How To Cook A Healthy Meal Before Eating Everything In Sight.

The last thing I want is to come home at 6:30 PM, hungry and tired, and have to decide what to cook. And then to have to cook it. And to have to wait for it. All the while snacking, impatiently, awaiting the real food to be ready. By which time I couldn't care less for the meal I’ve started to prepare.

Welcome crock pot cooking! Now the problem is solved. And perfect for the brisk Fall and winter temperatures. Do I sound like an infomercial? Let me remind you that no ads accompany this post!

Here’s how it works.

First, buy or acquire a crock pot 
(although it seems that many people have them stored away, forgetting they even exist, and, how convenient they can make life.) You don’t need anything fancy—high, low and warm settings have done the trick for me for years. And they tend to be rather inexpensive.

Add ingredients to the pot. You could cut up and toss in your ingredients the night before (then refrigerate) or in the morning, before heading out. And foods can be added while still frozen, right from the freezer! Trust me, I do it all the time. If you are adapting a stew or soup recipe, there’s no need to sauté or brown the food first (except if you are using ground beef or other meats which you might want to drain the fat from first. Foods generally can cook for 7-8 hours, depending on the temperature setting.

You can include all components of a healthy, balanced meal all in one pot: protein (chicken on the bone, skin removed, beef or pork, or dried beans or lentils for those of you looking for some vegetarian options), vegetables (fresh or frozen) a bit of oil (minimal is needed) and some grain or starchy vegetable (potatoes, winter starch, or rice, for instance). Root vegetables do quite well, including parsnip and butternut squash and add a good deal of richness to the flavor.

Add liquid. The liquid could be a combination of ready-made stock for convenience (vegetable or chicken generally work well) and water. But you could be creative and add things like apple cider, tomato juice, wine or beer (but obviously not together!). Okay, the last two don’t fit into a food group, but can enhance the flavor and be included as part of the liquid.

Add spices according to your taste.  Onion and garlic are always reliable, but dare to try ingredients like Chinese 5 Spice or cumin, two of my favorites and quite aromatic! Truly, the sky is the limit. Adjust for flavor once cooking is complete.

Return home many hours later to the aroma of delicious, read to eat, home-cooked food. It will certainly make it easier to avoid that out of control picking after work, school or errand-running all day.

Now I realize that many of you aren’t so comfortable with just winging it, without quantities, as in a recipe. So consider using any stew or soup recipe or searching the web or cookbooks for crock pot recipes. But don’t let it seem too overwhelming! From my experience, it’s rather difficult to ruin a crock pot meal. There are really only two potential issues you may encounter. There may be too much liquid, since liquid doesn’t evaporate from the crock pot the way it would cooked stove top. If you don't like soupiness use less liquid than your stovetop recipe calls for. Second--many grains, if added at the start of the cooking, will become too mushy in the final product. So if possible, add rice toward the end of the cooking (or cook it separately) or better yet, use a whole grain like brown or wild rice which tends to stand up much better.

The dish shown above contained carrots, parsnip, sweet peppers, scallion and frozen chicken breast on the bone. For liquid I used apple cider and water, and added Chinese 5 Spice and a few shakes of salt. I have also added dried fruit, including prunes, dried cherries and raisins in the past, which is quite nice. With the amount of liquid, it was more of a soup than a stew, but tasted wonderful nonetheless. 
Today's crock pot meal I decided to measure as I prepared it, so that I could hopefully inspire you to try it at home. 


So here goes!


Lori's Made Up Crockpot Recipe (Serves 4)


Ingredients


2 Tbsps. vegetable or olive oil
3 split chicken breasts, on the bone, skin removed (~2.5 lbs.)
1 large, peeled butternut squash , cut into chunks (buying it pre-peeled and seeded saves a bit of time)
4 cloves garlic
1 large onion
4 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
2 large parsnips, peeled, thickly sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
bunch of fresh parsley, chopped


Add the oil, then chicken, tossing all other ingredients on top. Feel free to be creative, according to your taste, adding additional vegetables or herbs or spices you enjoy.
Cover and cook on low setting, 6 or more hours (mine cooked for 9 1/2 hours--I put in a long day today)-- and was delicious! Serve over noodles, rice or couscous, if you like.

