Most working mums are usually very busy and always on the go from morning to evening. Between taking the kids to school, caring for the family, and work, life for a working mum is often extremely chaotic. This renders performing simple duties like cooking an uphill task, which is where a slow cooker comes in handy. A crockpot goes a long way in simplifying the one important duty of preparing healthy meals for the family. The result is often a healthy, delicious but simple meal that can be served to the entire family as they walk into the house after a busy day at school or work. Here are more compelling reasons why every working mum should own a slow cooker.
Making Meals Using A Slow Cooker Is Super Easy
A slow cooker is a lifesaver even for mums who don’t know two things about cooking; they can follow a simple recipe and produce incredible results. This is because the level of expertise required when using a slow cooker is merely basic. If you don’t know simple recipes, then refer to The Recipe Book for delicious yet easy to cook recipes. This attribute makes it possible for busy mums to place a well-prepared meal on the dining table even without having massive knowledge regarding cooking. Nearly all the ingredients constituting a certain meal are tossed into the crockpot simultaneously. The pot is then covered with a lid only to be reopened when the meal is ready.
Slow Cookers Are Economical
Another vital benefit that busy mums can derive from using a slow cooker is the apparent cost-effectiveness. Basically, the chunks of meat contained in the meals are relatively cheap. When the meat pieces are cooked under low temperature and for several hours, they ultimately tenderize, making them easy to consume. There’s no better, or cheaper way of preparing sizeable slices of meat and transforming them into a juicy, delicious and healthy meal that can be chewed easily than using a crockpot. And a slow cooker also saves busy mums significant energy cost when compared to using an oven. Even though a crockpot takes longer to cook food, little energy is used, and no fuel is wasted.
Meals Made Using A Slow Cooker Are Healthy
Meals that are prepared gradually while enclosed typically retain more nutrients. Thus, most of the nutrients are retained in the crockpot rather than evaporating. Secondly, the majority of slow cooker recipes encourage the consumption of vegetables. This empowers mums to place a healthy meal on the table capable of bestowing the whole family with vital fibers and proteins. The ingredients of a slow cooker are also tenderized considerably, making it easy for the body to digest them. Besides, mums no longer need to use a lot of cooking oil when preparing meals; the slow cooker ensures that the moisture from the ingredients does not vaporize.
Crock Pots Are Safe Even For Busy Mums
Slow cookers are designed to be left unattended without having to babysit the meals. It is also impossible to burn the food when using a crockpot. Moreover, slow cooking will come in handy when cooking foods like meat, which contains some pathogens that can cause illness if not destroyed. With the amount of time the food spends in the slow cooker, these microorganisms stand no chance of survival.
Also, when meat is prepared over a flame, the fats and proteins interact and create compounds that are potentially detrimental to the overall human health. Luckily, such compounds are non-existent when slow cooking, making the meal extremely safe for consumption. For every mum who enjoys preparing meat regularly, they need to modify their way of preparing their meals and a crockpot will come in handy.
Meals Are Ready When Family Is Ready
The one thing that nags mums when driving back home after a busy day at work is deciding on what and how they are going to prepare dinner. Fortunately, with the help of a slow cooker, a busy mum can derive the benefit of planning well ahead of time. This is achieved by preparing all the ingredients before retiring to bed and leaving them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, they can place their meal in the crockpot and turn it on before leaving for work. By the end of the day, they will return home to a tasty home-cooked meal, which hardly interferes with their busy schedule. Most slow cookers have two settings including the low and high mode. Using the low setting ensures that the meal is ready in about 6 to 10 hours. The high setting, on the hand, allows the meal to cook in 4 to 6 hours.
From the precedent, it’s quite apparent that a crockpot is the one thing that busy mums need when working with limited time but requiring to prepare a tasty, healthy meal at the end of the day. They can assemble their preferred ingredients when they wake up in the morning, place them in the crockpot and the meal will be ready in the evening. This device also consumes little energy in comparison to an oven. Also, it will not heat the kitchen and become a nuisance, especially during the summer. And just because mums consume little time and energy, it doesn’t imply that they compromise on the taste of meals. The food is even more delicious and juicier not to mention, healthier.
Also, read these food safety tips for children.