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Turkey & Veggie Chili {recipe}

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Those that are pretty close to me know that my love for chili runs pretty deep. In fact, I used to have a roommate who constantly made fun of me for how frequently I ate the stuff. That was when I was still eating it out a can. Not too long ago, I got wise enough to at least throw some veggies into the canned chili. Then one day it dawned on me…. Duh! Make my own chili, from scratch! Why I didn’t do this sooner is beyond me. I’m blonde, okay? I’ve been making my own chili for a little over a year now. At first I followed a recipe I found online for beef chili pretty closely, but since then I’ve steered so far from that recipe that I think I can technically call this my own now. Here you go, I hope you like it!

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Ingredients: 2 Tbs olive oil 1 Onion (whatever kind is your favorite or on sale) 2-3 Bell peppers (use a colorful variety) 2-3 Carrots, diced 1-2 Zucchini, diced 2 tsp ground cumin 1 lbs local organic ground turkey 1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz) 2 C water 1-2 Chipotle chili in adobo sauce, seeded and minced 2 tsp adobo sauce from the can of chipotles 1/2 tsp dried oregano 2 cans black beans (15oz) 1 can kidney beans (15oz) 1 can pinto beans (15oz) Freshly ground salt and pepper

Directions: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and carrots. Cook until veggies are soft. Add the zucchini and cumin. Cook and stir for approx. 1 minute. Add the ground turkey and raise the heat to high; cook while breaking up the meat with a spoon until it is fully cooked (ground turkey will be white when done- NO pink!). Stir in the tomatoes, water chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, and oregano. Simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Stir in the beans and cook, partially covered for 20 minutes longer.

Tips and variations: Experiment with using different vegetables. I didn’t like the carrots or zucchini at first, but now I love it. I’m a HUGE fan of beans, so I tend to use larger cans of beans or more than just 1 can of each. I’ve also used different varieties of beans and it’s always come out delicious. Lastly, I’ve found that this recipe is even better after sitting for a night! The spices and flavors really seep into each other and come out even better than hot off the stove.
*Makes approximately 12 servings

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Nutrition Facts: 247 calories per serving; Total fat: 10g; 3g saturated; 1g monounsaturated; Cholestorol: 27mg; Sodium: 482mg; Potassium: 503mg; Total carbs: 28g; Fiber: 8g; Sugars: 4g; Protein: 14g. These are all approximated using MyFitnessPal depending on how heavily you salt your chili, etc.

Copyright 2015 Abbey Corbett – Achieving Healthy

Author: coachabbeyc

Hi, I'm Abbey! A few years ago, if you had told me that I would one day be a Health Coach, I would have laughed in your face.... It has been a long journey getting to where I am today. I grew up the pickiest eater in the world, I didn't like a single vegetable except french fries, and I would literally gag any time an onion had mistakenly make it's way onto my pizza. Eventually, I started sneaking veggies into my food. Oddly enough, I loved the taste, just not the texture. So I would steam bell peppers and onions and then puree them to add to my mac n' cheese. Over time, I took more chances with different veggies. I would stick to the ones I knew I liked, like broccoli or artichoke and eventually began to expand my tastes just by trying new things, looking up how to cook them and kept adding more and more to my repertoire. Since 2011, the list of fruits and veggies I would eat have gone from about 5 to 50, or more! I now know what I was really missing out on when I was younger! In 2009 I started to learn a bit more about organic foods, but it was thanks to food documentaries like "Food Inc.", "Supersize Me", and "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" in addition to my training at IIN that I truly understood the tremendous benefits of eating organically and locally grown foods. As a woman who has dealt with the frustrations of constantly fluctuating weight, I am now at a place in my life where I can maintain a healthy weight through the right foods and exercise that I enjoy, and I feel I can relate to my clients in ways that others may not be able to. I know what it's like to give into the temptation of emotional eating but also, how to over come that. Food does not have to rule your life!

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