As many of us who live a busy and active lifestyle know, finding time to make nutritious and tasty meals throughout the day can be a big challenge. Especially when it comes time for dinner. Enter one of the best kitchen appliances a busy athlete can have: the slow cooker.
Meals made with a slow cooker take significantly less time than the average recipe, and the slow cooker does all the hard work of cooking while you go about your day. All you have to do? Chop, open or pour anything you want in your meal into the slow cooker, set a timer (typically 4 to8 hours), and then turn it on to slowly cook your recipe to perfection through the day. After getting home from all the fun had outside, you get to enjoy a pot of tasty food (and if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably have forgotten you made the recipe in the morning, so it’s also a great surprise).
This slow-cooker lentil stew uses Gnarly Collagen Pro to up its nutritional value while harnessing the natural anti-inflammatory qualities of turmeric and ginger to aid in your body’s recovery. Slow cooking also allows you to toss dry lentils straight into the mix – no pre-soaking or boiling required.
If you’re an evening gym-goer who usually comes home from work or school feeling hungry, having a small bowl of this lentil stew is a great pre-workout snack that’ll help you re-energize from the days’ activities. And, consuming collagen protein about an hour prior to your workout helps Collagen Pro work most effectively (we’d call that a win-win). It’ll take you less than 10 minutes to prep this tasty dish in the morning, and you’ll reap the benefits in the evening.
Slow Cooker Lentil Stew with Collagen and Curry
ingredients
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- 4 scoops Gnarly Collagen Pro
- 4 cups water
- 28 oz canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 russet potatoes, chopped
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, finely diced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 1 can coconut milk
directions
- Place all ingredients, except for coconut milk, in the slow cooker. Stir to mix. Set the slow cooker to the “low” setting for 6 hours (going to be out of the house for more time? Don’t worry, it’ll automatically switch to “warm” once the 6 hours is up).
- Once the 6 hours are up, open the can of coconut milk and pour it into the lentil stew. Mix until fully incorporated into the stew. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Serve in a bowl and enjoy with your favorite workout partner!
Recipe serves 4.
Want to learn more about why collagen is so important for athletes? Read this.
