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Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
With 2 toddlers, a business to run and home to keep – getting healthy dinners on the table can be a challenge these days.
But can I let you in on a little secret?
The slow cooker has become my secret weapon.
Not only does it make the 5:00 – 7:00 pm window much less stressful (trying to cook with two tired and hungry toddlers is rough), it also creates a window of time for me to sneak in my workouts that I wouldn’t normally have.
Rather than slaving over the stove, I can throw the kids in the stroller and go for a walk or run or tag-team with my husband and sneak out to barre class before dinner.
I currently use my slow cooker about 2 days per week but I’m in the process of gathering more and more healthy (gluten and dairy free) recipes so I can use it on even more.
When Amy & Alessandra invited me to be a part of the “What A Good Eater!” Virtual Dinner Party to try out some of the toddler-friendly recipes, I quickly said “yes!”
“What a Good Eater!” is a cookbook of baby and toddler recipes with healthy herbs and spices to add flavor and broaden your baby’s palate. It’s a guide for parents to confidently feed their babies and toddlers wholesome, healthy, age-appropriate foods which help promote a diverse palate right from the get-go.
I’m always looking for new, healthy recipes that work for the whole family and I love Amy & Alessandra’s approach to cooking and feeding little ones.
As I flipped through the pages, one meal quickly stood out to me: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos.
Slow cooker + tacos? Match made in heaven.
I made this dish for our Sunday night dinner and it’s definitely a keeper.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, preferably organic
- 15 ounces low-sodium black beans, drained
- 14 ounces frozen corn, preferably organic, straight from freezer
- 16 ounces mild store-bought salsa, preferably organic
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, minced
- Whole wheat tortillas (optional/we used corn to keep it gluten free)
Directions:
Add all ingredients except the cilantro and tortillas to the slow cooker. Mix well.
Cook on low for approximately 8 hours undisturbed. Prior to serving, shred chicken, add cilantro and mix well.
Serving Options:
Create soft tacos: Place the chicken mixture in a whole wheat tortilla. Top with your favorite toppings. Roll the tortilla up to create a soft taco or burrito, then slice it into bite-size circles for your toddler. Adults looking for extra spice can add jalapenos to the adult soft tacos only.
Create a burrito bowl: Place the chicken mixture in a bowl over cooked rice (or quinoa).
Sprinkle with your favorite toppings. Serve your toddler the burrito bowl with a spoon.
If you’re looking for fresh recipe inspiration for your little ones (or a gift idea for someone you love), check out “What A Good Eater!” on Amazon.
xo,
PS – Are you a busy mom with very little time for yourself? Check out The Balanced Life Sisterhood! An online community that will encourage, support and lift you up as you work toward fitting more fitness into your busy routine. You’ll get access to tons of online Pilates workouts that you can do from home. The workouts are quick, efficient and effective!
Robin Long
Robin Long, founder and CEO of Lindywell, certified Pilates instructor, Nutrition Therapy Practitioner, and author of 'Well to the Core,' blends 15 years of expertise with a lifelong commitment to holistic health.
Learn more about Robin Long
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50 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos”
I’m pregnant with our fourth! This would be so helpful for meal planning.
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This book has been on my amazon wishlist since the first time I read about it on your blog! With a 6 year old, 4 year old and 7 month old I know I would get lots of use out of it 🙂
I’d love this book because I have a 19 month old, and dinner is hard. And apparently you’re supposed to eat it every day. ?
I love that the book has REAL food and that it’s broken down into stages so I can figure out what’s appropriate for my baby (you’d think by baby #4 I’d have figured that out but nope–I always resort to pureed baby food in jars and I want to be done with that). My 2 and 5 year olds are also all of the sudden super picky so this may help me to get some new ideas 🙂
With a picky two year old and an eight month old just getting into solids, this book would be perfect for me and my family!!
LOVE this!! I just posted questions about feeding my baby “real food” on the Sisterhood page. I have a 2.5 year old and 7 month old so one can imagine the chaos that ensues around the dinner hour!
This book would be a great help, sometimes I’m just out of ideas and my brain doesn’t have enough juice to crank out something new. One goal is to raise our son to be a healthier eater than we have been (we’re getting much better), so it would be a wonderful help to know what that looks like as he grows.
I’m always looking for ways to feed my girls healthy food. I have one who is particularly had to feed (she won’t eat meat and just a few veggies)!
I’m a first time mom and want to make meals my babe can eat too instead of separate meals for her and my husband and I.
Holy moly would this be an amazing and relevant book for me right now! With a 4 year old girl and a 1.5 year old boy (who never stops eating!), I would welcome recipes that are kid-friendly and healthy.
Congrats Lindsay!! Thanks to random.org you are our lucky winner! Please send an email to [email protected] to claim your prize. 🙂 xoxo, Robin
Looks great!
Just another busy mama in need of dinner ideas. I’d love to read this!
I wouldn’t love this book because I feel like at least one of my kids is fettng pickier by the day!
I love the idea of using spices and herbs in kids’ foods. Our youngest has the widest palate by far of our three kids and she’s the one who has been eating ‘our’ food pretty much from the get go. I’d love to see what this book has to offer to continue expanding our tastebuds.
