Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

A slow cooker cookbook designed around the principles of the Glycemic Index? The Low GI Slow Cooker: Delicious and Easy Dishes Made Healthy with the Glycemic Index is an interesting read. It jumps in quickly and explains why you should care about the glycemic index (you should no matter how you eat!) and how choosing healthier options you can regulate your blood sugar more efficiently. The book includes glycemic ratings for all the recipes, along with nutritional stats, which for those diabetic is a huge issue. At the end of the book is an easy to read section covering common ingredients and their GI ranking.

The book is mostly unprocessed foods, with only a few recipes using any canned ingredients, which of course I picked a recipe that uses cans, but we are talking canned tomatoes which are not overly processed. And there is nothing lazier  (and smarter!) than letting a slow cooker do all the work for you, producing a rich, hearty sauce that calls to top spaghetti squash if you are truly good, or whole wheat spaghetti.

Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce (From page 142)

Ingredients:

• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes, crushed (if whole, crush with a fork), preferably unsalted
• ¼ cup tomato paste (I used a 6 ounce can and just added all of it)
• 1 cup yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker, and stir well.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Check periodically and stir. Before serving, remove and discard bay leaves.

Makes a quart+, enough for 1 pound of pasta.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a copy of the book for potential review.