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Crockpots are an easy way to make a delicious, healthy dinner; you just have to put everything in the pot in the morning, turn on the heat and leave it for the day.

The cooler weather is upon us and warm, aromatic comfort food is more appealing. Healthy crockpot meals are generally easy to make and the smell is amazing when you come home hungry later in the day. It takes some planning, as you need to put your items in the pot at least six to 10 hours before you eat it.

The preparation varies depending on the ingredients. You can purchase a crockpot at most department stores (Canadian Tire, Walmart, Superstore, The Bay, etc.) for anywhere from $20 to $70; you can spend more for added features, but all you need is a couple heat settings and a few time settings.

There are a few basic steps to just about every crockpot meal.

First, you need water or some kind of broth. You can make a broth with water, salt, pepper and other seasonings of your choice. You can also buy low sodium stock or broth and keep it as is or add water and more seasonings. If you are making soup, your liquid should fill at least half. You can always add more liquid at the end. If you are making stew, it may be more like a quarter of the pot and chili requires barely any liquid.

Next, you need to add meat. Some people pre-cook the meat but this is not necessary. You do not need to chop your meat or divide your ground meat. When it is done cooking, you can insert a wooden or long plastic spoon and break up your meat.

Do not put meat with bones it in, that’s too much hassle. Choose lean meats such as poultry, extra lean ground beef and big game such as deer, moose and bear. Fish in a crockpot can be done but it’s not recommended.

You may choose to add a healthy grain. Make sure you have enough water to do this. If you put 10 cups of liquid into your soup, you could add one to two cups of dry grains and still have lots of liquid to make it soupy.

Healthy grains that are whole such as brown rice, wild rice, quinoa and barley are great too. I do not suggest adding pasta or couscous until the last hour or so of the cooking.

Next, you can put in dry beans, peas or lentils. There are so many to choose from. Some lentils or peas will cook into mush so if you want a thicker soup, or something to thicken your chili or stew; this is a good, high protein, low fat addition.

An easy way to add vegetables with no fuss is to buy a medley of your choice in one or two frozen bags and dump it in. If you want something for extra aromatics, you can add freshly chopped onions, garlic and other potent foods.

If you want, add extra herbs and spices and sprinkle a bit more salt and pepper on top of your vegetables.

You can stir everything in or just leave it to brew and then stir at the end of the day.

All you have to do next is serve and enjoy.