Tag: DASH

Freezer Burritos With Beef and Pinto Beans

A beef and pinto bean burrito cut in half, with foil-wrapped burritos for the freezer stacked behind in a plate.

Nutrition Snapshot

  • About 23 grams of protein and 508 milligrams of sodium in one burrito, about half of what a typical store-bought frozen burrito carries.
  • Pinto beans and the whole-wheat tortilla bring about 6 grams of fiber, and the beef brings iron and zinc.
  • The trade-off: the tortilla is now the saltiest thing in the burrito, and cheddar adds saturated fat. The card shows the figures, and the notes show how to lower both.

Lean ground beef browned with onion and frozen peppers, then two cans of pinto beans, cumin, chili powder, and a small can of tomatoes, cooked down until thick. The filling is divided among eight whole-wheat tortillas with a little cheddar, rolled tight, wrapped in foil or parchment, and frozen.

One comes out of the freezer, unwraps, and goes into the microwave for three minutes, which is exactly what the box of burritos did, at half the salt.

Why These Burritos Are Great for Cutting Sodium Without Giving Anything Up

Most of the sodium in an American day comes from convenience food rather than the salt shaker. Frozen meals, canned soup, deli meat, bread, sauces, and restaurant food all carry salt added at every stage for shelf life and flavor.

A store-bought frozen burrito carries about 700 to 1,100 milligrams of sodium, a third to half of a whole day’s limit, in something eaten standing at the counter.

The homemade version of almost any convenience food cuts the sodium by half or more, because the cook controls the salt and the ingredients are chosen for it.

Same Burrito, Half the Salt

This burrito is the same food as the boxed one: beef, beans, cheese, tortilla, three minutes in the microwave. It carries about 508 milligrams of sodium, because the beans are low-sodium, the tomatoes are no-salt-added, the beef is seasoned with spices instead of a salt-heavy packet, and the cheese is measured. Nothing about it tastes like a compromise.

Where sodium hides in a kitchen, which swaps cut the most, and how to read a label for it, is in Sodium in the Kitchen: Where It Hides and How to Cut It.

Where the Salt Was Hiding

In the boxed burrito, the salt is in the seasoned beef, the canned beans, the cheese sauce, and the tortilla, and each one adds a few hundred milligrams. Here, the beans alone drop from about 400 milligrams a serving to about 100 by choosing the low-sodium can and rinsing, and the tomatoes drop to nearly zero with the no-salt-added can.

The tortilla is the one ingredient that is hard to fix, because bread products carry salt for the dough’s sake, and it is now the saltiest thing in the burrito. A lower-sodium tortilla, where one can be found, takes another 100 milligrams off.

Wrap, Freeze, Reheat

Burritos freeze well because everything in them is cooked and low in water. Wrap each one tightly in foil or parchment, then bag them, and they keep three months. To reheat, unwrap, wrap loosely in a paper towel, and microwave about three minutes from frozen, turning once; for a crisp shell, finish in a dry skillet for two minutes a side.

Which other dishes freeze without losing their texture is in Freezer Cooking That Keeps the Nutrition.

A beef and pinto bean burrito cut in half, with foil-wrapped burritos for the freezer stacked behind in a plate.
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Freezer Burritos With Beef and Pinto Beans

Lean ground beef browned with onion and frozen peppers, simmered with two cans of low-sodium pinto beans, cumin, chili powder, and no-salt-added tomatoes until thick, rolled with a little cheddar into eight whole-wheat tortillas, wrapped, and frozen. Three minutes in the microwave; about 23 grams of protein and about half the sodium of a store-bought frozen burrito.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: beef and bean burritos, freezer burritos, high blood pressure recipes, homemade frozen burritos, low sodium burritos, make ahead burritos, meal prep burritos
Servings: 8 burrito
Calories: 424kcal

