Healthy Crockpot Recipes

I said bump, bump, bump, bumptity bump; bump, bump, bumpity bump.

A friend gave me this CrockPot Recipe and is a family favorite:


Chicken with Black Beans (Slow Cooker)

Ingredients
• 2 cans black bean soup
• 24 oz jar salsa
• 2 packages of brown rice (boil in a bag)
• 2 lb boneless chicken breast

Directions
1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker
2. Pour beans, rice and salsa over chicken.
3. Cook on high 3 - 4 hours on high
4. When chicken is almost done, pull the chicken apart (meat will pull apart easily). Stir up and continue cooking on low for an hour.

Number of Servings: 6

Note: When friend gave me the recipe, his instructions were based on frozen chicken and stated to cook for 10 hours on low. I have never started with frozen so I made adjustments. You can also use black beans but I found the black bean soup adds a bit more liquid.

Garnish with a little sour cream and baked multi-grain or corn chips (if you have some extra calories for the day!). Left overs are delicious on a soft taco.

Slow Cooker Fruited Chicken and Barley

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups pearl barley, uncooked
6 cups water
2 pounds skinned chicken thighs
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
8 ounces of dried mixed fruit (or any dried fruit of your choice)
1 tablespoon Caribbean Spice Rub
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into the slow cooker; stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours or on high for an hour then turned down and cooked on low for an additional 7 hours.



I made this last week and loved it. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and just cooked on low all day. Delicious and plenty for leftovers!

Wait, so this cooks for 11 hours? I wonder how it would turn out if I just set it on low for a work day? By the time it would be consumed, it will have been about 11-12 hours.

these all sound so awesome!!
here's two of my favorite:

Crock pot Chicken Tikka Masala (not exactly authentic but very good!)

8 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, or about 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.)
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 (29 oz.) can of tomato puree
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Garam masala
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt, or to taste
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1-3 tsp. cayenne pepper (depending on your heat preference)
2 bay leaves
1 can non-fat evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
3 tbsp. cornstarch
Chopped parsley or cilantro, for topping

1. Place everything up to the bay leaves in a large bowl. With a spatula, stir to combine everything and make sure the chicken is coated well.
2. Gently place the mixture in the insert of the crockpot and add the two bay leaves.
3. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).
4. When done, in a medium bowl, whisk together non fat evaporated milk and corn starch, then pour the mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up.
5. Serve hot over a bed of brown rice.
6. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

about 560 cal's for 6 servings over a little over 1/2 C. brown Rice each... bon apetite


Greek Chicken Pita's Via Crock pot Magic

1 Medium Onion, Sliced
1-2 Cloves Garlic
1lb Boneless Chicken Breasts or 1lb Boneless Thighs (trimmed)
1.5 tsp. Lemon Pepper
0.5 tsp Dried Oregano
0.25 tsp Ground Alspice
4 Pita pocket Breads (8 pockets)
0.5 C. Plain nonfat Greek Yogurt
1 sliced or diced tomato
0.5 C. Chopped Cucumber
1 Med. Bell Pepper, Thin Sliced

1. In slow cooker, combine onion, garlic, chicken, lemon pepper, oregano, and allspice; mix to coat chicken.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hrs.
3. Heat pita bread as directed on package. Meanwhile, remove chicken from slow-cooker and shred using two forks.Return chicken to now OFF slow cooker
4. To serve, stir yogurt into onion and chicken mixture. Spoon Mixture into warm pita pockets. Top with tomato, cucumber and bell pepper strips.

serves 4. Approx 440 calories for 2 pita pockets (1 whole pita)

Bonus! not a slow cooker recipe but so easy and quick...

Wonder Pot pasta

1 pkg Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (5-6 links)
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 bunch asparagus (cleaned and cut to bite sized pieces)
{or whatever veggies you like or have on hand... I've used broccoli, peas, edamame, and a whole bunch of other stuff}
1 Box whole wheat pasta (penne is my fave)
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can non fat or 0 fat evaporated milk
a handful of Parmesan cheese
handful of shredded cheddar (1/4 c.

Cook the sausage mostly through then add diced onion, asparagus and garlic and cook until onion begins to be translucent. add 2 c. chicken broth, box of pasta, tomatoes, and evap milk. bring to a boil and time it for about 12-14 minutes. once the timer goes off top the pan with the cheese mixture and turn the burner off. let it sit for about 5 minutes to let all the cheese melt. VOILA!! one pot dinner for the family in about 25 minutes. You can use whatever veggies everyone likes!

6 servings, approx 492 cal a serving.

Here is another chicken recipe from a site that has a lot of low cal options: skinnyms.com

http://skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-balsamic-chicken/

That site also includes calorie counts, other nutritional info and WW point info.