Healthier chili recipe

by: Ali B, RD

In my house, chili is a hearty comfort food consumed in the fall and winter months. While chili isn’t necessarily bad for you, some bowls can add up to over 700 calories after toppings are added. While working with clients who are following detox diets we found that chili can be part of a healthy diet!

A few tips for keeping your chili “lean” include:

• Watching your toppings: high-fat toppings like sour cream and cheese should be limited (or avoided if you can’t resist the temptation). There are plenty of other add-ins that can bring variety to your chili. Check out a few of our favorites here.
• Choose a lean meat: at Feed Your Vitality we use 97% lean ground beef. Choose the leanest meat you can find at the store, or make sure to remove the fat from your pan before using.
• Cut carbs: you can GREATLY reduce the carb content in your chili by eliminating the beans. We often have customers tell us that they don’t even miss the beans in our hearty chili.

Here is a basic chili recipe that has 165 calories per serving and can be eaten even on the most strict phases of diet plans.

Chili Con Carne

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef (97/3 if possible)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 6 cups diced tomatoes with juice (canned tomatoes are fine to use, just make sure there is no sugar added)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Brown beef with onions and spices over medium-high heat.
   Tip: if you do not have lean meat, brown the meat in a separate pan and drain before adding to onions.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add tomatoes, and mix thoroughly.
3. Simmer for 1 hour and adjust seasonings to taste.

Again, for more variety try including some of our favorite add-ins, listed here. Foods that are incorporated into the dish can be added with the tomatoes to simmer. Toppings should be added when the chili is served.

Smoky Butternut Chili – includes butternut squash, green chilies, and smoked paprika. Topped with green onion.

Turkey Chili – made with lean ground turkey instead of beef. Incorporates sweet potato, roasted poblano peppers, roasted red peppers, lime juice, and Mexican seasoning.