Slow-Cooker Recipe Round-Up

When you’re short on time but still want a home cooked meal at the end (or start!) of the day, call upon your slow cooker to help — slow cooking doesn't need a lot of babysitting; it practically does all the work for you! How wonderful is that?

We recently asked some of our blogger friends to share their favorite slow-cooker recipes with us. As you’ll see from the variety of recipes below, your slow-cooker can whip up such diverse dishes —from hearty meatballs to whole grain granola. We hope you enjoy the recipes.

Crockpot Meatballs from Lindsay Livingston of The Lean Green Bean

Packed with protein, these meatballs are perfect for serving over spaghetti but can also be eaten as a post-workout snack or turned into a meatball sub! 

Pulled Pork Primavera from No Whine with Dinner and Meal Makeover Moms

This recipe takes minutes to prepare, and then the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. Use a lean cut of pork for this dish — the loin — and then add three vegetables: bell pepper, carrot, and onion. The all-natural barbecue sauce adds big flavor and helps to tenderize the meat. Serve on a whole grain burger bun with coleslaw on the side for a family pleasing, nutrient-rich dinner everyone will love.

Homemade Crock-pot Granola from Jen Haugen of Down-to-Earth Dietitian

Reasons to love this recipe: you can put it together in 5 minutes.  It stays a little softer in texture, yet still has a crunch. It’s sweet but not too sweet. And it’s hard to burn in the slow cooker (a major plus!).

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Kylie Mitchell of Immaeatthat

This may be the easiest Chicken Tortilla Soup ever!  In the morning, just open some cans, add in a couple chicken breasts and let everything cook nice and slow in your crock-pot throughout the day.  When you get home, dinner is ready to go!

Smoky Lentil Chili from Sharon Palmer of The Plant-Powered Dietitian Blog

Here’s a perfect easy dish for your next Meatless Monday! You can throw all of these ingredients into a slow cooker and a savory, fragrant meal will great you when you come home at the end of the day.  Serve it with a handful of fresh cilantro and green onions.  Or, let your guests sprinkle with cheese (plant-based or dairy, depending on your preference) and tortilla strips for a hearty dish.

Maple Apple Oatmeal from Lisa & McKenzie of Nourish RDs

Simply throw all the ingredients in your slow-cooker before going to bed, and you'll wake up to a hot, balanced breakfast! You can experiment with different combinations of ingredients to make the oatmeal your own.  Swap the apples for figs or dried plums, substitute honey or brown sugar for the maple syrup…the options are endless.

Sweet Potato & Bean Chili from Lisa & McKenzie of Nourish RDs

This chili is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It takes a spin on a traditional chili by using one of our favorite veggies, sweet potatoes. Top your bowl with a dollop of reduced-fat plain Greek yogurt, sliced avocado, or green onions. 

What’s your favorite slow cooker dish? We loved to know! Share a link or brief description of the recipe in the comments section below.

Homemade Gifts for the Holidays

We love nourishing homemade gifts, from photo albums filled with memories to cookies baked with love, a gift created from your own hands says, “I love you.”

Here are some of the gifts we’ll be giving to loved ones this year.

Our signature granola makes a perfect gift.  Healthy and delicious, it’s great with yogurt, milk or on its own.  It looks beautiful packaged in a jar with a bow and a personal note.  See below for my favorite version, made with less sugar than our original recipe and studded with pecans and currants.

Who doesn’t love to receive cookies?  Our no-fail signature oatmeal cookie recipe, made with chocolate, cherries and hazelnuts, has been known to win hearts.  You can feel good giving this gift to absolutely anyone—while the cookies are incredibly delicious, the whole wheat flour, oats, nuts and dried fruit also make them a healthy treat for the holidays.

Another healthy treat, our Cranberry Walnut Banana Bread, looks beautiful wrapped in cellophane and tied with a bow.

And this year, we have a new edible gift to add to our repertoire—Cranberry Apple Champagne Sauce.  It’s incredible easy, low in sugar, and equally delicious on ham as it is on leftover turkey sandwiches.  Your friends and family will love this addition to their holiday table.