Equipment

  • Large skillet
  • Foil or parchment paper
  • Gallon freezer bag

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped bell peppers
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cans (15 ounces each) low-sodium pinto beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes drained
  • black pepper to taste
  • 8 large (10-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
  • 4 ounces sharp cheddar shredded (about 1 cup)
  • salsa and plain Greek yogurt at the table (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 6 minutes. Spoon off any pooled fat.
  • Add the onion and peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano for 1 minute.
  • Add the beans and drained tomatoes. Cook, stirring and mashing some of the beans against the pan, until the filling is thick and holds together, about 8 minutes. Add the pepper. Cool 15 minutes; a hot filling tears the tortillas.
  • Warm the tortillas 20 seconds in the microwave so they roll without cracking. Spoon about 3/4 cup of filling and 2 tablespoons of cheddar down the center of each, fold in the sides, and roll tightly.
  • Wrap each burrito in foil or parchment, put them in a freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, unwrap, wrap loosely in a paper towel, and microwave 3 minutes from frozen, turning once; or thaw overnight and heat 90 seconds. For a crisp shell, finish 2 minutes a side in a dry skillet.

Notes

For comparison, a typical store-bought frozen burrito carries 700 to 1,100 milligrams of sodium; the tortilla is the saltiest part of this one, and a lower-sodium tortilla takes off another 100 milligrams. Lower-fat version: 93 percent lean beef and 2 ounces of cheese, which cuts the saturated fat by about half. Canned beans are convenient; a pound of dried pinto beans cooked ahead and frozen in 1 3/4-cup portions replaces the two cans, costs less, and skips the can lining. Ground turkey or chicken works in place of beef. Add rice to the filling only if the burritos will be eaten within 4 days; frozen rice goes mealy.

Nutrition

Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6.2g | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 579mg | Fiber: 6.4g | Sugar: 3.1g | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 4.9mg | Magnesium: 61mg | Phosphorus: 315mg | Choline: 58mg

Gluten Free

These burritos use whole-wheat tortillas and are not gluten-free as written. Gluten-free tortillas, warmed well so they roll without cracking, make them so; beef, beans, peppers, onion, tomatoes, cheddar, and the spices are naturally free of gluten. For people with celiac disease, also check the chili powder and cumin for wheat flour used as a filler, the canned beans for wheat-based thickeners, and shredded cheddar for wheat-based anti-caking starch.

People who avoid gluten by preference can use any gluten-free tortilla.

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Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

A bowl of rotisserie chicken and wild rice soup in a deep bowl.

Nutrition Snapshot

  • About 37 grams of protein in one bowl, from a generous share of a whole rotisserie chicken.
  • Skin off, low-sodium broth, no cream, and wild rice in place of noodles make it a heart-friendly soup; the vegetables bring potassium and about 4 grams of fiber.
  • The trade-off: rotisserie chicken is seasoned with salt, so even with low-sodium broth this is a moderately salty soup. The card shows the amount, and the notes show how to lower it.

Onion, carrot, and celery softened in the pressure cooker, then wild rice, thyme, a bay leaf, and low-sodium chicken broth, cooked at high pressure until the rice bursts open and turns tender. The meat of a whole rotisserie chicken, skin removed and pulled into pieces, goes in at the end to warm through, with lemon juice and a handful of parsley.

It makes six large bowls and is better on the second day.

Why This Soup Is a Full Protein Meal for Keeping Your Strength After 45

A bowl of soup is usually a small protein meal: a can of chicken noodle carries about 7 grams. That was fine at 25, when 20 grams at a meal was enough to set muscle rebuilding going.

By the mid-forties the amount a meal needs has risen to about 35 to 40 grams, and a meal that falls short of it does little for muscle, no matter how healthy the rest of the bowl is.

Lunch is the meal most adults leave short.

Built to Reach the Number

This soup is built to reach the number. A whole rotisserie chicken across six bowls puts about 37 grams in each one, most of it from the chicken and a little from the wild rice. It is a soup that counts as a meal for muscle, which most soups do not.

The research behind the 35 to 40 grams, and how to set your own figure from your body weight, is in How Much Protein in One Meal Builds Muscle After 40.

Heart-Friendly by Design

The chicken skin comes off, which removes most of the saturated fat. The broth is low-sodium, there is no cream or flour, and the rice is wild rice, an intact grain that digests slowly and carries more protein and fiber than white rice. The carrots, celery, and onion bring potassium, which helps blood pressure. Nothing in the pot is there for show; each choice takes something off the heart’s plate.

The one thing the recipe cannot fix is the salt in a rotisserie chicken, which is injected before roasting. The soup is still moderate in sodium per bowl, and the notes give a lower version with a plain roasted chicken.

