Oh, how I love my SlowCooker, let me count the ways…  

SlowCooker meals are a snap to prepare, the flavors come together so nicely in the pot, and dinner is ready when you walk in the door.

What I love most about slow cooker meals is how little time they take to prepare.  Not only that, but you can make them in larger quantities so you can enjoy leftovers.  I am all about amazing food with minimal effort.

As an added bonus, slowcooker meals often stretch a buck so you can save on your grocery bill.  Time savings, healthy delicious recipes, and cost savings – it’s a win all around!  Boom.

True confession time…  I didn’t always love slowcooker meals.  To me, they used to all taste the same and left me feeling bloated and exhausted… thank you cream of mushroom soup and packaged onion soup mix.  

Also - I love to cook!  I felt like the slow cooker took the ‘fun’ out of cooking for me.

I recently became a mother of two - I am currently on maternity leave with my new baby girl and I have a 3 year old boy.

We all still need to eat and the slowcooker seemed like the perfect solution.  

So I set out on a mission to find the best, healthiest, and quickest slowcooker meals possible.  

In our community at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness we have some amazing cooks who also love healthy food so I reached out to them for all of their favorite recipes.  

There are some serious winners here!

We compiled a SlowCooker Cookbook with all of our favorite recipes.  You can download it here:

And let me tell you - I have been very happy with the results.

Even the 3 year old is eating these meals.

Here is what I have learned in the process:

The more vegetables the better.  Just throw them all in there!  Whatever you have on hand - whatever you are feeling.  If your veggies are looking a little ‘sad’ their flavors will perk right up in your slow cooker.

No peeking!  Seriously… keep the lid shut.  You don’t need to stir the pot or do any checking.  Trust in your SlowCooker.  Everytime you open the lid, you are losing all of the heat and your quick check can add a lot of time to the cooking of your meal.

Know your conversions.  Slow cookers are pretty forgiving and if your recipe called to be cooked on low for 8 hours but it’s noon and you haven’t gotten into the kitchen yet… no problem - you can cook that meal on high for x hours.  Here is a handy dandy conversion chart for you: ​

Thank you Crock Pot Ladies!

​Layer Smart: I like to get creative with my kitchen creation.  Often I cook without a recipe or just use a recipe for inspiration and cooking guidelines.  With slow cooking, it’s important to know the order your ingredients go in the pot.  Here is another great chart to help with that: ​

Thanks Oprah!

Experiment, have fun, and enjoy your time in the kitchen.  Also, be sure to download our favorite slow cooker recipes here: ​

​Enjoy!

Paige

Inspired to get started now?  Download this free QuickStart Guide:
http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/quickstart.html
This free QuickStart Guide that has been used by many of our clients and is proven to increase your energy levels and help you feel great.  This free QuickStart Guide includes a full 7 day whole foods based meal plan, a simple to implement exercise plan, 18 delicious whole foods based recipes, and daily encouragement from our trainer team to help you stick with the program.

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Want more healthy recipes? See our delicious and nutritious meals here:
http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/nourish.html

This workout is a big one. While it does say to do 10 rounds, a good goal is to shoot for 3 to 5 rounds. But if you can handle all 10 rounds you should be very proud of yourself! Have fun with it!

​Warm-up and cool down for 5-10 minutes each

Complete 10 Rounds for Time!
​
10 Burpees 
10 Flutter Kicks 1-1
10 Full Sit Ups 
10 Plank Jacks 
10 Reverse lunges 1-1 
10 Reverse Crunch
10 Full Sit Up
10 Russian Twist 1-1
30 sec Run 
10 Wide Push Ups

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​Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live.  Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home.  We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion.

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Warm-up with 5- 10 minutes of light cardio, then dynamic stretches (leg swings, arm circles, etc.). After the workout, cool down with light cardio (walking, etc.) to bring down the heart rate, and then stretch.

Equipment: kettlebell or dumbbell. Complete 7 rounds with proper form for time.
​
7 Burpees 
7 Renegade rows 
7 Star jumps
7 Squat with a press 
7 Marching glute bridge (7/side)
7 ½ squat w/ strong steps forward/back 
7 Kettlebell or dumbbell swings

Warm-up with 5- 10 minutes of light cardio, then dynamic stretches (leg swings, arm circles, etc.). After the workout, cool down with light cardio (walking, etc.) to bring down the heart rate, and then stretch.

​To do this workout, alternate between exercises in each pair. Perform 10 reps of the first exercise then 10 reps of the second exercise, then 9 of the first and 9 of the second, continuing down the ladder till you get to 1 rep of each.

Rest for 60 to 90 seconds before moving on to the second pair, and then the third pair.

Pair 1: Squat jumps (or bodyweight squats) & Spiderman Plank

Pair 2: Alternating front lunges with a twist (each side) & Side Plank with Leg Raise (alternate sides)
​
Pair 3: Double Unders (or double the amount for single jump rope) & Sit-Ups