this book has been amazingly thorough and consistently professional. And thanks to the volunteer health professionals at the CDA who reviewed the book.
I’d also like to thank Audrey King and Jennifer MacKenzie for their diligent help with recipe testing and all my friends and neighbors who gallantly tuck in to my culinary creations, even those that miss the mark, and provide thoughtful comments that are always useful in fine-tuning the end result.
Thanks also to Bob Dees and Marian Jarkovich at Robert Rose for their consistent commitment to ensuring that my books are well received in the marketplace.
Introduction
This is my sixth slow cooker cookbook. The more I use my slow cooker, the more ideas I have for using this versatile appliance. It fits so well with how I like to cook that I’m constantly seeing new ways to incorporate its services into my life. So, perhaps not surprisingly, I became interested in finding ways to combine the burgeoning interest in health and nutrition with the convenience of using a slow cooker.
Like most people, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the important role diet plays in health. By habitually eating an assortment of foods from all the food groups, you’re making sure you get the range of nutrients you need.
Planning what and when you will eat is especially important for people with diabetes. You need to
•take time for breakfast;
•eat each day a variety of foods from all the food groups — grains, preferably whole grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives;
•choose appropriate portions;
•space meals 4 to 6 hours apart; and
•snack only if you and your dietitian and other health care providers decide it is necessary for good blood glucose control.
For people with diabetes, one of the primary goals is maintaining or achieving a healthy weight. This means controlling calorie intake and limiting total fat to no more than 30% of calories and saturated fat to no more than 10% of calories.1 For a person eating 2,000 calories a day, for example, the total fat consumed should be about 65 grams, including no more than 22 grams of saturated fat.
1Canadian Diabetes Association, “2003 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada,” Can J Diabetes 27, Suppl. no. 2 (2003): S21–S23.
Controlling sodium is also important. Sodium in the diet comes primarily from salt, whether it be used in cooking, added at the table or hidden in manufactured and prepared foods. Consider that one teaspoon (5 mL) of salt contains about 2,400 mg of sodium. The American Diabetes Association limits sodium to 2,400–6,000 mg per day, while the Canadian Diabetes Association suggests 2,000–4,000 mg. In both cases, the lower end of the range is recommended.2
2American Diabetes Association, “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — 2006,” Diabetes Care 29 (2006): S4–S42; Canadian Diabetes Association, “2003 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada,” Can J Diabetes 27, Suppl. no. 2 (2003): S21–S23.
There is a common misconception that those with diabetes should avoid carbohydrates, especially sugar. This is not true, but you should control the total amount of carbohydrate eaten and spread it evenly throughout the day’s meals and snacks. Glycemic index, a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how fast and how much they raise blood glucose, is also important. Foods such as legumes, vegetables and whole-grain foods have a lower glycemic index and should be consumed often. To learn more about glycemic index, consult your diabetes educator or visit www.diabetes.ca or www.diabetes.org.
A slow cooker makes it much easier to plan and prepare in advance and to have meals on the table on time. I’ve included a wide range of recipes, from hearty soups to elegant desserts, most accompanied by Make Ahead information to help you take full advantage of the convenience provided by a slow cooker.
The recipes
•emphasize healthy servings of whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit;
•generally provide, per serving, not more than 35 grams of carbohydrate, 3 Meat Exchanges/3 Meat and Alternatives Choices, and 10 grams of fat;
•contain moderate amounts of salt (less than 800 mg of sodium per serving, and often much less); and
•call for non-hydrogenated fats and oils.
Commercially produced trans fats, which have a well-documented adverse effect on cardiovascular health, should be avoided and, whenever possible, saturated fats should be replaced with unsaturated fats, which have numerous health benefits. To help you get the most out of this book, in addition to the total amount of fat per serving, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat are also reported.
Vegetarian and vegan recipes are labeled as such.
I hope you will find this book helpful. More importantly, I hope you will use it often to get the most out of the convenience your slow cooker provides by preparing delicious and nutritious meals that help to keep you and yours happy and well.
— Judith Finlayson
Using Your Slow Cooker
The slow cooker’s less-is-better approach is, in many ways, the secret of its success. The appliance does its work by cooking foods very slowly — from about 200°F (90°C) on the Low setting to 300°F (150°C) on High. This slow, moist cooking environment enables the appliance to produce mouthwatering braises, chilies and many other kinds of soups and stews, as well as delicious breakfast cereals and desserts.
An Effective Time Manager
In addition to producing great-tasting food, a slow cooker is one of the most effective time-management tools available. Most recipes can be at least partially prepared up to two days before you intend to cook. (For detailed instructions, look for the Make Ahead that accompanies appropriate recipes.) Once the ingredients have been assembled in the stoneware and the appliance is turned on, you can pretty much forget about it. The slow cooker performs unattended while you carry on with your workaday life. You can be away from the kitchen all day and return to a hot, delicious meal.
A Low-Tech Appliance
Slow cookers are amazingly low tech. The appliance usually consists of a metal casing and a stoneware insert with a tight-fitting lid. For convenience, this insert should be removable from the metal casing, making it easier to clean and increasing its versatility as a serving dish. The casing contains the heat source: electric coils that usually surround the stoneware insert. These coils do their work using the energy it takes to power a 100-watt light bulb. Because the slow cooker operates on such a small amount of energy, you can safely leave it turned on while you are away from home.
Slow Cooker Basics
Slow cookers are generally round or oval and range in size from 1 to 7 quarts. I feel there is a benefit to having two: a smaller (3- to 4-quart)
