Three-Bean Vegetarian Southern Chili

Since most of the country is in a deep freeze, it seems appropriate to give you a stick-to-your ribs, warm-you-up-from-the-cold kind of recipe. 

When I was growing up in Kentucky, we didn’t get snow all that often.  So when we had a snow day, it was a celebration.  We’d pull on layer after layer of sweatpants and sweatshirts, gloves, toboggans and scarves, until we looked like the Michelin man.  We’d grab our plastic sleds and gleefully head outside, only reluctantly coming back to the house after snow and cold had seeped through every soggy layer to reach our icy skin.

We’d walk in the house and strip down to our long underwear in front of the fireplace, and Mom would sit us down to the table with bowls of steaming chili—the old-fashioned kind, thick with ground beef and kidney beans and seasoned with simple chili powder.  Nothing tasted better.

A thick, rich bowl of chili and a slice of cornbread is still one of my favorite meals.  And while I still enjoy the beef and bean variety, I find that more often than not, I’m making a vegetarian all-bean version, fragrant with toasted spices and a variety of chili peppers.

The ultimate weeknight family meal, chili is inexpensive and easy.  It gets better and better the longer it sits on the stove, so make this on a Sunday afternoon, and then reheat it for dinner during the week.  Even better, make an extra-large pot and freeze portions for easy lunches or dinners later.  

I hope this chili warms you up from the inside out, and that you enjoy it with the people you love.

Three-Bean Southern Chili

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 red bell peppers, diced

2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2, 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes

1, 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1, 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1, 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups water

Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and very tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, red pepper and poblano peppers and continue to cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are softened.

Add the coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper and stir.  Move the onions and peppers to the sides of the pot and add the tomato paste to the center of the pot.  Let the tomato paste cook on the bottom of the pot until it starts to toast and stick to the bottom.  Stir the tomato paste and the onions and peppers together. 

Add cans of whole tomatoes, including their juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the pot.  Add the beans, dried oregano and water and stir.

Bring the chili to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about an hour.  Serve with bowls of condiments, including shredded cheese, Greek yogurt, sliced green onions or any other toppings you like.

Slow-Cooker Recipe Round-Up

When you’re short on time but still want a home cooked meal at the end (or start!) of the day, call upon your slow cooker to help — slow cooking doesn't need a lot of babysitting; it practically does all the work for you! How wonderful is that?

We recently asked some of our blogger friends to share their favorite slow-cooker recipes with us. As you’ll see from the variety of recipes below, your slow-cooker can whip up such diverse dishes —from hearty meatballs to whole grain granola. We hope you enjoy the recipes.

Crockpot Meatballs from Lindsay Livingston of The Lean Green Bean

Packed with protein, these meatballs are perfect for serving over spaghetti but can also be eaten as a post-workout snack or turned into a meatball sub! 

Pulled Pork Primavera from No Whine with Dinner and Meal Makeover Moms

This recipe takes minutes to prepare, and then the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. Use a lean cut of pork for this dish — the loin — and then add three vegetables: bell pepper, carrot, and onion. The all-natural barbecue sauce adds big flavor and helps to tenderize the meat. Serve on a whole grain burger bun with coleslaw on the side for a family pleasing, nutrient-rich dinner everyone will love.

Homemade Crock-pot Granola from Jen Haugen of Down-to-Earth Dietitian

Reasons to love this recipe: you can put it together in 5 minutes.  It stays a little softer in texture, yet still has a crunch. It’s sweet but not too sweet. And it’s hard to burn in the slow cooker (a major plus!).

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Kylie Mitchell of Immaeatthat

This may be the easiest Chicken Tortilla Soup ever!  In the morning, just open some cans, add in a couple chicken breasts and let everything cook nice and slow in your crock-pot throughout the day.  When you get home, dinner is ready to go!

Smoky Lentil Chili from Sharon Palmer of The Plant-Powered Dietitian Blog

Here’s a perfect easy dish for your next Meatless Monday! You can throw all of these ingredients into a slow cooker and a savory, fragrant meal will great you when you come home at the end of the day.  Serve it with a handful of fresh cilantro and green onions.  Or, let your guests sprinkle with cheese (plant-based or dairy, depending on your preference) and tortilla strips for a hearty dish.

Maple Apple Oatmeal from Lisa & McKenzie of Nourish RDs

Simply throw all the ingredients in your slow-cooker before going to bed, and you'll wake up to a hot, balanced breakfast! You can experiment with different combinations of ingredients to make the oatmeal your own.  Swap the apples for figs or dried plums, substitute honey or brown sugar for the maple syrup…the options are endless.

Sweet Potato & Bean Chili from Lisa & McKenzie of Nourish RDs

This chili is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It takes a spin on a traditional chili by using one of our favorite veggies, sweet potatoes. Top your bowl with a dollop of reduced-fat plain Greek yogurt, sliced avocado, or green onions. 

What’s your favorite slow cooker dish? We loved to know! Share a link or brief description of the recipe in the comments section below.

Game Day Turkey Chili

I love sporting events. For the most part, I don’t really understand the rules or know any players (with the exception of hockey), but I always love an excuse to get a group of people together and enjoy good food.

Photo courtesy of our friends at NatureBox

When most people gather around for Superbowl Sunday, it’s typical to coincide the event with nachos, burgers, traditional chili, deep dish pizza – typically anything that piles on the cheese and meat and skimps on the plant-based proteins, veggies, healthy fats, and whole grains. But there certainly is a way you can have your pizza and eat it, too. We've talked about this before here.


What most people may not realize is that it’s actually quite easy to serve up nutritious versions of these classic football favorites while also satisfying even the heartiest of appetites. All it takes is simply "shifting the plate" to give the plant-based foods more of a starring role. A lot of these good-for-you ingredients add tons of flavor while also dishing out some beneficial nutrition. Take this chili recipe (below), for example, which features mushrooms, beans, and avocado. We think it's a winner!

Photo courtesy of our friends at NatureBox

Superbowl Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large bell peppers, chopped

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

10 oz mushrooms, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1 ½  teaspoons cumin

1 pound ground turkey

12 oz Lager beer

2 14.5oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.    Heat olive oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms until the onions turn golden brown and the carrots begin to soften – about 8 to 10 minutes.

2.     Add the garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and stir 1 minute.

3.     Add the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until meat loses its raw color – about 3 minutes.

4.    Add the beer. Cover pan; reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

5.     Add tomatoes with their juices and the three kinds of beans. Simmer uncovered and stir occasionally until chili thickens – about 20 minutes.

Garnish chili with shredded cheddar cheese, non-fat plain Greek yogurt, avocado, guacamole, or our Avocado YogurtDip.

These seasonal tips &recipe were featured in the January 18th issue of Health & Family Guide for The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. For more “In Season” tips & recipes (I'm talking Valentine's Day next!), pick up the next issue of The Health & Family Guide on February 8th.