I’ve been searching for a good slow cooker for some time. As well as convenience and of course taste, quality and safe materials are always a big factor when it comes to cooking materials. So when I came across the Vitaclay crockpot at the recent Weston A Price conference I was excited! And the more I read about this crockpot the more excited I got. Let me first share a yummy recipe and then I’ll share why I love this crock!
Vitaclay crockpot beef stew
Place 2 lbs (1 kg) of uncooked beef cubes into the bottom of the crock
Place 2 chopped onions and 4 cloves chopped garlic on top of this
Place 1 lb (1/2 kg) of chopped carrots and 4-6 chopped celery sticks on top of the onions/garlic
Don‘t stir but rather leave the veggies on top so they kind of steam and don’t get too mushy.
Mix the following and pour over everything: 4 cups water or beef stock, plus 2 T olive oil, 1T sea salt and 2 T paprika.
Place the lid on the crock, close the cover and hit SLOW COOKING. The default is STEW /2 hours. The clock will begin the countdown from 2 hours to 0. It will beep when the 2 hours is up and will switch to warming mode.
Cook for 2 hours – the meat will be super-tender and the veggies will be nicely cooked. You’ll start to smell the wonderful aroma of home-cooked stew after about an hour of cooking.
Why I love my Vitaclay slow cooker:
- the ease of use and they look really great
- the aroma and flavor of slow-cooked is awesome, plus those gorgeous home-cooked aromas get your digestive juices going
- it is non-toxic and doesn’t contain Teflon or lead. I’m always looking for good products that I can share with my clients and wanted to be sure about this one. Of course I turned to Debra Lynn Dadd, author of Home Safe Home (one of my absolute favorite books) and found this very useful information about the best non-toxic slow cooker: “This is a nontoxic slow cooker”;“only one I know of that does not have a finish that could contain lead”; “made from zisha clay, which is a famous Chinese clay, known for its purity. It has been used for centuries to make teapots because of their ability to enhance the flavor, aroma and texture of tea. Zisha clay is also structurally strong without glazing and does not crack when subjected to large and sudden temperature differences.”
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They are tested for purity after they are made. I did have some concerns about pollutants from China and found this comment by Dadd in the above blog: “The raw materials for zisha clay are buried deep underground, sometimes under heavy sedimentary rock formations. Processing of raw material involves removing the clay from the from it’s underground storage, drying it under the sun, and then pulverizing the dried clay pieces into fine particles. The clay powder is then passed through a screen to isolate clay particles of the finest grit size. The screened clay is mixed with water to a thick paste and vacuum processed to remove air bubbles and some of the moisture. The quality and quantity of water is critical in that it determines the quality of the stoneware products produced. After this processing, the clay is then ready to be formed into pots.
Because the clay is mined from underground, it would not be affected by air or water pollution in the region. However, the water it is mixed with could add pollutants to the finished product. Since the quality of the water affects the quality of the finished stoneware, it’s very likely that good quality water would be used.
I called Vita-Clay and was told that their pots are tested for toxics AFTER they are made, to ensure that no toxic substances are present that might leach into food.”
Since I am doing a review of this product I do have one negative comment: There is a definite new burning rubber smell the first time you use it. I did a quick google search and was told it’s typical. Fortunately the smell faded in about 10 minutes. I would have loved the supplier to have done something in the factory to prevent us having to smell this!
In the interests of full disclosure, the above Vitaclay link is my affiliate link but I only recommend products that I would use myself. I do hope you enjoy it as much as we are enjoying it!
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Trudy Scott (CN), Certified Nutritionist is the founder of www.everywomanover29.com, a thriving nutrition practice with a focus on food, mood and women’s health. Trudy educates women about the amazing healing powers of food and nutrients and helps them find natural solutions for anxiety and other mood problems. Trudy’s goal for all her clients (and all women): “You can be your healthiest, look your best and feel on-top-of-the-world emotionally!”
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Just bought a new crock pot, wish I would have known about this one. Next time! Great recipe, thanks, Trudy.
This sounds amazing — both the recipe and slow cooker!!! Thanks for the tips, Trudy. 🙂
Hi Trudy,
Thanks for the review! I can’t wait to try out this mouth-watering simple enough recipe this weekend! I also learned to activate GABA in brown rice with VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker- here are the steps:
1. Wash your brown rice then transfer to VitaClay pot
2. Add filtered water to cover your brown rice about an inch above
3. Push “Yogurt” function key on VitaClay to sprout for 7 or 8 hours
4. Rinse brown rice before cooking
5. Cook as usual with a little less water, because rice will have absorbed some of the soaking water
6. Push “rice cooking” on regular setting
7. Your brown rice will be ready in about 30 minutes!
Then follow by your recommended steps: Add the above to a casserole dish with your choice of spices and optional chopped onion and garlic. Enjoy with a curry dish, cold with veggies and salad dressing for a summer salad or however you like your rice!
