slow Cookers

[zaphod37]

This may be a dumb question but I am trying to look at ways of cooking food that may be more healthy. I don't eat a lot of fried food other than browning the lean mince for lasagna or bologneise and I am going to substitute veg oil for olive oil. whilst I was thinking along these lines and looking through my cupboards for ideas, I cam across my old slow cooker. In the past I have used it for lentil and carrot soup/ various stews and briskets.

I got to wondering if the slow cooker would be healthy cooking alternative? And if so do you know of any good recipes suitable for type 2 diabetic?

Thanks
Mark

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I do the occasional stew in my slow cooker which is fairly traditional in that it has stewing steak, potatoes, carrots, celery in a gravy with lentils and/or pearl barley and some mixed herbs. It wasn't always the success it is now since I wanted the potatoes and the occasional dumpling.

New potatoes were tried and I hit on the right thing first time. Charlotte potatoes from Tesco don't seem to cause me any trouble no matter how I cook them. No rise in blood sugar levels at all. I now grow them in the polytunnel along with some other interesting things. Other new potatoes are available.

The dumplings could have been a bit more of a challenge what with all that flour but they hardly caused a rise either. I made the assumption that the original (real fat) suet lowered their GI to a point where I could eat them. On the second day of the stew the blood sugars went through the roof. The dumplings had leached their fat away and looked like flour balls with holes in them. My conclusion is that you can even eat dumplings when freshly made. Make them fresh again for subsequent stew days. Only eat one if they do cause you a problem.

 

[zaphod37]

Thanks for the reply Squire, I hadn't though about dumplings but now you mention them ... I guess I can do without them no problem. I kind of like the idea of prepping the food in the morning then letting it stew (ahem) until the evening meal. ONe thing I will need to keep an eye on though is stock. Some stock cubes etc have huge amounts of salt so will need to do some research unless some kind folk have any ideas.

I am off to the shower cause I just got back from my half hour brisk walk along the coastal path and I am sweating more than Bernard Matthews chasing a reluctant turkey.

Mark

 

[Allic1971]

I cook my beef and pork in the slow cooker.

The beef just falls apart in your mouth, the pork i cook with apple cider or a homemade BBQ rub I love the fact that you can get 2 forks and pull it apart served with salad in a wholemeal pitta.

Happy cooking :thumbup:
Alli