Crock pot meals freeze really well and can be reheated in just a few minutes. Besides the convenience, they help to ensure you (and your family) are getting a variety of vegetables and grains, with minimal added fats. And only one pot to clean! Enjoy!


Do you have a crock pot recipe to share? Please post it in comments!

Start Cooking! Moroccan Chicken With Chickpeas

The first must have ingredient is plastic. Whether you plan to cook to eat healthier and better quality food, or for the convenience of coming home and having dinner ready, or simply to save some money, you’ll need to get yourself some plastic. Containers, that is. Cooking for one? It takes as much effort to make four dinners as it does one, so you may as well make multiples and store them. Cooking for two or more? Consider doubling the recipes posted and freeze in meal size batches.

It’s a strange time. Most teens and twenty and thirty something’s simply don’t know how to cook. Many were raised in homes where there simply wasn’t much cooking. That is, if you don’t consider microwaving frozen pizza or chicken nuggets as cooking. Others had the convenience of fast food and family restaurants at their doorstep, with little time to invest in shopping and cooking. Want to start a great business? Open a “teach the newlyweds to cook” center. It’s the perfect wedding gift, if the couple cares to wait that long!

I spend a lot of my time directing patients on how to get healthy, great tasting, balanced meals on the table. And I finally compiled a list of these menu ideas that met the criteria when my son moved into an apartment when studying abroad, ready to start cooking on his own for the first time.

The recipes and cooking tips are not designed for people with special dietary needs, yet all the recipes can be easily modified to accommodate your particular nutrition requirements. I know that many of you won’t approach a recipe unless you have clear instructions and know exactly what and how much is in it. So I have attempted to measure things as I’ve made them, and even photographed the process, since many of you may be more visual learners.

Please give me feedback! How was the recipe? How did it taste? Was it challenging or manageable? And do you like having this feature on the blog?

Thanks, and bon appétit!

Morrocan Chicken with Chickpeas


(Serves 5-6)*

Ingredients (in order of appearance):

Oil, canola, vegetable or olive, approx. 2-3 Tbsps. (just enough to help saute the onions)

Onion, 2 medium

Boneless chicken breast, 1.5 lbs.

Cumin, 2 Tbsps.

Cinnamon, 1 Tbsp., optional
Chickpeas, 2 cans, rinsed

Raisins, 1/2 cup
Prunes and/or dried cherries, 1/2 cup total
Frozen orange juice, 1/3 to 1/2 cup
Water (1 - 1.5 cups, depending on amount of OJ used)
Salt, to taste

What You'll Need:
Approximately 15 minutes of prep time
Approximately 50 mins or hanging around time while the food is cooking
A large skillet with sides
A sharp knife

So here goes!


1) Chop or slice the onion (take the skin off first, of course!). It doesn't matter the size of the pieces. Put the onion aside for a minute.

2) Cut up the chicken in largish bite size pieces. Trim off any fat or undesirable things.



3) Heat the pan with the oil--medium temperature should work. When it appears hot (you'll see some lines in the oil).

4) Add the onion, cooking until translucent (it looks like cooked, not raw onion, and it is not yet browned.) Should take a few minutes.



5) Add the chicken spreading it around the pan. Let it start to cook before trying to mix it (or it will stick). Then stir it to more evenly cook it. But don't worry about cooking it completely. You are just partially cooking it now, then simmering it in the pan after.

6) Sprinkle the cumin and cinnamon. Then mix.

7) Add chick peas, dried fruit and orange juice concentrate. Add the water and mix. Cover and simmer at a low to medium temperature. Cook for about 50 minutes.

8) Stir occasionally. Add salt to taste.

Yum! I love this served on Israeli couscous (takes only 10 minutes and adds great texture) along with a green vegetable. Leftovers freeze well. Please share your thoughts on the taste and the process. Was it manageable? Is this your first time cooking?
Enjoy!

*For those of you using a meal plan--portioned to serve 6, this will count as 4 protein servings, 1 fat, 2 fruit and one grain.