Thanks Vitaclay/Michelle
This sounds great and would go very well with the beef stew! I’ve blogged about GABA rice (already sprouted) https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/recipe-sprouted-gaba-rice/ so it’s great to have the steps for doing it ourselves in the Vitaclay. I’ll have to try this tomorrow
Thanks for commenting and for a wonderful product! I look forward to seeing you and your great products at the next nutrition conference!
Trudy
It came from your inspiration.. Yum, I feel hungry for that meal now…:-)
Cheers!
That is so great to hear! well done for creating the new recipe and so great to hear I inspired it – I love it! Lets call it “Trudy’s Sprouted Antianxiety GABA Rice”
I have a new recipe book “brewing” in me – let’s include it there
Trudy
I gave my crock pot (and my rice cooker) away when I got one of these–no more lugging a huge crock pot out from under the counter–this baby is gorgeous and sits on my counter all the time–I use it almost every day, and I love making broth in it. Best. cooker. Ever.
Leah
I agree, it is gorgeous – and functional too. I am looking forward to trying it for broth… thanks for sharing
Trudy
Thanks for the review – especially what it’s made of. Knowing what’s safe with pots and pans is just as important as the food we put in it.
Yes Doreen, very important and unfortunately it’s not something many people consider! I really hate Teflon – it’s so common and so very bad! (birds will die if in a kitchen with a heated pot coated with Teflon) But it’s used so much because of the convenience. Now, this slow cooker offers convenience and safety!
Trudy
Yikes! I didn’t know Teflon was bad… I’m wondering if when my pots are being cleaned and I’m seeing silver coming through if that means the Teflon is coming off into my food. Will have to check out the book Home Safe Home. Thanks for the recommendations Trudy, you’re always making me healthier!
Hi Jessica
Yes that’s what happening, but that is just one of the bad things about Teflon. Even if it’s not coming off in pieces, when you heat it, it releases toxins that really affect some people. Here is a great summary from one of my favorite sites http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon. And here is info from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene
It’s really incredible to me that it’s still on the market! and which is why I get so excited to find safe cookware like the Vitaclay!
Trudy
I have a crock pot Trudy, but this looks really interesting and pretty snazzy! Glad you checked into the safety of it! My crockpot liner is ceramic so that seems ok, do you feel otherwise? Of course we would never use those nonstick teflon coated ones!
Hi Sheila
As I’m sure you are aware, there is some controversy about lead in ceramic (this is a good summary http://www.womensvoices.org/2012/02/06/is-there-lead-in-slow-cookers-and-is-it-getting-into-your-food/) and I suggest that folks check out their particular brand by contacting the manufacturer and even testing for lead levels.
Trudy
My tummy is rumbling Trudy – it looks delicious. Love the idea of a natural pot also, thanks for sharing!
THANKS for sharing – I love nothing better in Winter than a warm vegetable and lentil stew.
Yes Heidi, this would be great in the Vitaclay too!
Trudy,
You are fantastic! We were just speaking about purchasing a crock pot. I will need to check with Dr. Patty Ann and see if she already bought one or not. Otherwise I will be clicking your link. And thanks for these recipes – keep them coming!
You are welcome Mitch!
Great recipe, Trudy, thanks for sharing!
Also, thanks for the links on problems with Teflon coatings…we were just talking about this the other day.
One of our New Year’s Resolutions was to do way more home cooking and this looks like a great tool!
Phil Dyer
Chief Visionary | Broughton Advisory
http://broughtonadvisory.com
I’m so pleased to hear this Phil
Hmmm … Our crockpot is old and to be honest, I never really learned how to use it. I’ve been wanting to get a new one, especially since it has been so cold. Thanks for this timely tip and recipe. I just may have to get myself one of these!
Jennifer – you’ll love the Vitaclay and it’s so easy to use too. And yes, lovely for winter stews and soups! Enjoy!
Trudy
YUM!! I love slow cookers in the winter. Mine recently broke. (OK, I dropped it!!) So, I’m in the market… I’ll definitely check this one out! Thanks! Katherine.
Thanks for the recipe and review, Trudy! I’m always looking for simple and healthy meals to cook.
read the article ready to toss my teflon, do you had a resource for what to replace them with. Is it in that book home safe home? What kinds (brands) of pans should we be looking at? Thanks! ps I’ve been making Green smoothies every day and I’m obsessed with them. Kale, spinach and then either/and blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, bananas, red grapes, and always a scoop of fresh pressed peanut butter & a little almond milk. YUM!!!
Hi Greenlight Coach!
Look for glass, stainless steel and cast-iron. Home Safe Home is a great resource for brands.
Enjoy those smoothies – they sound delicious! and don’t forget some protein like some whey powder or have some protein like eggs at the same meal. I also like to add coconut milk or coconut oil (melted in warm water) so you’re getting some good fat to keep blood sugar even for longer
Trudy
Thank you Trudy. Off to Williams Sonoma to buy stainless steel. Unfortunately it takes 20 years to get PFOA or C8 out of your blood
Do you ladies know about the stainless steel GOWISE pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker etc.
