Slow Cooker/ Crockpot Turkey And Sweet Potato Stew

A slow cooker (or 'crockpot' as it is sometimes billed) should be top of your 'to purchase' list if you live with IBD. They are so great for days when you are low on energy; as you can usually prepare the meal the evening before or on the morning itself. It is usually a case of just popping everything into the slow cooker/crockpot and letting it do the work for you! It means you can guarantee you have a healthy, hot meal to come home to after a busy day and that you won't be tempted to eat fast food that might make you flare-up. There's plenty of meat and veggie combinations to be had but I love this turkey and sweet potato stew version so much that I make it every few weeks! It's naturally gluten and dairy-free too!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients for slow cooker turkey and sweet potato stew:

• 4 turkey breasts or any leftover turkey from your Christmas dinner will do just as well! Alternatively, chicken breasts work fine with this dish too.
• 2 carrots
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 potatoes
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 3 tablespoon of paprika
• 2 tablespoon of turmeric
• 2 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 3 garlic cloves

Adapting the dish for your needs for Crohn's or UC:

This dish is fairly simple and easy to digest. Some people on the low residue diet struggle with veggies, so you could switch the tin of chopped tomatoes for a smoother passata since this will be less fibrous. Although sweet potatoes are a vegetable, they are quite easy to digest so you could double up on potatoes if you prefer. If you follow the low FODMAP diet, you could switch the garlic cloves for garlic-infused olive oil and use a smaller portion of sweet potatoes. Finally, if chopping and peeling vegetables is too much for high fatigue/achy joint days, I will often just use a bag of frozen vegetable chunks in the slow cooker instead. These release a little bit of water when cooking, so if you use frozen veg it may be worth adjusting how much water you add to the slow cooker.

How to make the stew:

This dish is super easy to make.

1. If using fresh turkey, dice into chunks and add to the slow cooker pot.
2. Now pour in your tinned tomatoes.
3. Chop and peel potato, carrots, and sweet potato into small chunks and add to the pot (or just throw in your frozen veg!)
4. Add water slowly, mixing with the tinned tomatoes.
5. If you add too much water or find the mix becomes too watery during cooking, simply add a sprinkle of gluten-free flour to thicken.
6. Peel and chop garlic or add in your garlic-infused oil.
7. Add to mix with all other spices.
8. Spoon through the mix so the meat and vegetables are completely covered.
9. Leave on slow for approximately 8 hours and then serve!

I hope you enjoy this slow cooker dish as much as I do!