The Rotisserie Chicken Does the Work

A rotisserie chicken is the cheapest cooked protein in most stores and the fastest, and one bird yields about four cups of meat. Pull it while it is still warm, when the meat comes off the bone easily, and discard the skin. The carcass can go into a bag in the freezer for stock another day.

Two chickens make a double batch, which freezes well in single portions for two months.

A bowl of rotisserie chicken and wild rice soup in a deep bowl.
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Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Onion, carrot, and celery with wild rice, thyme, and low-sodium broth cooked under pressure, then the pulled meat of a whole rotisserie chicken stirred in with lemon and parsley. Heart-friendly and about 38 grams of protein a bowl.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: heart healthy soup, high protein soup, instant pot chicken wild rice soup, pressure cooker soup, rotisserie chicken soup, wild rice soup
Servings: 6 bowl (about 2 cups)
Calories: 325kcal

Equipment

  • 6-quart electric pressure cooker
  • Ladle

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 medium carrots sliced
  • 3 celery stalks sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup wild rice rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 whole rotisserie chicken (about 2 pounds) skin removed, meat pulled into pieces (about 4 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • salt to taste added at the end

Instructions

  • Set the pressure cooker to sauté. Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in the oil until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and stir 1 minute.
  • Add the wild rice, thyme, bay leaf, and broth. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest.
  • Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the pulled chicken, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper and let it sit 5 minutes to warm through. Taste; add salt only if it needs it.
  • Serve about 2 cups a bowl. Keeps 4 days refrigerated or 2 months frozen in single portions.

Notes

Lower-sodium version: use a plain roasted chicken or 1 1/4 pounds of cooked chicken thighs in place of the rotisserie chicken, which cuts the sodium by about a third. On the stove, simmer the rice in the broth covered for 45 to 55 minutes, until the grains burst, then add the chicken. Frozen mixed vegetables can replace the carrots and celery. The wild rice will keep absorbing broth in the refrigerator; add a splash of water when reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 7.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.7g | Sodium: 430mg | Potassium: 892mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 4g | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2.3mg | Magnesium: 85mg | Phosphorus: 459mg | Choline: 90mg

Gluten Free

Wild rice is naturally free of gluten, as are chicken, vegetables, and lemon. For people with celiac disease, three labels need a check. The rotisserie chicken should list no wheat in its seasoning or injected broth; a plain roasted chicken from the meat case avoids the question. The broth should list no wheat or barley-derived flavoring.

The wild rice bag should carry a gluten-free mark, since some is packed on shared lines. People who avoid gluten by preference can use any brand.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers With Lentils and Peas

Two bell pepper halves stuffed with lentils and peas on a plate in a dinner plate.

Nutrition Snapshot

  • About 20 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber in one stuffed pepper, from the lentils and peas.
  • No meat, little salt, and olive oil in place of butter make this a heart-friendly dinner; the lentils and peppers bring potassium, which helps with blood pressure.
  • The trade-off: none to speak of. The cheese on top adds most of the saturated fat and sodium, and the card shows the amounts.

Brown lentils simmered until tender, then mixed with sautéed onion and garlic, frozen peas, a can of diced tomatoes, cumin, and smoked paprika. The mixture is packed into halved bell peppers, topped with a little shredded cheese, and baked until the peppers are soft and the tops are browned. Two halves make a dinner; the whole pan makes six dinners for about six dollars.

They reheat well and freeze well, and they are the rare budget dinner that looks like company food.

Why Lentils Are the Budget Protein for a Heart-Friendly Dinner

Lentils do two jobs at once for a household on a budget. A pound of dried lentils costs about as much as a single chicken breast and cooks into six cups, with about 18 grams of protein in every cup. Used alone, as here, they are the protein of the dish.

Mixed into ground meat, they stretch a pound of beef across twice as many plates without thinning the protein, because lentils carry their own.

They also happen to be the food most consistently linked to a healthier heart in the research on eating patterns. Lentils and other legumes lower cholesterol, carry potassium that helps blood pressure, and replace meat and its saturated fat on the plate. A dinner built on them is a heart-friendly dinner without any of it being announced.

Where the Protein Comes From

The lentils carry most of the 20 grams in each pepper, the peas and cheese the rest. How lentils compare with other proteins on cost, and how to stretch a pound of meat with them, is in Protein per Dollar: The Cheapest Ways to Eat Enough.

