3 Crockpot Meals…Under 100 Calories

We all love to come home to food already made for us. Many of us are so busy in our everyday lives we opt to eat out regularly to avoid the hassle of cooking.  However, there is a solution to this problem, and it is something we all know about, but perhaps rarely use, the Crockpot. In a busy world where being prepared for the next step is essential, this magical machine is a huge time saver. We have compiled three healthy, but more importantly, yummy, recipes for you to try. So let’s all pull out those Crockpot’s (we somehow all end up with one, don’t we?) and put those bad boys to use!

Crockpot Roast Chicken (adapted from sparkpeople.com)

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

-1 whole chicken 3-5 lbs (see what will fit in your pot)

-1 cup water or low-sodium low-fat chicken broth

-2 tsp herbs de province

-1 clove garlic minced

-1 small onion sliced

-1/2-1 tsp sweet paprika (enough to cover chicken breast)

Directions:

Place sliced onion in bottom of pot. Skin chicken the best you can, removing any fat you can see, then place on top of onions. Pour water/stock over chicken. Sprinkle garlic, herbs and paprika over top of chicken. Cook on low for 4-8 hours, chicken is done when leg pulls away smoothly.
This chicken will be pale so some men don’t like the color, which is why I use the Paprika to give it a little color.
*(Crock pot disclaimer: older crock pots will take 6-8 hours newer ones can take 4-6 hours to cook)

Nutritional Info:

-Servings per Recipe: 6

-Amount per Serving

Calories: 77.1

-Total Fat: 2.1 g

-Cholesterol: 30.5 mg

-Sodium: 78.5 mg

-Total Carbs: 2.0 g

-Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g

-Protein: 11.7 g

Young n’ Hearty Lentils & Wild Rice (recipe adapted from sparkpeople.com)

Serves: 12

(image via: treehugger.com)

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups dry lentils

-1 cup long grain wild rice

5 cups chicken broth

-1/4 cup olive oil

– 3 cloves pressed garlic

-1 small onion, chopped

-1/2 to 1 whole can Del Monte Dices Tomato w/ Onion & Garlic (optional)

-1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

-sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions:

Makes 12 1-cup servings

Throw all the ingredients, except seasonings, into your Crockpot. Turn on high for 1.5 hours or low for 3 hours. Add seasonings at the end to preserve flavor.

Nutritional Info:

-Servings per Recipe: 12

-Amount per Serving

Calories: 99.9

-Total Fat: 4.7 g

-Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

-Sodium: 785.9 mg

-Total Carbs: 11.5 g

-Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g

-Protein: 3.9 g

Slow Cooker Veggie Soup (recipe adapted from sparkpeople.com)

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

-2 Medium Zucchinis

-1 Squash

-5 Carrots

-1 Potato

-6 Plum Tomatoes

-1 cup chopped onions

-1 tsp Osem soup powder (chicken)

-1 tsp Garlic powder

-9 cups of water

Directions:

Makes 6 2-cup servings

Dice everything; throw it into a slow cooker for 6 hours on low.

Nutritional Info:

-Servings per Recipe: 6

-Amount per Serving

Calories: 95.2

-Total Fat: 0.5 g

-Sodium: 153.8 mg

-Total Carbs: 21.5 g

-Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g

-Protein: 3.1 g