183 Days of Healthy Crock Pot Recipes | Simple Nourished Living

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I’m now midway through My Year of Weight Watchers Crock Pot Cooking. I’ve made and posted 183 Weight Watchers Crock Pot Recipes over the last six months. And I’ve learned tons about slow cooking.

I’m even more in love with my slow cooker(s) than I was before beginning this project.

Why Is The Slow Cooker an Essential Kitchen Tool for Weight Loss?

Hamilton Beach Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker on a Kitchen Countertop with a Bowl of Beef Stew

I think the slow cooker is a busy person’s most invaluable kitchen tool. Especially if you’re trying to eat better and lose weight.

Makes meal planning easier.
Many Weight Watchers crock pot recipes are complete one pot meals.
Requires planning, which is critical to weight loss success.
If we want to eat right and lose weight we need a plan. If we leave it to chance, we’ll end up opting for high calorie convenience foods: take out, the drive-thru, fast food, the vending machine, etc.
Lends itself to big batch cooking and leftovers. Which can be re-purposed or portioned out for future meals.
Saves time in the kitchen.
You can put your ingredients in the crock pot in the morning or afternoon, and dinner will be ready when you want it. I love the convenience of investing a little time and then moving forward with my day—while dinner cooks—practically unattended.No pots boiling over, burned skillets and last minute rushing around to get dinner figured out.
Provides variety.
You can make a lot more than pot roast, soup and chili in your slow cooker, as I’ve learned during the last six months. Appetizers, beverages, breakfasts, main dishes, side dishes and desserts are all possible with a slow cooker.
Makes cooking possible even for those with little kitchen know-how.
Slow cooking is practical, realistic and very forgiving, perfect for novice cooks. Recipes tend to be straightforward with minimal ingredients and very few steps. Meals made in the slow cooker may not be the prettiest ever. But, they can be some of the tastiest.
Perfect all year round.
While most of us think of the slow cooker during the fall and winter, it’s the perfect summer kitchen device. I’ve received lots of comments from folks in hot climates who depend on their slow cooker all summer to avoid heating up the kitchen.

Healthy Cooking Photo Collage - Photo of woman before losing weight preparing meal, woman in kitchen with crock pots and slim, happy woman in white top and skirt

Reassessing my Year of Weight Watchers Crock Pot Recipes

At the halfway point of this project, after 183 Weight Watchers crock pot recipes, I’ve decided it’s time to adjust my plan for the next six months.

Crock Pot Cooking Photo Collage with photos for Southwest Breakfast Casserole, Lemon Pudding, Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Beef with Gravy over Noodles, Caribbean Black Beans with Mango and Italian Meatball Soup — 183 Days of Weight Watchers Crock Pot Cooking

While I believe—now more than ever—that the slow cooker is an essential kitchen tool for busy Weight Watchers, it’s NOT practical for me to keep up the pace of using it everyday.

We are a family of two, so most of the Weight Watchers Crock Pot recipes I make provide enough food for two or three meals. We love leftovers and I’m pretty good at re-purposing them, so I really only need to use my crock pot 2 or 3 times a week to avoid waste.

I could continue to honor my original commitment by filling in the other days with easy, healthy Weight Watchers crock pot recipes for appetizers and snacks. But it doesn’t reflect how we really eat.

Appetizers and snacks are my trigger foods: the foods I need to limit having around the house to prevent myself from mindlessly munching and overindulging. So, I make them only occasionally, usually when there are friends and family around with whom to share.

Crock Pot Chex Party Mix (mini pretzels, almonds, peanuts, crispy cereal) in a Small White Bowl — Slow Cooker Chex Party Mix

When I’m hungry between meals, my go-to snacks are apples, baby carrots and nuts. Not Chex Party Mix or Slow Cooker Spicy Nut Party Mix which I LOVE, but CAN’T STOP EATING!

And breakfast recipes aren’t a practical alternative because during the summer, I begin most of my mornings with a Weight Watchers Friendly Smoothie, not slow cooker oatmeal.

Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal in a White Bowl with a Spoon on a Blue Napkin

On top of all that, I have a very short attention span! I have a growing list of non slow cooker recipes I’m itching to make and post.

So, for the remaining six months, I’m planning to post two or three Weight Watchers Crock Pot Recipes each week. Alternative days will be filled with non slow cooker Weight Watchers recipes and whatever else suits my fancy 🙂

I could beat myself up for giving up my goal to use my slow cooker every day for an entire year to make easy, healthy crock pot recipes. Or, I could choose to blindly see my goal through to the finish, even though it’s not realistic or fun. Neither alternative seems right.

So, I’m choosing to celebrate the 183 DAYS OF WEIGHT WATCHERS CROCK POT RECIPES I did complete and give myself permission to readjust in a way that makes sense for me. It’s really what living a simple happy healthy life is all about.