Hope Comerford - Fix-It and Forget-It Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook: 150 Whole Food Recipes for Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Diabetic-Friendly Diets

Copyright 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Photographer: Bonnie Matthews Photography Assistant: Oxana Shabanov All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Good Books, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Good Books books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications.

For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Good Books, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or . Good Books is an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.goodbooks.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design by Jane Sheppard Cover photo by Bonnie Matthews Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-210-6 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-211-3 Printed in the United States of America The medical and/or nutritional information in this book is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, the nutritional data following each recipe is approximate, may be rounded to nearest whole numbers, is based on average serving sizes, and may vary depending on brand, size, or type of each ingredient.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before changing your diet. This book is dedicated to Justin, Ella, and Gavin. You inspire me every day to create healthy meals and share them with the world! Table of Contents Slow Cooking 101 Putting a healthy meal on the table each morning, each night, or at any time of the day is as easy as Fixing-It and Forgetting-It! Dont let being busy be the excuse anymore! Surround yourself with healthy ingredients and follow these easy and delicious recipes, and youll have a healthy meal each and every time you put food on the table. You now have 150 healthy recipes in your hands. I honestly couldnt be more excited about sharing these wonderful recipes with you! Lets talk about what makes this book so special This book is divided into six different categories for you: Breakfasts, Appetizers & Snacks, Soups, Stews & Chilies, Main Dishes, Side Dishes & Vegetables, and Desserts. Yes! You heard that right! There are even healthy desserts! Every recipe will be marked with symbols signaling if the recipe is Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, Low-Cal, Low-Fat, Low-Sodium, Sugar-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, or High-Protein.

For every recipe, weve included nutritional information to further help you with your dietary needs. If you find a recipe you love, but it calls for an ingredient you cant have, please feel free to sub it with one that fits your particular allergen or dietary needs. For instance, if a recipe calls for peanut butter, but you have a peanut allergy, feel free to sub that for sunflower seed butter. Or, if a recipe calls for gluten-free soy sauce and you do not have a gluten-allergy or sensitivity, feel free to use regular soy sauce. Most of the recipes in this book can very easily be adjusted! Choosing a Slow Cooker Not all slow cookers are created equal or work equally as well for everyone! Those of us who use slow cookers frequently know we have our own preferences when it comes to which slow cooker we choose to use. For instance, I love my programmable slow cooker, but there are many programmable slow cookers Ive tried that Ive strongly disliked.

Why? Because some go by increments of 15 or 30 minutes and some go by 4, 6, 8, or 10 hours. I dislike those restrictions, but I have family and friends who dont mind them at all! I am also pretty brand loyal when it comes to my manual slow cookers because Ive had great success with those and have had unsuccessful moments with slow cookers of other brands. So, which slow cooker(s) is/are best for your household? It really depends on how many people youre feeding and if youre gone for long periods of time. Here are my recommendations:

For 23 person household	35 quart slow cooker
For 45 person household	56 quart slow cooker
For a 6+ person household	67 quart slow cooker

Large slow cooker advantages/disadvantages: Advantages: You can fit a loaf pan or a baking dish into a 6- or 7-quart slow cooker, depending on the shape of your cooker. That allows you to make bread or cakes, or even smaller quantities of main dishes. (Take your favorite baking dish and loaf pan along when you shop for a cooker to make sure theyll fit inside.) You can feed large groups of people, or make larger quantities of food, allowing for leftovers or meals to freeze.

Disadvantages: They take up more storage room. They dont fit as neatly into a dishwasher. If your crock isnt full, you may burn your food. Small slow cooker advantages/disadvantages: Advantages: Theyre great for lots of appetizers, for serving hot drinks, for baking cakes straight in the crock, and for dorm rooms or apartments. Great option for making recipes of smaller quantities. Disadvantages: Food in smaller quantities tends to cook more quickly than larger amounts.

So keep an eye on it. Chances are, you wont have many leftovers. So, if you like to have leftovers, a smaller slow cooker may not be a good option for you. My recommendation: Have at least two slow cookers: one around 3 to 4 quarts and one 6 quarts or larger. A third would be a huge bonus (and a great advantage to your cooking repertoire!). The advantage of having at least a couple is you can make a larger variety of recipes.

Also, you can make at least two or three dishes at once for a whole meal. Manual vs. Programmable If you are gone for only six to eight hours a day, a manual slow cooker might be just fine for you. If you are gone for more than eight hours during the day, I would highly recommend purchasing a programmable slow cooker that will switch to warm when the cook time you set is up. It will allow you to cook a wider variety of recipes. The two I use most frequently are my 4-quart manual slow cooker and my 6-quart programmable slow cooker.

I like that I can make smaller portions in my 4-quart slow cooker on days I dont need or want leftovers, but I also love how my 6-quart slow cooker can accommodate whole chickens, turkey breasts, hams, or big batches of soups. I use them both often. Get to know your slow cooker Plan a little time to get acquainted with your slow cooker. Each slow cooker has its own personalityjust like your oven. Plus, many new slow cookers cook hotter and faster than earlier models. I think that with all of the concern for food safety, the slow cooker manufacturers have amped up their settings so that High, Low, and Warm are all higher temperatures than in the older models.

That means they cook hotterand therefore, fasterthan the first slow cookers. The beauty of these little machines is that theyre supposed to cook low and slow. We count on that when we flip the switch in the morning before we leave the house for ten hours or so. So, because none of us knows what kind of temperament our slow cooker has until we try it out, nor how hot it cooksdont assume anything. Save yourself a disappointment and make the first recipe in your new slow cooker on a day when youre at home. Cook it for the shortest amount of time the recipe calls for.