9 Healthy Crockpot Recipes You Need to Try

When the weather outside is frightful, stay inside and serve up something delightful!

The colder months are the perfect time of year to put your slow cooker recipes to good use! Slow cookers (also known as "Crockpots") make homemade meals a cinch—simply fill them with your ingredients in the morning, and by the time you get home from work, dinner is ready to be served! We rounded up some of the best healthy, hearty, and delicious slow cooker recipes you've got to try.

1. Lumberjackie Soup

This vegan soup is an amazing way to enjoy winter root vegetables. Plus, it's packed with vitamins and antioxidants to help you fend off winter colds. "This recipe was created while on a camping trip when we threw whatever we had into a pot and slow cooked it over the fire for hours—it came out wonderfully so I've used this recipe many times over the years," says Chef Lauren Hooks of Lithe Foods.

RELATED: Make honey bran muffins to serve as the perfect after-meal treat.

Ingredients:

7 1/2 cups rutabaga
6 cups carrots
1 1/2 cups celery
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
6 cups fresh spinach
2 cups cooked chickpeas (roast them for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees)
5 teaspoons garlic powder
6 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup organic Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes
18 cups water

Directions:
Roughly chop rutabaga, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Place vegetables in slow cooker with water, precooked chickpeas, garlic powder, black pepper, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and vegetable bullion cubes. Cook in Slow Cooker for approximately 6 hours (or until rutabaga and carrots are soft).

Finish by adding in fresh spinach, allow to cook down, and stir to incorporate into soup.

This recipe yields approx 21 cups (great for freezing and reheating or for feeding a crowd).

Recipe courtesy of: Lauren Hooks of Lithe Foods

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