Hey everyone! Ryan Chapman here. I thought I would write a little blog to highlight something that has helped me and my family: Healthy slow cooker meals.
When Heidi, our resident recipe engineer, introduced me to “freezer meals” I was a little skeptical. Honestly, I ignored it for a while.
Then Heidi flew out to Washington to visit me and Lisa and we filmed the assembly of a bunch of Heidi’s freezer meals. I got to try my first one and I WAS HOOKED!!! I realized how helpful these healthy slow cooker meals (even if not doing a freezer meal) could be and started using it in our meal planning.
My kids have gymnastics two nights a week from 4:30-6:30pm. The last thing I want to do is spend 30+ minutes prepping dinner when I get home. I want to walk in the door and eat right away. So, I started doing slow cooker meals on those nights. Sometimes I would make them ahead and freeze them (freezer meal) and sometimes I would assemble them fresh that morning in the slow cooker. Most of them only take a few minutes to assemble anyway.
When we would come home from gymnastics, we would have most (or sometimes even all) of dinner done and smelling wonderful.
Below I have compiled our list of favorite slow cooker meals that are available in our recipe database here on 9010nutrition.com. We have many more than this as well. See the bottom for how to find them.
Give some of these a try. You won’t be disappointed!
Chicken Enchilada Soup
The flavor in this Mexican-inspired soup is INCREDIBLE! My whole family loved it and asked for seconds. Of course, when my kids love a slow cooker meal that is super easy to make, it goes on the favorites list right away!
Chili Mac
My wife thought this sounded odd at first. She had never heard of chili and macaroni together. She is now a super fan! She asked for this one to be put on the favorites list.
Lasagna Soup
The flavor of Lasagna but without the work! We top with a dallop of ricotta and some mozzarella and it’s like lasagna in a bowl.
Ranch Pork Chops
This is probably my favorite of them all, to be honest. I can’t say enough about this one. You can also do it with Chicken. It’s simply amazing. All the flavor of ranch without any of the junk you find in bottled Ranch dressing.
Chicken Tacos
This was the first slow cooker meal that I tried and I was in love! It’s super versatile, too. You can use it for tacos as written, or you can use it for a burrito bowl with brown rice.
Chicken Gyros
This one even has a recipe for homemade pitas! You can buy 100% whole wheat pitas from the store but the homemade ones are amazing. Simple and super tasty!
Mexican Beef Stew
Can you tell that I like Mexican food? It’s true. I love it. This is one of the best slow cooker recipes and has great Mexican flavor. Pair it with our homemade tortilla chips (see the recipe)!
Tomato-Beef Soup
This recipe was adapted from a Runner’s World recipe so that it could be made in the slow cooker. It’s one of my wife’s favorites.
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