By Irene Hayton

Slow Cookers—Convenient, Time-Saving Appliances

Slow cookers, also known as crock pots, are small electrical kitchen appliances that are great for those who don’t have a lot of time for cooking healthy meals. Typical slow cookers consist of a heating unit on the bottom with a heavy stoneware or ceramic bowl in which the food is cooked. With the more modern slow cookers, the stoneware bowl is removable, which makes it easier for serving food and for cleaning.

One of the best things about using a slow cooker is that you add all your ingredients to it, turn it on and have your dinner ready when you get home from work or once you’re finished other activities, which means less time in the kitchen. Many recipes can be put together the night before and refrigerated in the stoneware bowl. Then all you have to do is insert it into the base in the morning and turn it on. You can also use it to cook healthy oatmeal ready for your breakfast when you wake up—see this month’s recipe for Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.

Unlike other cooking methods which can dry out the food, slow cooking adds moisture; so it allows you to prepare foods with minimal amounts of added fat because the natural juices from the vegetables and meats are retained. And unlike an oven, the slow cooker uses less electricity and is handy to use during hot weather when you don’t want to turn on your oven and make your kitchen even hotter.

Slow cookers can be used for making many different types of dishes including casseroles, soups, stews, roasts, beans, grains, vegetables and even desserts. Using a slow cooker is easy so you don’t have to have a lot of cooking experience. There are many cookbooks on the market for slow cookers or you can surf the internet for recipes. Just be sure to adapt the recipes to incorporate the principles of the Eating Alive Program.