Easy Cheesy Chicken and White Bean Stew

 Easy Cheesy Chicken and White Bean Stew

 

The perfect meal to start in the morning, enjoy your busy day and come home to a healthy dinner, with 1 ¼ cups of only serving 518 mg of Sodium, 495 calories, 44 carbohydrates and 4.5g of sugar, make plenty as this is juts as good the next day as leftovers, add it to some filo pastry and make a Chicken & Bean Pie.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups unsalted chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 cup of yellow onions, chopped,

1/2 cup of zucchinis

½ cup shredded carrot

2 bone in Chicken Breast

4 cups of Chopped Kale

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground pepper

4 oz Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

Combine beans, broth, onion, carrots, bay leaves and lemon rind in a 6-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Cover and cook on Low until the beans and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours.

Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Shred the chicken, discarding bones, return chicken to slow cooker and then stir in Kale ( or your substitute), cover and cook on high for another 20 minutes

Stir in lemon juice, pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when serving.

If you don’t like Kale then substitute your favorite veggies like celery, green beans, corn or peas ( I like to add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables).

Apple Oatmeal

This low sugar recipe for Apple Oatmeal in the crock-pot can be made the night before and be ready for you when you wake up in the morning. It is an easy and healthy way to start your day.

• 2 cups milk low-fat milk, soy or almond milk will also work, you can also use water
• 2 tablespoons honey or stevia
• 1 tablespoon light butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 drops vanilla essence
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup apple chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins

1. Spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray or use a Crock Pot Liner.
2. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well to combine.
3. Cover and cook on LOW overnight, ideally no more than 6 hours or it will dry out.
4. Stir well in the morning before serving.

Fajitas

Fajitas in a Slow Cooker

This Fajita recipe only requires 5 ingredients, I recommend you make your own Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix – you know what is in it. 

Throw away those store bought varieties they are high in sodium.

In this recipe I have used beef, but you can use chicken or even turkey.

Ingredients

2 lbs. of sliced beef
2 bell peppers- mix the colors
1 onion
20 oz of salsa
2 tablespoon of Homemade Fajita Seasoning

Instructions

1. Add salsa to bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Add beef, onion, bell pepper and fajita seasoning. Stir to mix well.
3. Cook LOW 6-8 hour or HIGH 3-4.

Pork Roast

SLOW COOKER PORK ROAST

Here is a delicious succulent Pork Roast that is a great meal for any occasion, This dish would pair beautifully with baked sweet potatoes or with roasted vegetables. This recipe is definitely a keeper as everyone enjoys it and has seconds and it was so easy.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast (sirloin roast)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon of dried sage
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey

DIRECTIONS:

Season the pork with garlic powder and red pepper flakes and place it into the slow cooker.
Mix together the broth, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and pour it over the pork,
then pour the honey over and set the timer for 4 hours on High or 6-8
hours on Low.
Once the pork is cooked and tender (it should shred easily with a fork),
remove from slow cooker with tongs into a serving dish.
Break apart lightly with two forks and put back into the slow cooker.
Ladle 1/2 cup sauce over the pork and keep warm until ready to eat.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Yield: 8 servings, Serving Size: 3 oz pork
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 214
Total Fat: 12g
Saturated Fat: g
Cholesterol: 72mg
Sodium: 196mg
Carbohydrates: 4g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 3g
Protein: 21g

Vegetable Stew

Vegetable Stew

Vegetable Stew in a slow cooker is a wonderful hearty meal any time of the years and this recipe has only 95 mg of sodium per serving and is rich in fiber and vitamins.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 baby eggplants
• 1 zucchini (cut into 1/2-inch slices)
• 1 yellow summer squash (cut into 1/2-inch slices)
• 1 Sweet potato
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 carrot (sliced thinly)
• 19 ounces cannellini (white kidney beans, rinsed and drained)
• 1 tomato (large, chopped)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic ( 4 cloves)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium tomato juice

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (white or regular)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Red pepper flakes (if you like it a little spicy)
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
  
  

  DIRECTIONS
  

  Peel eggplant. Cut eggplant into 3/4-inch pieces (you should have about 3 cups).
  

In 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, cannellini beans, sweet potato, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, Italian herbs, pepper, and dried basil.

Add tomato juice.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Stir in fresh basil, if using, and balsamic vinegar.


About 30 minutes before your ready to serve put in the baby spinach.

LoSo Chili

Here is a low sodium chili recipe that is a big success with my family and friends. There are now no salt canned goods now available in your local supermarket, when making your chili this is the best time to use these.

You could try ground turkey instead of ground beef for a healthier option.

TIP:

This recipe is quite spicy; you can reduce the paprika, Tabasco and cumin quantities if you want to make you chili a little milder.

INGREDIENTS

• 
• 1 can no-salt-added pinto beans
• 1 1 lb lean ground 90:10 beef
• 1 can no-salt-added kidney beans
• 1 can low-sodium crushed tomatoes
• 1 can low-sodium tomato puree
• 4 teaspoons oregano
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups chopped onions
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups chopped green peppers
  
  Directions

In a skillet add a little olive oil and brown the ground beef, add peppers, onions and garlic. – This just halves to cooking time in your slow cooker.

Mix all ingredients in crock pot and let cook at low heat for 4- 8 hours.

Garnish with a little low sodium cheese and spring onion.

Peach Cobbler

DASH DIET PEACH COBBLER

Here is a Peach cobbler recipe that is made in a slow cooker and this recipe uses frozen peaches, they have far less sugar than canned peaches, and being frozen they will cook for the appropriate time without burning. You can also use fresh peaches and the cooking time will be the same.

Ingredients

1 Cup Brown sugar
¾ Cup of Rolled Oats
3/4/ Cup of All Purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon all spice
½ cup unsalted melted butter ( 6 tablespoons + 2 Tablespoons)
20 ounces peaches

Instructions

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, mix 6 tablespoons of melted butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is moist.

Use the remaining butter to butter the side of the slow cooker (use 3.5 quart slow cooker).

Place a layer of the dry ingredients with butter in the bottom of the slow cooker and then add the frozen peaches to the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.

Add that mixture to your slow cooker and cook on low for 3 – 3/12 hours.



Serve hot with a little Greek Yogurt