As a busy college student pursuing a degree in dietetics, time and money are two items that I always seem to be running out of. I know many fellow students and friends who tend to use this same predicament as an excuse to not prioritize living a healthy lifestyle. I get it, it can be easy to tell yourself that you will focus on your nutrition when you graduate and “have more time”. However, I have learned that as soon as you get to the next stage of life you will more than likely find new activities and events to fill your schedule up, once again pushing all thoughts of nutrition to the backburner of your mind. I am here to tell you that it does not have to be that way, you do not have to keep putting off your goals! You can fuel your body properly without hurting your budget or having to daily carve out three hours of your already busy schedule to prepare meals. Two great ways to overcome the common barriers of time and money are getting the most out of the groceries you purchase and meal prepping. When you combine these two methods you come to an intersection that brings you to the wonderful concept of crockpot meals!
Crockpot meals are a wonderful way to have a tasty and nutritious supper waiting for you after a long day! There are many appetizing slow-cooker recipes out there, but I want to focus on providing you with recipes that give you the tools to build your plate in a way that promotes consuming lean proteins, eating the rainbow, and having adequate portions.
My first recipe to share with you all is a slow-cooker lemon chicken recipe! It requires minimal meal prep, and you can eat the leftovers for the rest of the week. Note: this minimizes the number of meals you have to prepare, therefore saving you precious time and money. This meal fills up your plate with chicken, potatoes, red onions, and asparagus so you do not have to prepare other side dishes. It smells heavenly as it is cooking and tastes just as satisfactory as it smells. When I made this, I only added a small amount of feta cheese, grape tomatoes, and my grandpa’s special spice mix!
One other thing I love about this recipe is that it is the type of meal that sounds good all year long.
If it is a hot summer day and you don’t want to heat up the house by turning on the oven, you can put some chicken in the crockpot and still have a whole plate full of deliciousness. At the same time, this recipe can also be used to warm you up on the cold nights that come with wintertime. You really cannot go wrong!
Please never forget that you do not have to compromise on your nutrition goals because of the demands of life. Prioritize your health and your body will thank you later! Stay tuned for more crockpot recipes to come!
Ingredients:
- 1 red onion
- 6-8 chicken thighs- bone-in, skin on
- 1-1.5 lbs baby potatoes
- 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
- 1 bunch of thin green asparagus
Directions:
- Peel & slice the red onion & add to the bottom of the slow cooker in one layer.
- Add chicken thighs on top in one layer.
- Wash & half baby potatoes & add to slow-cooker.
- In a small bowl mix zest of 1 lemon, juice of the same lemon, olive oil, honey, thyme, sea salt, pepper, & finely chopped garlic, & then pour over ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Put the lid on & secure, then set to high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours (depending on your schedule. 3 hours on high being the minimum and 4 the maximum and 6 hours being the minimum and 8 hours the maximum when set on low).
- 15-20 minutes before the time is over, set the slow cooker to high & add asparagus on top & put the lid back on. NOTE: The thicker the asparagus, the longer amount of time it will take.
- OPTIONAL: 5 minutes before the time is over, remove the chicken thighs, place on a baking sheet, and put under the broiler on high for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is golden.
- Enjoy!
Recipe found on: https://greenhealthycooking.com/slow-cooker-lemon-chicken/
-Grace Bennett
Grace is a third-year undergraduate student at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. She is majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics and will graduate in May of 2022. She is involved in the Dietetics club and Oasis College & Young Adult Ministry. She works for HyVee as an Aisles Online Worker and for Sanford Hospital as a Formula Technician in the NICU. She recently joined Nutrition with Wendi as a Virtual Assistant at the beginning of February. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends or being outside biking, running, hiking, or kayaking! Grace’s Christian faith is very important to her and she is very excited to see what God has in store for her in the coming years!