Sarah Flower - Slow Cooker Family Classics

Sarah Flower , a leading nutritionist and author of many cookery books, is passionate about healthy eating and a keen advocate of the sugar-free and low-carb way of eating. She has trained with The Real Meal Revolution, originally set up by Professor Noakes and Jonno Proudfoot, both of whom advise banting/LCHF (low carbohydrate, high fat) and is now herself a banting coach in the UK. Sarah writes for a number of publications, including the Daily Mail , Top Sant magazine and Healthista . She appears regularly on BBC Radio Devon. Also by Sarah Flower The Busy Mums Plan-ahead Cookbook The Sugar-Free Family Cookbook Eat Well, Spend Less The Healthy Lifestyle Diet Cookbook The Healthy Halogen Cookbook The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook Perfect Baking with Your Halogen Oven Halogen Cooking for Two The Everyday Halogen Family Cookbook The Everyday Halogen Oven Cookbook Slow Cook, Fast Food Low-Carb Slow Cooker Eating to Beat Type 2 Diabetes ROBINSON First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Robinson Copyright Sarah Flower, 2019 The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-472-14394-5 Robinson An imprint of Little, Brown Book Group Carmelite House 50 Victoria Embankment London EC Y DZ An Hachette UK Company www.hachette.co.uk www.littlebrown.co.uk The recommendations given in this book are solely intended as education and should not be taken as medical advice. Contents When I was asked to write a classic family slow cooker cookbook, I jumped at the chance. I wrote my first slow cooker book in 2010. My second slow cooker book, out two years later, was The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook , and my third slow cooker book, Low-Carb Slow Cooker , came out in 2017 and allowed me to explore the low carb, ketogenic way of eating.

This book is all about family favourites and traditional recipes. I am not restricting calories, fat or sugar in this book it is all about real cooking the old-fashioned way. The ethos of this book is to embrace family favourite recipes and traditional dishes, using cheaper cuts of meat where possible and ensuring every dish is full of flavour. Food is more and more expensive, and families are stretched, not just financially but also for time. Slow cookers really do make our lives so much easier. You can chop all the ingredients in the morning, put them in your slow cooker, turn it on, leave it to cook while you are working or getting on with your busy day, then come home to a nourishing meal.

The whole thing requires minimal effort and the result is food thats far, far better for us than any processed ready meal, plus it saves on washing up! I have a passion for vintage cookbooks and am fascinated by how our tastes have changed over the years. There is a trend now for introducing more traditional, wholesome cuts of meat back into our diet, such as livers and kidneys, both of which are packed with nutrients. I have included dishes using these ingredients in this book, but given the recipes a modern twist. While some traditional meals ought to stay in the past braised calfs head, anyone? there are plenty of classic dishes that are as delicious and wholesome as ever. In recent years, many of us have moved towards eating more plant-based meals. While these arent quite so classic or traditional, I have included a vegan and vegetarian chapter so that your slow cooker can cater for any dietary requirement.

Also, check out the soup recipes as Ive included a number of vegan and vegetarian options there. You may be wondering why Ive included an entire chapter on Christmas. This is the time of year when the slow cooker comes into its own. When we are all busy running around in a bubble of festive stress, the slow cooker can reliably cook a meal, leaving us to get on with our Christmas chores. The dessert chapter, one of my favourites, is full of classic family recipes, some of which you may recognise from your childhood. I have not tweaked these to make them healthier, but if you read the opening paragraphs of the dessert chapter, you will find my top tips on how to adapt these recipes for your specific dietary requirements for sugar-free, vegan and gluten-free diets.

One thing I really want to stress: please read the technical first chapter, especially if you are new to the slow cooker. It is really important to get to know your slow cooker as they can vary. Older slow cookers or very basic ones can often cook a little hotter than they should. If your slow cooker is bubbling away and liquid is evaporating, it may be best to cook on the Low setting rather than High and opt for the lower end of the timings you also need to ensure your slow cooker does not overheat. If you havent used a slow cooker before, buy a multicooker that switches from a saut/hob facility to slow cooker as this does make life so much easier. Also, ensure it has a timer that switches to warm once the cooking time is reached.

This is really important if you are coming home late you dont want to come home to a bowl of mush instead of your lovely casserole. If you dont have an Auto timing function, you may want to consider using a timing plug, especially if you are out all day and cant monitor your slow cooker. This will at least ensure it only cooks for the suggested times. You need the slow cooker lid to form a good seal and prevent evaporation. The temperatures and timings listed in the recipes are only guidelines. The idea is slow, low and long.

I do hope you enjoy this book. If you do, maybe you would like to get in touch. It is always lovely to hear from readers. You can contact me by visiting my website at www.sarahflower.co.uk, or on Twitter and Instagram @MsSarahFlower. I will also be sharing recipes and cookery videos on my Facebook pages HealthySlowCooker and EverydaySugarFree. I hope you enjoy the recipes and the delicious meals you are about to create! Sarah x Slow cookers gained popularity in the 1970s, but the principle of slow cooking goes back hundreds of years consider those large stock pots seen dangling from kitchen ranges! The slow cooker revolutionised meal preparation, enabling the creation of wholesome meals ready for your return after a busy day.

It was incredibly popular, but sadly became relegated to kitchen cupboards as we moved into the Thatcher years of loadsamoney, when frugal cooking went out of fashion. Cheaper cuts of meats fell out of favour and there seemed to be no real reason to keep the slow cooker in our kitchens the microwave and processed food became the homemakers choice for a busy lifestyle, and the poor slow cooker was forgotten. Thankfully, we are now seeing a revival as people come to realise that these clever machines can not only save us time, but also ensure that minimal nutrients are lost in the cooking process. You can buy a slow cooker from as little as 15, and multicookers, of which I am a huge fan, are becoming increasingly popular. When purchasing a slow cooker or multi-cooker, it is important to consider how it is going to be used. Think about the size of the machine: some look quite big but the actual size of the stock pot may not be sufficient.