Does anyone have a recipe for Veggie Chili that is Phase 1 friendly? I am starting on Monday and I want to go ahead and have my kitchen ready so I am going shopping this weekend!!!! any tips and recipes not already listed would be great!!!

Hey SammysMom! This is a recipe that I use that is good for Phase 1 as long as you don't add any of the meat. This can be reintroduced in later phases. You can just add extra beans. Everything is added to taste so feel free to use this as a skeleton recipe. It's a great family dish, and can be served with various toppings.

Chili
In 1-2 tsp of olive oil saute, a few cloves garlic, 1 med onion, 2 med. stalks celery,about 1/2 a bell pepper, 2 med. carrots, 1 portabella cap (or other mushrooms, I just find the portabellas have a "meatier" flavor) until soft. All veggies should be diced finely, esp the garlic.

Feel free to add browned and drained lean ground beef/turkey, or veggie crumbles.

Start adding spices! I like chili powder, cayanne pepper, paprika, and some garlic and onion powder (not salt!!). All of these are to taste so be sure to adjust accordingly.

After stiring veggies, spices, and meat(if using) add some canned crushed tomatoes/tomato sauce (try to find one not adding sugar). Again, this is done to how thick you want your chili. Water can be used to thin out if chili gets too thick.

As a last step, add some rinsed canned beans. I like kidney, garbanzo, and black beans but any mixture will do. Also if you would like, add some frozen corn kernels. Adds color

Once everything is heated through, you're ready to eat! You can serve this over brown rice or polenta, or with cornbread of course! If serving for friends/family it's nice to put out some extra toppings like chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped raw onion, shredded cheese (obvi you can sub lowfat), and maybe some sour cream (again lowfat can be subbed). Enjoy!

Btw, this freezes wonderfully!!!