Time-saving Recipes For Busy Writers: low carb slow cooker beef stew

We all know it's difficult to juggle our writing time and home life, so why not cut corners without cutting nutritional corners? Get out your slow cooker and be prepared to make life just a little easier (freeing up some time works for me).

Slow cookers (crockpots) are great for busy (or lazy!) people. Just chop up the ingredients for slow cooker beef stew the night before you want dinner – in the morning turn on the slow cooker and by evening you’ll have a hot stew! Slow cooking makes meat melt-in-your-mouth tender, so use the cheapest cuts available, they’ll taste great. Typical slow cooker recipes use potatoes, carrots, and other starchy vegetables, but you can make a low-carb version by using some of the green vegetables suggested below.

This recipe uses a packet of slow cooker beef stew mix, which unfortunately contains a small amount of carbohydrate as a thickener. I’m working on a no-carb slow cooker mix and will let you know what I come up with! You can find slow cooker packets in your grocery store alongside the packages of powdered gravy mix.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (1 kg) of stew beef, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, cut in large chunks
• 1 package of slow cooker beef stew mix
• 4-6 cups of low-starch green vegetables (or however many fit in your slow cooker!) Try broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, celery, mushrooms, and leeks. Other green vegetables, like peppers, zucchini, spinach etc. tend to overcook and get mushy in a slow cooker.

Directions

• The night before you want to eat dinner, chop the meat, onion and vegetables into large bite-sized pieces and add them to the ceramic bowl of the slow cooker.
• Mix the slow cooker beef stew mix with water according to package directions and add to the meat and vegetables.
• Cover the ceramic bowl of the slow cooker and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning, put the ceramic bowl in the slow cooker, cover with the lid, and turn it on low.
• Cook on low for about 8 hours (9 or 10 hours is OK too if that’s how long you’re gone for work). If you are in a rush you can cook it on high for 4 hours, but the meat won’t be quite as tender.
• Serve with cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower.

Low-carb slow cooker beef stew	Serves 6
Calories	500
Total Fat	34.8g
Total Carbohydrate	12.2g
Dietary Fibre	3.4g
Sugars	1.0g
Protein	33.9g