Chilly days = Chili nights
 

I made this last night and was sure I could eat it every day for the rest of my life, it was soooooo good!! Try some variations!

1.25 Lb. LEAN ground turkey
1 can chopped tomotoes, undrained (I used the garlic and onion variety)
1 small chopped onion
Olive oil for saute
1 packet of chili seasoning (try to get the kind without corn starch, etc.)
1 can of 3 bean vegetarian chili (got mine at the health food store: all natural, no added sugars, etc.)
Can of kidney beans (optional)
Sliced zuchini (optional)
about 1/2 c. water

Brown the turkey, then follow the directions on the chili packet. Use a little less water than recommended because you'll be adding the water from the tomatoes and onions.

While that simmers, saute the onion (and zuchini) in some olive oil. After they are a bit mushy, add the tomatoes and can of bean chili. Stir in the ground turkey mixture and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add some low fat cheese, light sour cream, and anything else that would make a nice addition. This was so hearty and flavorful and yielded quite a bit of chili!!

Instead of the seasoning packet, I just use chili powder and garlic powder and avoid all the fillers in the packaged stuff!

Absolutely a good idea. We're just lazy yuppies and always forget the additions to our spice racks!! Cumin, chili powder, and some onion powder make a great seasoning. Good call, Ruth.

By the way, what's in the canned vegetarian chili? I am trying to decide if this is Phase I pr Phase II.

Chili spices
 

When I make ground turkey (1lb+) chili I use:

1 tsp of dried oregano
1 clove garlic minced, or in a jar, or powdered equivalent
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. blk. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

plus diced tomatoes. pinto beans chopped onions, green peppers chopped. Sometimes I even add mushrooms chopped up if they're around! It's hot(to me) so you be the judge!! BON APPETITE!!

Ruth-
There are kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, and seasoning. I used it for Phase 1, so I hope that's true! I got the kind without the pinto beans because Dr. A advises against those until Phase 2.

Hmmm - as long as the "seasoning" is not sugar or starch, they should be OK. I've never figured out what Dr A has against pinto beans, by the way! I think he goofed as they have lower carbs (18) than kidney beans (21) and they are listed as "good" in the Guide! It must have been a brain fart!

Oh, I'm sorry. By seasoning, I meant spices. There is no corn starch or sugar listed in the ingredients. I got it at Whole Foods, so it's gooney goo goo-ish and has nothing but good stuff listed on the label. Interestingly, I went grocery shopping yesterday, and looked at some of the chili mixes they had, and there weren't any that were SB friendly. The ALL had sugar, starch, or even CORN SYRUP as ingredients! Yikes, am I glad I checked!

Oh, and GREAT point about Pintos. I was confused myself!!

YIKES! Ruth, they didn't have the vegetarian version of this listed, but the ingredients for the regular use rice starch. It's pretty far down on the list, so I doubt there's much, but still... what do you make of it?

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/prod...oup_chili.html

I see corn, honey and rice starch although in small amounts. Wouldn't it be simpler and maybe cheaper to just buy canned mixed beans? (I am a real soapboxer about using the simplest ingedients possible and buy very little processed food. I guess I was a poor struggling single parent for too many years!)

It was really inexpesive. Still, you would think that as poor as we are, we would do something like that. You are brilliant! Here I am thinking that it's the secret ingerdient or something, when CLEARLY there are more important ingredients. Hopefully, the vegetarian version didn't have that junk, but I'm not hopeful. Live, learn, and save!

Our Version
 

Thanks for posting this! I made a few modifications for our dinner tonight and thought I'd share the final result:

Sautee two cloves of minced or pressed garlic and some dehydrated onion flakes in 1 tbsp of olive oil. When softened, add 2 pounds of high-quality ground beef and brown. Add the following spices to the browning beef:

1/4 tsp cilantro
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper or "allowable" chili powder

Drain and add 1/4 c. of water. Add the following:

1 large can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1 large can crushed tomatoes

I like my chilis and stews simmered for hours, so I start in the mid-afternoon and give it a good stir every 45 minutes or so. When the liquid starts cooking off, add enough water to bring it to the consistency you like.

Next time, I think I'll add a dash of Tobasco. :o

Ok I totally missed the pinto bean thing - Ruth, is it in any of the books that we can NOT eat pintos, or is it just not listed in the food list? Also, do you know the difference in pintos and cranberry beans? I bought a bag last week and it was supposed to be dinner tomorrow! Maybe not!

Pinto beans are listed as "good" in the GFGC Guide. I don't know why Dr. A eliminated them in the book as they are nearly the same GI as the rest of the legumes. I really don't know what cranberry beans are but imagine they are about the same as the rest of the Legume Family.