Chili has a reputation as a comfort food, not diet friendly food. What's not healthy?! Simply substitute the traditional ground beef with ground turkey. Add a bushel full of nutrient rich vegetables like tomatoes and bell peppers and you can serve your family a plethora of health benefits in a bowl.
Ground turkey is a fantastic alternative to ground beef. It's similar in texture. Some picky eaters may notice a slight difference in the taste but in this dish, they'll never know. Turkey is a good source of protein, folic acid, zinc and potassium. A great addition to any healthy eating plan.
Fiery Southwestern Turkey Chili
Ingredients:
- 1 package Ground Turkey
- 2 cans Black Beans
- 1 can Organic Corn
- 1 can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1 can Green Chilis
- 1 can Organic Diced Tomatoes
- 2 Green Bell Peppers
- 1 Onion
Preparation:
- Dice onions and ground peppers, set aside (separately).
- In a large pot, saute ground turkey over high heat until mostly browned.
- Add onions to pot, continue to saute until turkey is thoroughly cooked. Drain.
- In a bowl, add diced tomatoes, chipotle peppers and green chilies.
- Using immersion blender, mix tomato, pepper and chili mixture until combined.
- Stir tomato, pepper and chili mixture into pot with turkey.
- Rinse and drain black beans and corn.
- Stir in black beans and corn.
- Serve.
Nutritional Facts:
Servings: 8, Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup
Calories: 249.93, Protein: 24.71 g, Carbohydrates: 33.48 g, Fiber: 8.72 g, Fat: 2.19 g, Saturated Fat: .05 g, Sodium: 774 mg
Cost Per Serving: $ 1.63
Keeping this dish inexpensive and other great tips:
- Don't forget the warehouse stores like Costco, Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale. While their stock changes often, they do offer a good variety of organic products like diced tomatoes, frozen blueberries and frozen blackberries.
- The true heat of this dish comes from the green chilies. If you can't take the heat, try omitting the green chilies. The remaining chipotle peppers will leave you a little bit of kick but you won't lose any of the flavor.
- Green chilies don't just pack heat, they also pack some mean nutrients! Chilies are an ample source of vitamins A and C. Also, the capsaicin in chilies is believed to temporarily increase your metabolism. Not to mention one ounce of green chili is a mere 6 calories!
- Immersion blenders are a great alternative to a food processor with less waste and clean up. Immersions blenders range in price from 24.95 to 79.95 and are available at most retailers. Try the KitchenAid Immersion Blender available at Target. Or Cuisinart offers a fantastic option at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
- Don't have an immersion blender? Try using a food processor or traditional blender. You may also finely dice chipotle peppers and green chilies by hand. If you choose to manually chop, please be sure to wash your hands thoroughly (including under the nail) after handling. Pepper oil can remain on your hands and will cause you great discomfort if you rub your eyes.
Below are a few other great chili dishes to try:
Hearty Ground Turkey Chile Recipe by Norman Kolpas
Hearty Vegetarian Chili by Jill Harris
Three Bean Chili by Robin Fowler
Enjoy!
Tabatha Juestel - I'm just like every other woman in America - watching my budget, my waistline and the clock. In the past I ate mainly healthy, organic ...