I just bought one because I have gone through a few yard sale slow cookers this year making continuous bone broth (eventually developed hairline cracks).
I have been fearful of toxins in the ceramic and so excited for this multipurpose Stainless steel appliance!
A mother of 7 said it has been a lifesaver throwing in frozen meat and unsoaked beans (I still soak mine) and done in a timely manner when busy mamas go, “Opps, dinner in an hour – what am I going to make?!”
Saw a review on Amazon for this product that said the heating element is made of a Teflon like surface. She contacted company and, despite their advertising that the product is free of Teflon, confirmed that that was indeed what it was made from…wondering if anyone knows if the toxins released from Teflon are airborne? Seems to me this is important to know since unglazed clay can actually take in these toxins through the clay…
Hi Carol
This is interesting and concerning since Teflon is toxic when heated http://www.ewg.org/research/healthy-home-tips/tip-6-skip-non-stick-avoid-dangers-teflon. I do not know if they can be absorbed by the clay in the slow cooker but just having Teflon heating in the kitchen would disturbs.
I found the comment/discussion/review on Amazon and it was in 2009. Per some responses I gleaned this: “Our older model, the VF7900-3, has teflon on the heating element, but all newer models are free of teflon or any chemical nonstick coatings. Instead they are coated with a green, ceramic-based coating.”
I’ll be checking it out to make sure – thanks for asking the question
Trudy
Good heavens, I have a 7qt crockpot! How in the world do you feed everyone and make multiple meals with a 2QT pot??? The whole pt of a crockpot is lots at once lol
There’s only 3 of us, not a regular 6-8 person family size. Zowsa, I also can’t imagine only cooking 2qts of broth at a time. All that work better net me a BUNCH of broth!
I love the idea of this crock but it’s the application is a fail unfortunately.
Helene
It’s easy to simply use 3x the ingredients for the bigger crockpot or have 3 of the smaller ones on the go! I picked this one because of safety concerns I list
Trudy
Trudy, what about lead or other contaminates from food/bone leaching into the unglazed clay and contaminating future batches of food?
Recently saw a post from a mother who was doing GAPS for her three kids and fed them lots of bone broth. They all got lead poisoning.
Asked our very knowledgeable naturopath about this. He stressed one must use high quality bone for broth (as in not only organic, but also check into environment where the animals were raised and the water they drank). If the animals were exposed to lead, most of it would store in their bones and it would leach into the broth. He didn’t know for sure but was was concerned that (unknowingly) cooking a batch of bones containing lead could permanently contaminate the Vita Clay liner since it’s not glazed. Do you have any information on this? We really want to have a slow cooker around here again . . .
Hi Marilyn
Wow, I’ve not heard about this before and am so pleased you shared it. It makes total sense. I know us humans store lead in our bones so why not animals. I just don’t know which farmers would know about possible lead sources their animals may be exposed to.
Do you perhaps have a link to the GAPS mom and her kids getting lead poisoning? if yes, please share…
I’m going to see if Kaayla Daniel can hop on and comment – she’s just written a book on broths. I have not had the pleasure of reading it yet but perhaps she addresses this.
We have two possible concerns here (1) lead leaching into the broth (whether cooked in a slow cooker or not) and (2) lead possibly contaminating the Vita Clay liner
Trudy
I addressed the lead/broth issue in Nourishing Broth. And there’s a more complete discussion with an update in my blog here.
http://drkaayladaniel.com/boning-up-is-broth-contaminated-with-lead/
Kaayla
Thanks for this very detailed discussion. It’s unfortunate we don’t have all the information we’d like about the chickens and water etc from the study.
I’d love to find out if there at home lead testing kits we could use to test some of our own batches! Let’s get everyone testing so we can really be sure.
Trudy, I have a question about the cauliflower casserole recipe (which, btw, looks and sounds yummy!) you posted. You say to put it into 3 casserole dishes. How big are those dishes? Are they individually sized? Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
Nancy
I’m going to add a picture with the 3 casserole dishes so you can see them – good question! The key is to have a think layer. (adding link here for other readers https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/cauliflower-garlic-bake/)
Trudy
Trudy, have you used the newer larger size of Vita Clay (6 qt)? They have the a clay version and a lead-free stoneware version. It feels to me that I’d much prefer the largest size possible, for making broth, soups/stews, etc. Just wondering if you have any experience with it, or if you’ve learned anything further about risks of lead leaching from bones, etc. My understanding is that the larger pot doesn’t allow for cooking rice (it has to cook things with more liquid), but it’s not a big deal to cook rice in another pot. I do like the idea of preparing yogurt in it as well.
Tara
I have not used the larger one and have no further info about lead in bones