What a Pound of Lentils Costs

Brown or green lentils sell for a dollar or two a pound and keep for a year in the pantry. Unlike beans, they need no soaking, and they cook in about 20 minutes. A pound cooked on Sunday is this dinner, a soup, and a salad.

Cook them in plain water with a bay leaf and salt them at the end, and they hold their shape; canned lentils work in a pinch but turn soft in the filling.

Add Meat or Leave It Out

The recipe is meatless and complete. For a household that wants meat in it, brown a half pound of ground beef or turkey with the onion and use half the lentils. The protein per pepper goes up a little and the cost goes up more. Either way the peppers freeze well, wrapped individually, for two months.

Two bell pepper halves stuffed with lentils and peas on a plate in a dinner plate.
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Stuffed Bell Peppers With Lentils and Peas

Halved bell peppers filled with brown lentils, frozen peas, onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, cumin, and smoked paprika, topped with a little cheese and baked until tender. Meatless, heart-friendly, about a dollar a pepper. About 20 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber a pepper.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean
Keyword: budget dinner, freezer meal, heart healthy dinner, high fiber dinner, lentil stuffed peppers, vegetarian stuffed peppers
Servings: 6 stuffed pepper (2 halves)
Calories: 343kcal

Equipment

  • 9×13 baking dish
  • Medium saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups dried brown or green lentils rinsed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 bell peppers any color, halved lengthwise and seeded
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes with their juice
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar (about 3 ounces)

Instructions

  • Simmer the lentils with the bay leaf in 4 cups of water until tender but not mushy, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and discard the bay leaf.
  • Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Cook the onion in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika and stir 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the peas, salt, and pepper and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in the lentils.
  • Pack the filling into the pepper halves, mounding it. Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil.
  • Bake 30 minutes covered, until the peppers are tender. Uncover, top with the cheese, and bake 10 minutes more, until browned.
  • Serve 2 halves a person. Keeps 4 days refrigerated; wrap halves individually to freeze up to 2 months.

Notes

For a household that wants meat, brown 1/2 pound ground beef or turkey with the onion and use 1 cup of lentils. Dairy-free: skip the cheese and top with a spoon of the lentil filling’s own liquid and a few pumpkin seeds. Any leftover cooked lentils go into soup or a salad; a pound of dried lentils cooks into about 6 cups. Lower-sodium version: skip the cheese, which cuts the sodium by about a third.

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 8.8g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Sodium: 442mg | Potassium: 902mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 12g | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 5.3mg | Magnesium: 66mg | Phosphorus: 303mg | Choline: 73mg

Gluten Free

Lentils, peppers, peas, tomatoes, onion, spices, and cheese are naturally free of gluten, and there is no rice, bread, or flour in the filling. For people with celiac disease, choose dried lentils labeled gluten-free, since some are packed on lines shared with wheat.

Check spice blends for wheat flour and shredded cheese for wheat-based anti-caking starch. People who avoid gluten by preference can use any lentils.

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A Pot of White Beans for the Week

Nutrition Snapshot

  • About 6 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein in a half-cup portion, from the beans alone.
  • Bean fiber is the soft kind that holds water, which is what a slowed digestion after 65 responds to, where bran often does not.
  • The trade-off: none to speak of. Cooked from dried, these beans carry about a quarter of the sodium of canned beans, and the card shows the amount.

A pound of dried white beans, cannellini or great northern, soaked overnight and simmered slowly with half an onion, garlic, a bay leaf, and a spoon of olive oil. They are done when the beans are creamy inside and the liquid has thickened, and salt goes in for the last twenty minutes.

The pot makes about six cups, which is twelve half-cup portions: some for the refrigerator, most for the freezer in single portions with a little of their liquid.

Across the week, a portion warms into a side dish with olive oil and pepper, goes into soup, mashes onto toast, or turns into a cold salad with lemon. A pound of dried beans costs a fraction of the same beans in cans, and it carries no can lining and almost no sodium.

Why a Pot of Beans Is Good for Digestion After 65

Constipation becomes common after 65, for ordinary reasons: the gut slows a little with age, people move less, drink less, and often take medications that slow things further. The standard advice is more fiber, and the kind matters.

