to go then you’re saving yet another pan from the washing up pile! You can even purchase liners for your slow cooker, eliminating the need to wash up the pot!

Tasty and Healthy

Eating healthy and getting in those good nutrients are key aspects to aging, the gentle heat doesn’t reduce as many nutrients as roasting or boiling often does. If you are short of time in the morning, you can prepare your meal the night before, keep it in the fridge overnight then let the pot get up to room temperature in the morning then simply turn it on.

When preparing your meal with a slow cooker it’s much easier to simply throw in those extra veggies as you don’t have to worry about separate cooking times or par boiling.

Cost Effective

With electricity prices increasing we want to save money everywhere we can. Even though the appliance is switched on for much longer than your oven it uses a fraction of the electricity an oven uses. You can enjoy meals that are prepared from scratch and work out cheaper than the ready-made supermarket alternatives. It also gives you the ability to easily batch cook your meals and freeze. Use up vegetables what left in the fridge to make a scrumptious stew! You are much less likely to opt for a takeaway if you have prepared a delicious meal in the morning.

You can buy larger cuts of meat which works out cheaper than multiple small cuts, slow cook a large joint of meat then use it for multiple meals without risk of the joint drying out or burning

Recipes