The Slow Cooker: Over 70 Years Old and Still a Household Staple

Ah, the slow cooker, or the Crock Pot as I like to call it.  (Note: technically Crock Pot is a brand name like Kleenex, the actual appliance is called a slow cooker)  Now that it’s fall, you’re going to see it on my counter top a lot more.  If you follow this blog at all, you know I’m not a great cook (or even a good cook, tolerable is more like it), that’s my husband’s department.  He loves to take his time in the kitchen and make a delicious meal.  Not me!  Get it on the table and fast, it’ll be edible most of the time.  Enter: the slow cooker.  I can throw it all in a pot, walk away for 8 hours and come back to a nice dinner that actually tastes good.  What’s not to love?

We can thank Irving Nachumsohn for the invention of the slow cooker in 1939.  It took more than a decade to get the slow cooker to market, but eventually in 1950’s it was available to the masses under the name Naxon Beanery “The All Purpose Cooker”.  In 1971, a rival of the original slow cooker came out called the Crock Pot.  Today, over 80% of American households have a slow cooker.

Why do over 80% of Americans have one you ask? 

• Save energy- Using a slow cooker vs your oven or stove top can save a lot of energy, especially in the summer. Why turn on a big oven and heat up the house when it’s already hot out…
• Save money- the slow cooker is great at making those tough cuts of meat, which tend to be cheaper, nice and tender.  A lot of recipes also call for root vegetables like potatoes, and/or beans, all of which are quite economical.
• Save time- Duh! No more standing at the stove, stirring, checking, you can put your meal on in the morning and walk away for the day.
• Enhances flavor- the longer something cooks, the more time for the flavors to develop!
• Pretty Foolproof- while this is mostly true, I have managed to burn a recipe or 2. I’m just that talented.  But in general, the recipes are set it and forget it type recipes, even I can do it!
• Easy clean up- it’s only one pot!

There are a couple downsides- neither of which are deal breakers in my opinion

• If you want to sear the meat, you’ll need to do that in a separate pan (unless you have a super fancy slow cooker- see below)
• Since everything is slow cooked, it’s all very tender, and everything being the same soft texture might not be so appealing to some people- so add some crunch at the end!

In case you’re the rare person who doesn’t have one, or maybe want to grab another one, let’s walk through some decisions you’ll have to make.

First, What size are you going to get?

Second, What features do you want?

You can choose a very simple model- typically a manual slow cooker.  This is just one knob on the front with off, low, medium, and high.  Easy, but you do need to keep your eyes on it as it might cook faster or slower than you think.

The other option is a programmable slow cooker.  This allows you to put in a specific time for the food to cook, for example 5 hours, instead of trying to guess if that’s the high or medium setting.  Some other fun features you might want to consider:

• Travel lid that locks in place to make it easy to transport.
• Pot shape.  Oval tends to allow for larger cuts of meat vs a round pot.
• Some newer models come with searing capabilities, which saves you from cleaning a separate pan, but it’ll cost you.
• Wifi enabled, which allows you to turn it on and off or change the setting from your phone.

Slow cookers run anywhere from under $20 to over $100.  So there is definitely one for every budget.

Now that you have your slow cooker, it’s time to put it to good use.  Beyond the classic soups and stews, a slow cooker can make main dishes like chicken and broccoli, a roast, ribs, pulled pork, and more.  Plus side dishes like mac and cheese, baked potatoes, and stuffing.  It’s great for breakfast casseroles, oatmeal, or hashbrowns.  And if that’s not enough, try making some dessert- like cake, rice pudding, and even cheesecake!  Another fun use is drinks.  The slow cooker is perfect for fall to keep your apple cider warm or hot chocolate ready to drink all winter long.

There are so many recipes out there, you’ll find some to suit your abilities and time.  Some recipes call for a little prep, like cutting up vegetables, or browning meat, others are called “dump” recipes, where you literally just chuck a bunch of stuff in the pot, give it a stir, and walk away (right up my alley).  While I am an avid recipe follower (I’m not a good enough cook to “wing it”…maybe one day), I will make the occasional substitution, addition, or subtraction to a recipe to make it slightly healthier.  I’m not talking about calorie control, but maybe a little more heart healthy.  I might add beans or some extra spinach for fiber, which helps with blood sugar control and gut health.

Here are my go-to moves

• I only buy low sodium or no sodium broth and stock.  This helps me keep the sodium in check, and I can always add more if I want to, but you can’t really take it out once it’s in there.  Try upping some of the other spices to have a flavorful meal without too much salt.
• Swap out ground beef with ground turkey.  Ground turkey is lower in saturated fat.  If you want to use ground beef, look for 93/7 or 95/5.
• Leave the skins on vegetables like potatoes and carrots.  That means more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Add a can of beans.  Black beans, kidney beans, white beans, whatever sounds best in your recipe (for example, I always add black beans to my chicken tortilla soup, whether it calls for it or not, they’re so good!).  This boosts the fiber AND protein in your soup, keeping you fuller, longer!
• I add slightly more vegetables than the recipe states.  1 cup of spinach- how about 1.5 cups?  2 bell peppers, maybe 2.5 or even 3 peppers.  You don’t want to go WAY overboard, it can affect the moisture content of the soup, and the cooking time, plus you need to be careful not to overfill the pot- it should be about ¾ full.
• Can I use low fat cheese or 1% milk?  This doesn’t always work, but even subbing some of the cheese (not all of it) might work, or using some cream and some milk (in place of all cream) is a way to cut down on some of the saturated fat. I’m not trying to ruin the recipe, just trim the fat (Ha! Get it?)

I usually make the recipe the correct way the first time, and then tinker the next time to see what can be changed.  Not a full makeover, but more veggies and less salt/fat never hurt anyone!

So, did I convince you to bust out your slow cooker?  What are you going to make?  Give us some ideas, we love trying new recipes!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy

This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.  We’re here to help.