Meal Courses: Eating Clean and Gorgeous Crockpot Flavours

By Kelly Wood and Powell Jean

Meal Courses: Eating Clean and Gorgeous Crockpot Flavours Putting together healthy meals on a budget can be an incredible difficult process. Most of us end up relying on convenience foods like pre-sauced frozen veggies, boxes of "helpers" and mixes, and already-cooked toppings. This can make the meal planning process a whole lot faster and simpler,

• Language: English
• Publisher: WebNetworks Inc
• Release date: Oct 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781632872357

Book preview

Meal Courses

Eating Clean and Gorgeous Crockpot Flavours

Kelly Wood and Jean Powell

Copyright © 2013 Kelly Wood and Jean Powell

All rights reserved.

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why most people have so much trouble staying healthy and keeping their weight under control? At any given point, more than half of Americans are trying to lose weight alone. We spend millions of dollars every year and spend huge amounts of time and energy trying to get ourselves into healthy condition. Yet surprisingly few people actually succeed in their health and weight loss goals.

This might seem baffling until you remember to account for how much food has changed in the past several decades. Our grandparents had much less trouble keeping themselves healthy and fit, and it's due in part to how differently they ate. While we now rely heavily on foods that come in a box or a bag, ready to be eaten after just a little heating, they made all their meals from scratch.

All that processing can really take its toll on the nutrient content of your food. It's also capable of affecting how your body deals with the meals you eat. Many modern, processed ingredients have been shown to be much higher in calories and lower in nutrition than their older counterparts. Some of them are even more likely to be converted to fat, given the same number of calories. Highly refined sugars such as high fructose corn syrup can affect insulin production, causing your waist to grow and your risk of diabetes to increase.

These factors can make losing weight and keeping your health under control extremely difficult. If you've ever kept carefully to a diet only to find that it didn't work, the changes in what we eat might be what's to blame. The good news is that you don't have to feel trapped by this problem. You can give up all those processed, undesirable foods in favor of more natural, health-boosting options. It's called clean eating, and it's one of the best ways to put food on the table that won't make you fat or hurt your health.

This book is divided into two major sections designed to help you do just that. The first one covers clean eating in detail, explaining how to change what you consume and avoid the worst of the processed foods on the market. It also helps you understand just how clean eating can help your body improve and assist you with losing weight. The second part of this book helps you continue the process, even when you don't have a lot of time available to cook. It lets you replace all of those quick-cooking convenience foods with slow-cooked meals that almost prepare themselves. With just the help of a crock pot, you'll be able to use even more fresh, whole ingredients and natural foods.

You'll get access to an enormous range of delicious, satisfying and healthy recipes that use only foods from the safe parts of the grocery store. Consider trying out coconut oatmeal, whole grain pancakes, or apple muffins made without ultra-refined white flour, trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. Check out desserts such as cinnamon popcorn or banana oat cookies that you know have been made with nutrient-dense, delicious whole foods. Have a snack that you know will satisfy both your hunger and your need for nutrition with homemade hummus dip, deviled eggs or guacamole.

There's plenty to enjoy at dinner, too. Top your table with a classic beefy chili or grilled turkey breast. Serve up sides of oven roasted vegetables, savory quinoa, sweet potato fries or spicy pinto beans. This book will give you everything you need to know about shopping, cooking and eating clean.

You'll learn to avoid the center aisles of the grocery store unless you need to dive in for baking ingredients or canned veggies. You'll also find out how to read labels accurately to catch those heavily-processed add-ins that so many food manufacturers sneak into their products. As soon as you begin eating a clean, natural diet, you're sure to feel the difference.

Cooking from scratch can take a little while to get used to, of course. That's why it's a good idea to invest in meals that will work well in your slow cooker. They're simple to prepare; just mix the ingredients, set the crock pot for the right time, and let it cook itself. You'll be amazed at how easily you can have long-stewed, rich, flavorful dishes on the table. It takes a fraction of the prep time we associated with fresh-cooked food, but without the risks that come with using convenience foods and pre-prepared extras.

With a little bit of planning, you'll be able to offer up homemade chicken nuggets that taste even better than the ones in the package. You can greet a cold morning with creamy grits or cinnamon oatmeal, and enjoy dinners full of Jamaican jerk chicken and Swiss steak. There are even recipes available to help you cook for a picnic, family reunion or office party. When you come in with gourmet macaroni and cheese made from fresh ingredients rather than a box, you're sure to be a popular attraction.

Today's busy world and hectic schedules have convinced many people that eating a diet based on clean, natural food simply isn't possible. In reality, however, there's no reason you have to rely on sauces in a can or microwavable meals. Instead of choosing these potentially health-destroying shortcuts, you can make your own food from real, whole ingredients. All you need is a set of easy to understand recipes and some basic guidelines. You'll even save money buying fresh ingredients and avoiding more expensive processed and packaged foods.

If you've been caught in the feedback loop of failing diets and despair over your health, it's time to put the blame where it belongs. The problem isn't a lack of willpower or laziness on your part. If our grandparents were able to keep the weight off and manage their health while we fail to do it by the thousands, something is deeply wrong. The problem lies in our dependence on nutrition-poor foods made by machine. Learning to eat a clean diet will help you open the door to better health. All you need to do is get started now!

Section 1: Eating Clean Diet

What is the eating clean diet?

The eating clean diet also called, clean eating diet or the eat clean diet, is a very simple and basic diet. It is the absence of anything chemical including processed flours and sugars, chemicals and preservatives, artificial dyes and flavors. It is food in its most natural state, the way it comes off the vine or plant or tree. It is food that you pick up at the produce section or from the freezer. You can find this food in the canned goods as well. Clean food diet is exactly what it sounds like.

Why Eat Clean Foods?

Eating foods on this diet puts you back to as close to nature as