Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #19: Use the Crockpot or Slow Cooker

This month I’m sharing a tip each day about how you can save money while losing weight.  Here is today’s tip: Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #19: Use the Crockpot.

How can a Crockpot save you money?  When you are cooking your own meals and using healthy recipes to stay on course with your weight loss goals, slow cooking has a number of benefits:

• Saving time, because time is money. You can put your ingredients in the pot and spend time doing other things (like exercising).
• You can buy cheaper cuts of lean meat because slow cooking will tenderize them.  You can also use affordable things like turkey legs or neck bones for flavor.
• Slow cookers and Crock Pots are cheap to buy (around $30) and use less electricity than a stove.
• Save money by making large recipes and then freezing or storing the leftovers.  No need to buy a meal when you have a great one in the fridge.

The other reason you should embrace using a Crockpot or slow cooker is variety.  There are hundreds of healthy slow cooker recipes you can try that have a lot of flavor, so that you never get bored.

Here is a sample of some of the great recipes out there:

• Low Calorie Slow Cooker Recipes from EatingWell.com
• Easy Slow Cooker Recipes from Fitness Magazine
• Crockpot 365 – A year of slow cooking recipes
• Healthy Recipes from Prevention Magazine
• Low Fat Slow Cooking recipes
• Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes from SparkPeople

Low Carb

• Sunday Slow Cooking Recipes from Slender Kitchen
• LowCarbCrock.com’s Recipes
• Low Carb Slow Cooking Recipes on Pinterest
• Tips for Cooking Low Carb Crockpot Meals
• Low Carb Recipes from SheKnows.com