The Healthy Slow Cooker: Review

I absolutely love to cook! Trying new recipes is exciting for me. When I had the opportunity to review The Healthy Slow Cooker, I jumped at the chance! As a family we try to eat fairly healthy by watching our calorie and fat intake. The first thing I noticed about this cook book was that every single recipe had nutritional information! This makes it very easy for anyone trying to keep track of what they are eating. If you are on a plan like Weight Watchers, you can enter the information in to the WW site for a quick conversion to points. It couldn't be easier!

After trying out several recipes from The Healthy Slow Cooker, I decided to share the recipe for Vegetable Curry with Lentils and Spinach. I must admit, when it comes to the slow cooker I can be a bit lazy. I like a recipe where I can throw all of the ingredients in and come back 6 hours later to a delicious meal. This recipe calls for a bit more prep work, but I promise it is totally worth it! Steps like toasting your spices will bring out delicious flavors you just can't get any other way.

Excerpted from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson © 2006 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

                       

                 Toasted seeds ground with a mortar and pestle

Sauteing the Vegetables

In the slow cooker ready to cook

My final product

I chose to add the coconut milk (I used light for less calories) and a little more vegetable broth to give the curry a little more liquid. We ate this as a main dish, and it made more than enough for 2 nights! It was full of flavor, vitamins and is low in fat too!

I really love how Judith (the author) gives great information with every recipe. For instance, she talks about all of the wonderful antioxidants found in this recipe and their health benefits. She does a great job at not only giving you a recipe, but also educating you about what you are eating. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for great slow cooker recipes that are healthy as well! The book is full of inventive recipes that don't lack in the flavor department. Plus, you won't feel guilty after eating them

The Vegetarian Cook's Bible: Review

I am always looking for new and yummy recipes to cook for dinner. I LOVE to cook! Recently we have been trying to eat healthier and include more vegetarian meals into our diet. So, when I had the opportunity to review The Vegetarian Cook’s Bible by Pat Crocker, I jumped at the chance! After trying many of the recipes, I quickly decided upon my favorite, Udon Noodle Soup with Shiitakes and Bok Choy! My husband and I love soup, especially soups with Asian flavors. This soup did not disappoint! It is full of robust flavors. The fresh ginger, sesame oil and lemon juice all lend to a unique and delicious flavor profile.

Excerpted from The Vegetarian Cook's Bible by Pat Crocker © 2007 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission.

As you can see, the soup is full of fresh, flavorful ingredients that are both hearty and delicious! In addition to being vegetarian, this soup is also Vegan, which is a plus in my book! I have made the soup with both udon noodles and soba noodles. Both are delicious, but I definitely prefer the udon noodles. Another easy variation on the soup is to substitute the type of mushroom you are using. While shiitake mushrooms are certainly delicious, but they can be pricey. Try some baby bellas instead for an equally delicious soup at a more affordable price.

I definitely give this cookbook an A plus! So many times, vegetarian recipes can be boring and bland. I promise you will not have that problem with these recipes! There is an amazing variety of recipes and ingredients. There is something for every palate. I am still discovering new recipes, and I love them all!

If you try the Udon Soup recipe, please come back and leave a comment about how you liked it. I would love to hear from you all!

Winner of UPrinting Poster

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Potty Update

So, life has been busy lately! It’s been almost a month since I took a week off of work to potty train Orlaith. She’s been doing remarkably well! I think like any child, she has good days and bad days. When she does have accidents, it is because she is so engrossed in what she is doing that she forgets to stop. No biggie!

On the big potty party day, we ditched her cloth diapers for cloth training pants. It made sense for us to go from cloth to cloth. Even if you don’t cloth diaper, you should consider cloth training pants. It is not a good idea to use disposable diapers or pull ups once you begin potty training because they pull moisture away from your child’s skin. One of the important pieces to potty training, is that they feel and know when they are wet! Plus, putting them in disposables/pull ups is confusing. I went all out. We used cloth trainers exclusively, even when we left the house (which took 5 days).

I knew not to expect night training right away. I still use a cloth diaper at night, but that is the ONLY time. She wears cloth trainers for her nap, and has yet to have an accident during nap time. I have to say that I am SO proud of my little honey! We are getting there. Even though there is typically at least one accident a day, I consider her potty trained. We are just fine tuning at this point!