Reddit reviews Hamilton Beach 33182 8-Quart Oval Slow Cooker, Black (Discontinued)

Unless you want something with a lot of timer/electronic stuff, no way do you need to spend $150 on a slow cooker, even then, the electronic stuff will be the first thing to break, so spending that much money will not guarantee a long lasting crock.

I bought this crock pot at Walmart about 15 years ago for $20, and it's still going strong. I bought this larger crock about 5 years ago for maybe $30. The only reason I bought the second crock was my family's appetite outgrew the smaller crock and I wanted a wider oval crock that could roast larger cuts of meat more easily, the first one is perfect for soup and chili. I'm happy with both crocks, for basic slow cookers without timers or electronics, I think most brands are pretty equal.

Other than a timer, there is really no bells and whistles on a crock that are worth it. Stuff like combo fondue pot/crock pot are just gimmicks, don't get any of the buffet service style mini crock sets unless you plan on having a lot of dinner parties, crocks with dividers for making several different dishes at once look convenient, but unless you plan on making several course dinners frequently, I think they are pretty pointless. To me, the whole point of a slow cooker is that it is simple, just throw stuff in and walk away. Anything added to the slow cooker that makes it more work is useless in my opinion

If you haven't already bought one, I just got this one.

It's huge, well reviewed, cheap, and not ugly.

I got all my info from websites and podcasts for free. After being Paleo six months I bought Robb Wolf's book out of gratitude,.. as pretty much everything was free online.

Source I like;

http://robbwolf.com
and

http://chriskresser.com
and


http://www.marksdailyapple.com
probably good for recipes;

http://everydaypaleo.com

If you like podcasts - try the guys above and then also look into ThisWeekInPaleo. He has changed the name a few times but all the content is good.

You may need to show some of this to your mom if she is going to be cooking,.. mainly because she may still believe that saturated fat is good, grains are bad as the government has been telling us wrongly for so many decades.

Cooking is actually easy if you learn to simplify and trust your food.

Here is nearly every recipe you need to get started;

1. Buy good protein from a local farm if you can;
   grass fed beef, lamb, bison, find a local farm that sells real chicken (so good!)
   
   
2. Buy local veggies from a local farm market.
   
   
3. Get a slow cooker. This is the first one that came up in google don't know if it is a good one.
   
   
   
4. Place meat and veggies in slow cooker, add salt, add water or broth, turn on, go to work/school.
   
   
5. Come home, eat.
   
   
   Here is every other recipie you need to get started;
   
6. Buy good protein from a local farm if you can; grass fed beef, lamb, bison, find a local farm that sells real chicken (so good!)
   
   
7. Buy local veggies from a local farm market.
   
   
8. Buy good butter (or if not using dairy) buy coconut oil.
   
   
9. Put butter and meat in iron pan on low-ish heat until it is pretty much cooked. (your mom has an old one she no longer uses on a high shelf. ;)
   
   
10. Add veggies for a bit.
    
    
11. Eat.
    
    

• The morale is that people think cooking is hard because we think it is complicated. But once you are cooking simple paleo foods - every recipie (until you decide to experiment) is basically; combine Meat, Veg, Fat and Heat - then Eat.
  
  If this experiment works for you let me know if you think of it. Or if anything works. Luckily my skin issues are minor compared to most people - but I would love to find ways to improve them without drug/steroid interventions.

Cooking in a hotel room is going to be kind of tricky. I found a
Crock pot and a Rice Cooker.

Edit: Actually I am kind broke right now myself. Good luck with everything.

This would definitely come in handy for easy meals!

This because cats