Bran and other coarse fiber add bulk that a slowed gut has to move, and many older adults find it makes the problem worse. Soft fiber that dissolves and holds water is the kind that helps, and it is found in beans, oats, cooked vegetables, and fruit.

White beans are one of the richest sources of that soft fiber, about 6 grams in a half cup, and cooked until creamy they are as gentle as food gets. The fiber works with fluid, so the beans are better in a soup or with a glass of water than eaten dry.

Start with a half cup a day if beans are new, and let the gut adjust over a week or two.

How much fiber a day calls for, how to increase it without discomfort, and which other foods carry the soft kind, is in Fiber Math: Thirty Grams a Day From Real Food.

A pot of cooked white beans with two small containers filled beside it in the pan.
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A Pot of White Beans for the Week

A pound of dried cannellini or great northern beans simmered with onion, garlic, bay, and olive oil until creamy, then portioned for the refrigerator and freezer. Twelve half-cup portions, each with about 6 grams of gentle fiber and 9 grams of protein.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean
Keyword: batch cooking beans, freezer beans, high fiber side, how to cook dried beans, pot of beans, white beans from scratch
Servings: 12 half cup with a little liquid
Calories: 140kcal

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or heavy 4-quart pot
  • Freezer containers or freezer bags

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried white beans (cannellini or great northern) rinsed and sorted
  • 1/2 onion in one piece
  • 3 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • water to cover by 2 inches

Instructions

  • Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight, or at least 8 hours. Drain. (Skipping the soak works; add 30 minutes to the cooking time.)
  • Put the beans in a heavy pot with the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and olive oil. Add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then lower to a bare simmer.
  • Simmer partly covered, stirring now and then and adding hot water if the beans show, until the beans are creamy inside with no chalkiness, 60 to 90 minutes. Old beans take longer.
  • Add the salt for the last 20 minutes of cooking. Remove the onion and bay leaf. Taste; the liquid should be lightly seasoned and a little thickened.
  • Cool in the pot. Refrigerate up to 5 days in their liquid, or freeze in half-cup or 1 3/4-cup portions with a little liquid for up to 6 months.

Notes

Ways to use a portion: warm with olive oil, black pepper, and lemon as a side; stir into any soup for the last 10 minutes; mash on toast with lemon and garlic; toss cold with lemon, olive oil, and parsley as a salad. A 1 3/4-cup frozen portion replaces one 15-ounce can in any recipe on this site. Beans are gentler when eaten with fluid, so serve them in soup or with a glass of water. Start with a half cup a day if beans are new to you.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 1.5g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 691mg | Fiber: 5.9g | Sugar: 1.1g | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 4mg | Magnesium: 73mg | Phosphorus: 117mg | Choline: 26mg

Gluten Free

Dried beans, onion, garlic, bay, and olive oil are naturally free of gluten. For people with celiac disease, dried beans are the one ingredient to check. Some are packed on lines shared with wheat and barley, so choose a bag labeled gluten-free, and rinse and sort the beans before soaking. People who avoid gluten by preference can use any dried beans.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew With Cabbage

A bowl of slow-cooker chicken stew with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes in a small bowl.

Nutrition Snapshot

  • About 38 grams of protein in one bowl, from a generous portion of chicken thigh.
  • Cabbage, carrots, and potatoes bring about 8 grams of fiber, and the broth and vegetables make it a filling bowl for its calories.
  • The trade-off: none to speak of on salt. Made with low-sodium broth, this bowl has about half the sodium of a canned or frozen chicken stew, and the card shows the amount.

Thawed boneless chicken thighs go into the slow cooker with a small head of cabbage cut in wedges, carrots, onion, potatoes, garlic, thyme, and low-sodium chicken broth. Eight hours later the chicken pulls apart with a fork, the cabbage has gone sweet and soft, and the broth has thickened a little from the potatoes. Salt goes in at the end, to taste, after everything has cooked down.

One pot makes six bowls. Eat two and freeze four in single containers, and there are four weeknight dinners that reheat in the microwave in five minutes.

Why This Stew Is Great for a Freezer Full of Weeknight Dinners

Most of the sodium Americans eat comes from food that arrives already made: canned soups and stews, frozen dinners, deli meat, rotisserie chicken, jarred sauces. The salt shaker is a small part of it. A can of chicken stew carries a large share of a day’s sodium in one bowl, because salt is the cheapest way to make a canned food taste like anything.

