Come this payday I wanna pick up some stuff to make a healthy chili. We have not had chili in a long time but usually I use a mix to make it and I wanna do it different this time. The only thing I know to do to make it more healthy is to use ground turkey instead of beef. And hubby is all for that (no arguments). So anyone have any recipes.


Thanks...

I'd focus on filling it with veggies. My usual chili recipe has ground beef, beans, canned tomatoes and some onions and peppers. If I were to make it now, I'd probably double or even triple the quantity of veggies. Start by sauteing (in cooking spray) tons and tons of onions, peppers, carrot, zucchini, garlic, chipotle peppers and whatever else you like, then add a moderate quantity of beef or turkey (or both) and a moderate quantity of beans. Then add a can or two of crushed tomatoes and some beef broth, let it simmer a while and then add your spices. Meat and beans can be quite calorific, so adding extra volume through veggies will be the trick here. It all breaks down through the cooking anyway, so I don't think the extra veggies would hurt the dish at all; they'd just make it healthier and lower in cals.

Yum. I love chili; as soon as it gets cold, I'm going to make some

I eat a simple vegetarian chili. Chopped red bell peppers, sweet onions, really good crushed tomatoes (such as Muir Glen Fire Roasted, makes a big difference), vegetable broth, black beans, and kidney beans, with a bit of chipotle.

I just made some chili. I had a big overgrown zucchini, so I chopped that up and threw it in. Funny thing was, it got really soft and kids didn't even notice it was in there!

I agree with putting in lots of vegetables; they are perfect in chili. If you can get some sweet corn in there too, it's great! And just a bit of unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate to add some extra flavor, makes it a bit like a mole'.

Hubby and I don't like ground turkey. I like ground chicken, but can never find it. Also both can contain more fat than ground beef (if they add the skin into the grind).

One thing I do for all recipes using browned ground beef Is use lean ground beef (85 - 97% lean), and tvp (dry soy protein from the health food store or health food section of the grocery store). TVP granules from the health food store are very cheap in bulk (like 1.75 around here for a pound, which is the equivalent of several pounds of hamburger). The unflavored granules that I buy look sort of like grapenuts cereal. I start browning 1 lbs of the ground beef with onion, garlic powder or dehydrated granulated garlic and while it's browning add 1 cup of the dry tvp. When the ground beef has lost most of the pinkness I add about 1 cup of broth (any flavor) or 1 cup of water and a bouillon cube. Then I make my chili or spaghetti sauce or taco meat or whatever.

This is from Whole foods, I haven't made it, but have tried it in the store:
Spicy Vegetarian Chili
Dairy-Free, Vegetarian

Serves 6–8
A colorful, satisfying bowl of chili that packs plenty of flavor — even for the staunchest meat eaters.

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1–3 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 can (28-ounce) diced tomatoes
4 cups water
3 cups (cooked) red kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 cups (cooked) black beans, drained

Optional Toppings

chopped scallions
sour cream
shredded cheese
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté onions, carrot, celery, peppers and garlic for 10–12 minutes until vegetables are softened but not browned. Add chopped chipotles (amount depending on desired "heat"), oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt. Stir to blend. Add tomatoes and water. Gently simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add beans and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Garnish individual bowls with optional toppings.


Nutrition Info
Per Serving (453g-wt.): 210 calories (40 from fat), 4.5g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 13g dietary fiber, 10g protein, 36g carbohydrate, 0mg cholesterol, 880mg sodium


Home

Last time I made chili I used onion, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, corn, celery, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, soy beans, fresh tomato, canned tomato and one of those chili flavoring packets. 'twas delicious!

Seems like I never make chili the same way twice, always depends what I have around. Usually the base is re-hydrated TVP and beans and canned diced tomatoes. Then lots of veggies like onion, peppers, garlic, okra, summer squash, sweet corn, carrots, etc.

You know, just about ANY homemade recipe for chili is going to be healthy as long as you use healthy ingredients (low fat meats or none at all and lots of veggies and beans). I'm making a white chicken chili this week myself!


Cooking Light
White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, undrained
1 cup water
2 (15.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (such as Goya)
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preparation
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cumin, dried oregano, and coriander; sauté 1 minute. Stir in chiles; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes, partially covered. Add the chicken, water, cannellini beans, and broth; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in hot sauce. Ladle 1 cup of chili into each of 8 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and 1 tablespoon green onions.
Yield

8 servings
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 233(23% from fat); FAT 5.9g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 32.7g; CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 180mg; SODIUM 694mg; FIBER 3.4g; IRON 3.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.7g

Allison, that white chicken chili sounds really good. I'm definitely making it when it gets cool, thanks!

need2lose,

Here is a recipe for chili I found a while ago. I think I may have found it posted by someone else here on 3fc - I'm definitely not taking credit for this one! But I did input the nutritionals into fitday and calculate the nutrition info myself. It was pretty tasty. I think (?) I used 93% lean ground beef.

Quick and Light Chili

Cal Fat Carb Prot
3.5 c black beans, rinsed 764 2 139 51
1 can low sodium beef broth 49 2 1 6
2 - 28 oz cans (3 c/ can) tomatoes 274 2 63 13
1.5 c diced onion 91 0 21 3
0.5 lg diced green pepper 22 0 5 1
1 lg cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. (3 c cooked) extra lean ground beef 937 60 0 93
0.5 Tbls olive oil 60 7 0 0
1 tsp sugar 16 0 4 0
1 tsp ancho chili powder
0.5 tsp chili powder
0.5 tsp cumin
Total (15 c): 2213 73 233 166
/15=
Per serving: 147 4.86 15.53 11.1 5.2 g fiber

Sauté the onions and green peppers and garlic in the oil until translucent. Set aside. Brown the ground beef in the same pan and place in a large pot. Put the onions, green pepper mixture in a food processor or blender and add some juice from the canned tomatoes and blend until fairly smooth (this helps thicken the chili). Process the rest of the tomatoes until they are blended to a sauce like consistency or leave them as chunky as you like them.

Add to the pot with the meat add the sugar and the spices along with the black beans and the beef broth simmer for 2-5 hours.

Makes 15 1-cup servings.

Oops, the columns are all messed up since I copied & pasted the recipe out of word. Well, if you just can use your imagination, the order of the #s after each ingredient is Calories, Fat grams, Carbohydrates, Protein grams.

Also I try to find low sodium canned tomatoes - there is a lot of sodium in canned veggies!

Here is my favorite (and super easy) chili recipe:

Basic Chili

• 1.25 lbs 93% to 95% lean ground beef
• 6 oz diced onion (about 1 cup)
• 6 oz diced red or green bell pepper (about 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
• 15-oz can pinto, kidney, or black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 2-3 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• .25 tsp ground pepper

In large saucepan, saute beef with onions, peppers, and garlic over med-high heat until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain fat, if necessary. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings at 365 calories each.

For something a little different, here is a recipe for chile made with lean pork.

Green Chili with Pork

• 16 oz 95% lean ground pork (or pork tenderloin cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 6 oz diced onion (about 1 cup)
• 6 oz diced red bell pepper (about 1 cup)
• 1 serrano (or jalepeno) pepper, minced (use more hot peppers if you like your chili spicier)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 15 oz white hominy, rinsed and drained
• 15 oz pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro

In large saucepan, saute pork with onions, bell pepper, and serrano pepper over med-high heat until pork is browned and onions are tender. Drain fat, if necessary. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

You can top it with cheese and/or pumpkin seeds if desired.

Makes 4 servings at about 315 calories each (not including optional toppings).