We are just beginning our journey into the world of food allergies and this seems like a great way to find new recipes. Whether they are allergy friendly or not, at least new recipes that my toddler might not notice that her favorite ingredient is missing.
I have an almost-4 year old and a 21 month old so love these types of recipes and ideas! Keep them coming and thanks for sharing!!
Forgot to add that I’d love to win a copy of this book to get some new recipe ideas for my kids as well as for my husband and me!
I would LOVE this cookbook! I have a 14 month old and a very picky 4 year old who hardly eats anything anymore! I need things they can both eat that are healthy, that my husband and I can eat too!
What a wonderful giveaway! With a two-year-old and a newborn, creating healthy eating habits in my little family is so important to me – I know the earlier I begin these healthy practices, the easier it will be to teach my kids the importance of fueling our bodies with good food and eating well! Having this awesome book to use as an additional resource would be such a blessing! Thanks so much!
I’m always looking for new ideas to help my kids (and my husband) become healthy eaters!
I’d love this to help me feed my 17 month old (and baby on the way) healthy, nutritious food that I can feel good about giving them. It’s so frustrating having her reject what I give her and have to make multiple meal options. This would be a lifesaver!
Great Post.. Thank you sharing for Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
I have an 18-month-old, and while she is a pretty good eater right now I know that can change quickly! It’d be wonderful to add this book to my recipe arsenal.
Yum! My son is such a picky eater. I’m always looking for fun new (and healthy!) recipes that he’d like!
I’d love to win this – I could use it and then share it with my sister-in-law! She has a 15 month old, and has another little one due in 2 months! 😀
I have been no weight bearing for 2 months. Had a bone graph due to my bones disintegrating in my foot, ugh. I am now in therapy and struggling to walk, tight tendons and ligaments. Having easy ways to try and help my poor husband would really help, he had been doing two jobs. I would live to be able to make some easy things and take the burden off my husband!!! Can’t wait to get back to some kind of exercise!!!
I would LOVE this book. My two year old is moderately picky, (I know she’s just two) and another one is on the way! My husband and I both eat pretty clean and it would be great to include our daughter on that journey!
Well, I’d love it for helping my hubby try new foods and it would make a pretty good birthday present (11th). 😉
I juggle teaching, pumping, a husband who is gone during the week for work and two littles. The slow cooker (& TJs!) are my saving grace. This book looks like a great option especially as my sweet babe starts on foods.
I would love to gift this book to my brother for his baby girl (she just turned one). He and his wife embarked on a long joirney to conceive, and he lost over 100 lbs along the way. He ran a 25K marathon, and he is trying to pass down healthy eating to his baby girl. They would benefit from this book tremendously.
would love to have the book for great, healthy meal ideas for my soon to be 2 year old and to eat healthier as a family. thanks for sharing the delicious sounding recipe and for the giveaway!
What an awesome looking book!! I am constantly looking for new healthy recipes to try for our family! Our 1.5 year old is a great eater so far, but I’m always looking for ways to encorporate new foods & flavors into our meals. This is probably going on my Christmas wishlist! 🙂
I don’t have littles at home anymore (unless you count my 18-yr-old baby boy!), but this recipe looks fabulous. I’d love to share this cookbook with my niece. As a mom of 4 littles, I know she’d appreciate some new ideas to introduce more healthy eating to her family.
I’d love this cookbook to help with ideas for my 2 year old and 6 month old! We especially struggle when it comes to eating varied healthy foods. It seems like we eat the same few vegetables all the time! (& prepared the same way each time, too!).
While I don’t have toddlers in my house, I do have two girls who can be rather picky when it comes to eating healthy food so I can see where this book would help even “older” kids expand their palate.
I’ve been eyeing this book ever since you first mentioned it, Robin. When I last checked, it was not available through the library. I would so love to have a copy and put these ideas to use for my toddler and whole family.
Thanks for all you do, Robin!
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I am a new mom and would love some healthy ideas for him!
my husband and I eat paleo but the kids (3.5 and 18 months don’t). the 3.5 year old is so picky while the 18 month old will eat anything! this would help me com wholesome, nutritious meals the kids would hopefully enjoy. thanks for sharing robin.
I can’t think of any parent who wouldn’t want this book! I’d love to have a copy to make some great recipes for my two little ones and if I love it I’d be excited to gift it to some of the other Mamas I know (it is the holiday season after all)! It’s a challenge to get great recipes together for the whole family and I know I’m not alone on that one! <3
This looks great for the whole family! I have a super picky eater in my third child and anything that will make my 4-6 window of grouchy kids easier would be heaven sent!
I have a couple of picky eaters and a child with food related eczema and I’m not a great cook. I can use all the help I can get :)!
This looks like such an awesome book! We’re expecting our first child in a few weeks and I’m already worrying about the task of introducing new foods to our child (especially with a father who is a pretty picky eater himself.)
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Hi Robin, I’m curious- how are the recipes from this book working out for your family? Our kids are very close in age to yours and I’m trying to broaden their palettes… let me know if these recipes are working for your kiddos!
Hi Raina!
They like them! My one year old isn’t great with eating straight veggies right now so I like the recipes that have them mixed in which makes them less noticeable. So far I’ve been enjoying it! 🙂
Do you think this recipe would work with beef mince instead of chicken?
We haven’t tried that – if you do, please let us know how it turns out! 🙂