The same stew made at home, with low-sodium broth and salt added at the end to taste, carries about half as much, and often less. Nothing else about the dish changes. It is the ordinary dish with the extra sodium left out, and anyone on a medically low-sodium plan should still check the card against their target.

Why Salt Goes In Last

Salt added at the start of a long cook cannot be tasted until the end, so people add more. Salt added at the end, a quarter teaspoon at a time, seasons the finished stew with less.

Where the rest of a day’s sodium hides, and how to read the number on the recipe card, is in Sodium in the Kitchen: Where It Hides and How to Read the Card.

Freeze It in Single Bowls

Stew freezes well because the chicken, the broth, and the soft vegetables all hold up to freezing and reheating. Cool the stew, ladle it into single-serving containers with the lid a little loose, and freeze. Label the lid with the date. It keeps three months.

Reheat one container in the microwave, covered, for four to five minutes, stirring once, or overnight in the refrigerator and then on the stove. The potatoes soften a little more after freezing; if that bothers you, freeze the stew without them and add a cooked potato when you reheat. What else freezes well and what does not is in Freezer Cooking That Keeps the Nutrition.

Thighs Stay Moist, Breast Does Not

Chicken breast cooked eight hours in a slow cooker turns dry and stringy. Thighs stay moist and pull apart in soft pieces, and frozen boneless, skinless thighs are one of the cheapest cuts in the store. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before they go in; a slow cooker heats too slowly to take meat straight from the freezer safely.

A bowl of slow-cooker chicken stew with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes in a small bowl.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Stew With Cabbage

Boneless chicken thighs, cabbage wedges, carrots, potatoes, onion, and thyme in low-sodium broth, cooked all day in the slow cooker. Freezes in single bowls. About 36 grams of protein a bowl with about half the sodium of canned stew.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 20 minutes
Course: dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken and cabbage, crockpot chicken, freezer meal, low sodium stew, make ahead dinner, slow cooker chicken stew
Servings: 6 bowl (about 2 cups)
Calories: 384kcal

Equipment

  • 6-quart slow cooker
  • Single-serving freezer containers

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs, thawed
  • 1 small head green cabbage (about 2 pounds) cut in 8 wedges through the core
  • 4 medium carrots cut in 1-inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 pounds small potatoes halved (about 4 cups)
  • 1 large onion cut in wedges
  • 4 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt added at the end to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or the green tops of the carrots for serving

Instructions

  • Put the onion, garlic, carrots, and potatoes in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Lay the chicken thighs on top and scatter with the thyme, pepper, and bay leaves.
  • Tuck the cabbage wedges around and over the chicken. Pour in the broth and drizzle the olive oil over the cabbage. The pot will be full; the cabbage cooks down.
  • Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or on high 4 hours, until the chicken pulls apart easily and the cabbage is soft.
  • Remove the bay leaves. Break the chicken into large pieces with two forks. Stir in salt a quarter teaspoon at a time, tasting, until the stew tastes seasoned; 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon is usually right.
  • Serve about 2 cups a bowl with parsley on top.
  • To freeze: cool, ladle into single-serving containers, and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat covered in the microwave 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once.

Notes

Chicken breast can be used but will be drier; cut the cooking time to 6 hours on low. The potatoes soften further after freezing; for firmer potatoes, leave them out of the pot and add a cooked, cooled potato to each bowl when reheating. Cooked and cooled potatoes form resistant starch, which is gentler on blood sugar, so a potato cooked ahead and reheated in the stew is a good choice for anyone watching their blood sugar. For a thicker stew, mash a few of the potatoes into the broth at the end.

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 9.8g | Saturated Fat: 2.4g | Sodium: 499mg | Potassium: 1429mg | Fiber: 7.9g | Sugar: 9g | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 3.7mg | Magnesium: 90mg | Phosphorus: 458mg | Choline: 122mg

Gluten Free

Chicken, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, and thyme are naturally free of gluten, and this stew is thickened by the potatoes rather than flour. For people with celiac disease, the broth is the ingredient to check: choose one labeled gluten-free, since some broths and bouillon cubes list wheat or yeast extract from barley. People who avoid gluten by preference can use any low-sodium broth.

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