Crock Pot Meals: FAQ Response

The question: Do you guys have any good recommendations for prepare-in-advance and/or crock pot meals? I often have some free time in the morning and less in the evening, so I'm all about getting dinner ready in advance!

We love our crock pot. Especially when we were training for the marathon, we used it to make soups and other meals at least once a week. Here's my original post (from the METHOD archives) about this juicy, slow cooker vegetable curry.

This week has indeed been an experiment of how to get the most variety of healthy foods into my diet. I've found that using our slow cooker has (tremendously) helped me achieve success with this quest. It all started on Sunday, after I ran my weekly long run. I mused for those 2+ hours about how I'll ever be able to run 26.2 miles. I wasn't concerned cardiovascular-ly, really, because I'm devoting so much of my time and energy to that aspect. More nutritionally, I'm lacking these days. My diet has consisted mostly of white bread and cheese because I've become incredibly lazy (OK, and busy with work, tired with aforementioned running, etc.). So, Monday morning, I took charge -- throwing a rainbow of vegetables into the slow-cooker pot . . . seasoned it all with some spices and vegetable stock to make a soup that has lasted for lunches all week.

Tuesday, I made the vegetable curry (above) . . . and it stretched out to two dinner for us!

I've also discovered through all this veggie-love that I heart cauliflower. I don't know why exactly -- I always figured the white stuff was devoid of nutrition. But I was wrong, and if you'd like more information on why you should be eating cauliflower, just click here.

And here's what you'll need . . .

• Slow cooker/crock pot
• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
• 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
• 1 package veggie Chik'n Strips (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup coconut milk (I used light)]
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
• Bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• Soy milk (optional, see below)

Method . . .

1. Place the cubed sweet potatoes, chopped cauliflower, and peas in the slow cooker.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the vegetable stock, coconut milk, sugar, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, turmeric and curry powders.
3. Pour this mixture over the veggies and mix around a bit to coat.
4. Turn the slow-cooker on the LOW setting and cook for 4 to 5 hours. If you're in a pinch and would rather wait only 2 to 3 hours, you may use the HIGH setting. However, I've read that that makes it all a bit more mushy.
5. You may find that you want more liquid in the pot. If so, feel free to add splashes of soy milk as desired. However, note that the veggies will cook down.
6. If you plan to eat the meal the day you make it -- once it is ready, add the Chik'n Strips and heat until they are warm. I decided to add these last so they didn't get too soft. And, actually, we ate ours the next day . . . so I poured the vegetable curry into a big pot, heated it up again (on the stove) and THEN added the Chik'n strips.
7. Serve with naan (recipe coming later today!)
   

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