This is a very forgiving recipe.  Change the ingredients according to your whim or fancy.  Like it sweeter?  Add more honey or jam.  Like it spicier?  Add more chili flakes.  Don't have oranges on hand?  Use apple juice.

Sauté the apples in a little butter.

 Add the rest of the ingredients.

Simmer over low heat until the cranberries pop and the sauce reaches your desired consistency, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Package in a jar and tie with a bow.  I was too busy getting ready to leave for Maui to photograph this step—but I did give my Mom a jar before we left.        

Happy Holidays and joyful gift giving, from our hearts and kitchen to yours!    

Cranberry Apple Champagne Sauce   

Makes about 3 cups

1 teaspoon butter

1 apple, diced

1 bag fresh cranberries

Zest and juice from one orange

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

Pinch of red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon fig jam, or honey

1 – 1 ½ cups champagne or Prosecco

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat.  Add apples and saute until the apples just start to soften. 

Add all the other ingredients to the pot.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, until cranberries have popped and the sauce reaches a desired consistency, about 20 to 30 minutes. 

Let cool completely.  Spoon the sauce into a glass jar and tie with a bow.  Give to someone you love.

Nourish Granola

Makes 45 servings ¼ cup servings

4 cups whole rolled oats

2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

2 cups pecans

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup grapeseed oil or melted butter

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cups dried currants

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place two oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, pecans, sea salt and cinnamon. 

In another small bowl, whisk together oil or butter, maple syrup and brown sugar.  Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and stir well, being sure to coat all of the dry ingredients with the maple syrup mixture.

Divide oats mixture among two large rimmed baking sheets and spread to a thin layer.  Place baking sheets on two racks in the oven and bake, about 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.  Halfway through cooking time, switch the placement of the pans to the other rack.

Remove from the oven and pour into a large bowl.  Stir in currants.  Let granola cool completely before storing in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator.

Raspberry Chia Overnight Oats

Oats are pretty much a dietitian’s dream food. The soluble fiber found in whole grains, such as oats, can help with blood sugar control – that is, soluble fiber helps to prevent you from getting one of those short-lived bursts of energy (that's often the result when we eat refined carbohydrates) followed by that immediate and miserable crash.

I love overnight oats for so many reasons. They taste ah-mazing, they're fun to make, and they're so nutritious, too. And the best part? Overnight oats are a perfect on-the-go breakfast. Just set aside 5 minutes the night before, and the next morning, you'll have a healthy, balanced breakfast at your fingertips. You can easily eat it when you’re in class, on the bus, checking emails at your desk, on a hike, or sitting in the sunshine.  

Overnight oats are simply oats that are soaked overnight to absorb whatever liquid you choose to put them in.

The basic formula is to combine equal parts oats to liquid, such as 1/3 cup oats with 1/3 cup milk or a milk alternative. We also like to stir in a heaping spoonful of Greek yogurt for an added dose of protein.

Recipes for overnight oats are floating all over Pinterest, but we’ve found the best recipe is one where you experiment with flavors you love. After experimenting a little bit, here is our go-to recipe:

Raspberry Chia Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup milk or milk alternative (You may also want to add a little bit more liquid depending on how thick you like it.)

Heaping spoonful of nonfat plain Greek yogurt (For those of you that like precise measurements, it’s about ¼ cup)

½ tablespoon ground flaxseeds or chia seeds

½ teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of cinnamon

1 cup frozen berries

1-2 tablespoons slivered almonds

 

Instructions:

1. Stir all ingredients together and place in a mason jar (but, any container will do!) in the fridge overnight. 
2. Grab a spoon, and go! 
   Note: You don't necessarily have to use frozen berries and almonds. The best part of all is being able to experiment with the toppings. 
   
   Some other topping ideas include:
   Fresh fruit, such as sliced bananas or sliced apples.
   Dried fruit, such as raisins or dried tart cherries.
   Nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, or pistachios.
   Seeds, such as sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
   Sweeteners, such as flaked coconut, a little honey or maple syrup.
   Granola, such as our Nourishing Granola. You can watch us talk about how much we love making our granola in this video, here.
    

Enjoy, preferably with those you love.