Hello, I’m into my second month on the BSD and doing well. Have lost a stone and not finding it too difficult. I have been stir frying a lot and that appeals to my ‘not spending too much time in the kitchen’ way of life. Now want to bring a bit of a change by using my slow-cooker. Winter coming on, casseroles, stews, etc. might be nice. Obviously I’ve got to forget about the potatoes, dumplings, etc so I’m wondering if anyone uses a slow-cooker for creating low carb meals. Any tips you can give would be great. Many thanks.
Maureen x

CONGRATULATIONS on your one stone loss! That is wonderful.

Below is a slow cooker recipe I like for Moroccan Chickpea Stew. Very filling and nice spices. You can adjust the spice & heat level to suit your family. Can also use ground lamb instead of ground turkey if you prefer. Hope you like it.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Servings: 7 • Size: scant 1 1/2 cups •
Calories: 342 • Fat: 10 g • Carb: 38 g • Fiber: 8 g • Protein: 24 g

Ingredients:

cooking spray
1.3 lb package 93% lean ground turkey
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, light
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp poblano pepper, chopped optional can add other hot pepper if desired
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 (15 oz) cans chick peas, drained
2 cups low sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth*
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley or spearmint, chopped

Directions:

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and over medium high heat cook ground turkey for 10-12 minutes. Break up the ground meat and mix so meat cooks evenly; place in the slow cooker.

To the skillet add the olive oil, onions, pepper, carrots, and celery and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker along with diced tomatoes, chick peas, spices, broth and gently mix well. Cover and cook on LOW heat 6 to 8 hours. Remove bay leaves and serve; garnish with fresh herbs.

Makes 10 cups.

Read more at http://www.skinnytaste.com/slow-cooker-moroccan-chickpea-and/#hcKFxbg73DmMxYF6.99

Replace the chickpeas with canned or dried soybeans (not edamame, the mature bean) and you can cut that massive carb count significantly.

One of my favorite slow cooker recipes is a couple of pounds of skinless chicken, breasts alone if you like white mean or a combination of white and dark. Toss them into the slow cooker with a mixture of ground cumin, dried oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper (or premade taco spice for a short cut) and 2 cups of chicken broth. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours until the chicken is falling apart. Take two forks and pull the chicken to shreds. Let it sit on warm in the juice for another hour. It will suck up all the spiced liquid like a sponge.

Now you have a boatload of spiced pulled chicken to use in salads, as a filling for a southwestern omelette or just on a plate topped with some melted pepperjack, avocado, green onions, bell peppers or whatever else you like. I used it as a topping on a cauliflower pizza crust once and it was great.

Note that the garbanzo beans are the type of carb Michael recommends……dried beans that are slow to digest. Consistent with the Mediterranean diet. You can reduce the carbs by just using one can….and can serve over cauliflower rice.

The pulled chicken sounds terrific as well.

They are and Dr. Mosley includes them in multiple recipes, but I am far stricter on carb intake than he is because I’m insulin resistant so one serving of that soup exceeds my daily carb count limit by 50%. The slow digesting carbs theory doesn’t work apply to all of us, sad to say. Some of us respond poorly to carbs period, complex or not. I’ve had to find substitutes and dried soybeans, which come in both black and yellow varieties, do the job nicely. They’re particularly good in strongly flavored and spiced preparations like the Moroccan soup, chili and hummus because they’re a bit of a blank slate and absorb the flavors around them.

That is great that you found something that will work for you as a substitute. I will have to try those. Thanks for the recommendation.

Lovetcook, it’s great fun to have another American join in the
forum! There are 3 of us actively posting at the moment. Esnecca
and I have lost a prodigious amount of weight, and Californiagirl is
an expert on nutrition and the BSD in general. It might be very
beneficial to you to read thru their “replies created”. Now that the
seasons are changing here (New England), I’m switching to soup
and the slow cooker also. However, after losing 50% of my body
weight, I’m unwilling to up my carbs much over the >20 amount
that made this loss possible in10 months time. I enjoy Morrocan
cuisine also, and make my own version of ras el hanout to spice
it up. I’m certainly going to experiment with soybeans, ala Esnecca.
Best of luck to you. I look forward to hearing your story and any
further recipes that you care to share!

Allie

Really interested in this thread. I have had a slow cooker for a few years and only used it once! Just not sure how to cook with it and I do cook conventionally. Look forward to trying all your recipes.