Super Fast Slow Cooker Paleo Meatloaf

Fast prep, super moist, even better leftovers…

I am all about easy recipes here, and this one fits the bill for easy and cost effective. While shopping I noticed a sale on ground chicken. No offense to ground chicken, but it simply isn’t the most interesting meat to cook with. The good news is that it works great for a meatloaf, which in turn works great for all sorts of easy leftovers. I personally cut mine into spears and eat cold. I like finger foods. You can just as well use ground beef or pork (or a mixture) for your slow cooker meatloaf, yet do use a very lean cut. The extra fat will simply cook off in the slow cooker anyways. This is a good recipe to get the kids in the kitchen to help with, especially for when you need to mix all the ingredients together by hand. Make the children get messy I say! Also “icing” the loaf with the tomato sauce is kind of fun. Yes, I am completely aware that I have an unnatural enthusiasm for my slow cooker.

What you need:

• 2 pounds of lean ground meat (ground chicken works really well for this, as would lean turkey).
• 2 eggs, beaten.
• 4 ounces of bacon, crisped and chopped.
• 1/2 of a small white onion, small dice.
• 4 green onions, chopped.
• 2 stacks of celery, sliced thinly or chopped.
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 2 tsp of smoked paprika
• 2 tsp of garlic powder

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 1 small can of tomato paste (can also use 1/4 cup of tomato sauce).
• 2 to 3 tbsp of dijon mustard.
• 2 tsp of smoked paprika.
• 2 tsp of garlic powder.
• 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar.

How you assemble your loaf of meat:

1. Cook your bacon until brown and crispy, then chop it up good.
2. In a large bowl combine your ground meat, beaten eggs, bacon, veggies and seasonings.
3. Mix everything together by hand, forming a loaf.
4. Place your loaf in your slow cooker and press it down so that the top is flat and you have about of inch of space between the loaf and the sides of the slow cooker.
5. Mix your tomato sauce ingredients together and spoon them over the loaf. Use a spoon or a knife to frost the loaf’s top as evenly as possible.
6. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
7. Post in comments any modifications you make to this recipe or awesome ways you use the leftovers in your lunches!

What is Paleo Diet?

Diet based on lean meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. This is based on Dr. Cordain’s “Paleo Diet”. The Paleo Diet mimics the types of foods a person (hunter-gatherer) ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution. This period of time comprises 99% of human history and is the diet to which the human species is genetically adapted. 

Principles of Paleo Diets only eat foods that can be picked or hunted in nature, avoid foods that cannot be eaten raw, and prefer meat products from animals fed their natural food . In practice, this translates into the following: 

• Avoid sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and refined seed and vegetable oils as these are not available in nature, and only become available after heavy industrial processing.
• Avoid grains (particularly wheat), legumes (particularly soy), and starchy tubers (such as potatoes) as these foods cannot be eaten raw. 
• Prefer grass-fed and grass-finished beef over grain-fed beef.
• Prefer pasture-raised poultry over conventionally raised poultry.
• Natural fats like butter , coconut oil , lard , and tallow are generally considered neutral but superior to refined seed and vegetable oils.

Note that Paleo diets do not prescribe 
that all foods be eaten raw. 

Foods that cannot be eaten raw should be avoided, but remaining 
foods may be eaten either cooked or raw. 

Benefits of Paleo Diets

The adherents of Paleo diets have reported the following improvements in their health markers:
• Reduction of body fat percentage and increase in muscle mass with no change in exercise.
•Reduction of fasting blood glucose levels, in some cases allowing for the elimination of diabetes medication.
• Reduction in triglyceride levels and increase in HDL levels, in some cases allowing for the elimination of cholesterol medication.
• Reduction in blood pressure, in some cases allowing for the elimination of blood pressure medication.
These health markers are the key predictors of chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. This is why it is important for us to share the Paleo wisdom with the public, and help combat the chronic disease epidemic that is sweeping the industrialized world today.