20 Healthy Holiday Slow Cooker Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is a slow cooker a healthy way to cook? ›

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.

Choose healthier cooking methods

Use healthier cooking methods such as boiling, steaming, baking, roasting or grilling as these methods reduce the amount of fat in the dish. For example, you can achieve the same crispy effects of deep-frying finger food by baking or air-frying them instead.

It's also because “slow cooking” is a very healthy way to cook. Cooking “slow and low” in a sealed chamber helps to keep the moisture and the nutrients in your food. It also helps to prevent the formation of cancer-causing compounds – such as lipid oxidation products (LOPs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs).

Slow cookers are great for cooking cheaper cuts like beef brisket, pork shoulder, lamb shoulder and chicken thighs. You can also use less meat, as slow cooking really extracts a meaty flavour that permeates the whole dish. Bulk up with vegetables instead.

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”.

If you're planning to cook your meals mostly when you're not home or overnight, then sticking to a Crockpot might be a better choice, since the heat distribution is more even and there is no need to stir at all.

The best non-toxic slow cookers have a stainless steel cooking pot. This kind of cookware is non-toxic, durable, and easy to recycle when the time comes. Sure, stainless steel isn't technically non-stick, but this doesn't really matter if you're cooking soups, stews, and other juicy meals.

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.

Can you put raw meat in a slow cooker? ›

"Raw meat is a slow-cooker staple, but you may need to add it to the pot before adding other ingredients like green vegetables," she shared. "Browning meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker has been a game-changer for my slow-cooker meals.

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.

Slow cookers cook food at a low temperature (usually around 93c) for anywhere between 4-8 hours. Because of the lower temperature, the nutrients in the food remain more stable than other methods of cooking.

The low heat used in slow cooking destroys fewer nutrients than high-heat cooking. Meat and other ingredients are also cooked more safely since any remaining bacteria are killed off by the steam and tightly sealed pot.

: I know that boiling vegetables makes them lose some of their nutritional value. But what if you cook them in a slow cooker and eat the liquid the vegetables stewed in? Answer: Done right, veggies prepared in slow cookers can deliver disease-fighting nutrients and a delectable meal all in one bowl.