subject: Tips About Using A Healthy Slow Cooker [print this page] Tips About Using A Healthy Slow Cooker Tips About Using A Healthy Slow Cooker
A healthy slow cooker can change the way you feel during the day! A hearty breakfast is the key to a wonderful day ahead. A slow cooker or crockpot can prepare any kind of dish you want. You can put together delicious side dishes, desserts, and breads. This appliance is ideal for soups and stews. Working moms can provide tasty, yet healthy, dishes to their kids without exhausting themselves. You can even throw a party during the weekdays without skipping office thanks to the slow cooker!
If you think vegetarians have little opportunity of using a slow cooker, you're wrong! Crockpots are perfect for cooking savory vegetables, beans, lentils, and other plant-based foods. You can prepare a gourmet meal and impress your guests with your culinary skills! In fact, for vegetarians, a healthy slow cooker is a boon. It helps them prepare such good food that they hardly ever feel like eating meat.
Things To Remember About A Vegetarian Crock Pot
Slow cookers are available in different sizes. The usual sizes range from 2 to 6 quarts. You can also get a 1-quart cooker. Small cookers are narrow and ideal for singles or couples. Big-size cookers are wide and ideal for families.
Avoid adding extra liquid to the crockpot, because these pots retain much of the moisture inside.
Once the dish is ready, you must remove it from the healthy slow cooker; otherwise, it will overcook, as the cooking continues inside the pot. Also, when the cooker cools, your food will cool down too.
Slow cookers are not for reheating foods. They may encourage bacterial growth in cooked food due to the slow cooking feature, which takes hours.
Suppose you go outdoors, leaving the food cooking in the crockpot, and the power goes out. What do you do then? When you return, check the food temperature. If the thermometer shows less than 165 degrees Fahrenheit, throw away the food. It is already spoiled.
Keep your crockpot and the area surrounding it squeaky clean. Only then can you boast of having healthy eating with a slow cooker.
Hot Tips for Preparing Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes
The night before, refrigerate the perishable foods that need to be put in the slow cooker the next morning.
Cut small pieces of vegetables for uniform cooking.
To cook hard pieces of vegetables, keep the healthy slow cooker at a lower heat. It lets the heat sink into the hard pieces slowly and thoroughly, making them tender without shrinking.
Avoid lifting the lid of the cooker while the food is cooking. When you lift the lid, the heat escapes, bringing down the temperature of the cooker. Now, the cooker may take more time, as it has to reach the needed temperature again.
Always spread a thin layer of butter or oil inside the cooker walls before placing food in it. This makes cleaning of the cooker easier later.
The above facts and tips about the healthy slow cooker make it easier to handle this kitchen appliance, especially for those of you who are fans of the microwave.
