Chili on a boat

This is one of my new favourite ways to eat chili. On a boat- a sweet potato boat that is.... Packed full of vitamins and nutrients, it's a perfect vehicle to promote the goodness of this veggie-filled chili.



There's something about making your chili so fancy and pilled high with 'fixins' that makes this dish look like it wants to compete in the 'taste' Olympics.

It all starts with a giant batch of crockpot chili. Perfect for those cold/mild winter days we've been having.  Here's how I make mine.

Veggie-filled Crockpot Chili

Ingredients:

1lb ground meat (I chose beef, but turkey or chicken would be great)
1 onion, finally chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 can of tomato paste
2 28 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
1 can/jar of tomato sauce
1 can of green chilis
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
2 TBSP of chili powder
1 TBSP of Tex Mex spice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onions in a pan, adding some of the Tex Mex spice, salt and pepper too. Drain and add to crockpot with all other ingredients. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.

Note: You could add your favourite veggies, change out the beans, add more spice with some jalapenos, it's all up to you and your taste.

Some people eat the chili in a bowl by itself. But no, not me, I love to mix the flavours and textures up. I take a sweet potato and microwave it for about 15 minutes (don't forget to pierce it with a fork, so that it doesn't explode). Once you can stick a knife through the middle, it's done. Simply cut it in half, Place in your serving dish, add your chili....

..,, and anything else you love. Here's my favourite combination.  Shredded cheddar cheese, light sour cream, green onions, cilantro and a tortilla chip crushed on top for texture. Amazing taste and texture! The amount of vitamin A and potassium this will add to your meal is incredible, not to mention the fibre boost too.

Living a healthy lifestyle is all about tweaking what you do to make it healthier and wholesome.  I used to eat chili with tons of nachos- loaded with salt, fat and empty calories. Now I choose nutrient dense calories that fill me up and fuel me with good energy!

Let's Eat More Veggies!

That's right!!!! We all need to eat more veggies. According to healthy living experts, half of our plates should be made up of veggies- and the darker the better!  So that is my mission right now. Fill my family up with veggies. Funny enough (but not really, as everything happens for a reason), last night I watched a new show I PVR'd by one of my favourite 'healthy eating' Chefs- Jamie Oliver. His new show is called 'Jamie's Super Food' and he was saying just that! We need to eat more veggies, in fact, he was touring the world to explore the diets of the healthiest, longest-living individuals in the world (Costa Rica and Greece, if I recall) and their diets were filled with vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish etc.... You know where I am going with this....

Well, before I even saw this show, I prepared my own version of  'half your plate should be veggies dinner' this week.

So here it is.

Taco Sweet Potato

                                    

Very simple really, all you need is to prepare your 'Taco meat'- it could be beef, chicken, turkey.... In the meantime, place sweet potatoes that you have pricked with a fork many times in the microwave for about 10-15 minutes (careful, very hot!!!!!)

Cut the sweet potato in half, place a couple of Tbsp of 'taco meat', add shredded cheddar cheese, place in microwave for another 30 secs to melt the cheese, then add your favourite toppings- salsa, low fat sour cream - CILANTRO ( my fave!).

To complete the dinner, I added some fresh cut veggies on the plate- and there you go....half - if not 3/4 of a plate filled with veggies. Enjoy making your own version!

Modern Sweet Potato Stew

I love those Looney Spoons Girls, Janet and Greta Podleski. Any time I need to add a healthy, nutritious and tasty meal to my repertoire, I turn to their cookbooks and I am always impressed with the impressive flavour. It's all about the fresh herbs and spices. Have a look at my latest!

The names for these recipes crack me up! Check below...

One Flew over the Couscous Nest

(adapted from Crazy Plates: Low-Fat Food So Good, You'll Swear It's Bad for You by Janet and Greta Podleski)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tbsp ground gingerroot

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup each chopped onions and chopped red bell pepper

1 tsp each ground coriander and curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c chicken broth

3 c peeled, cubed sweet potatoes

1 c couscous

2 tbsp orange juice concentrate

3/4 c light coconut milk

2 tbsp each cornstarch and chopped fresh cilantro

Heat olive oil and add chicken, ginger and garlic. Cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink (Since I used cooked chicken, I just sauteed the garlic and ginger with the onions). Add onions and pepper and cook 3 minutes. Stir in spices and cook for 1 more minute.

Gorgeous Sweet Potatoes ... the star of the show!

Add broth and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, prepare couscous per directions, but add orange juice concentrate to couscous before adding water. ( I used quinoa, but you could use any grain you enjoy).

Combine coconut milk and cornstarch until smooth. 

Add to chicken and veggies along with cilantro. Increase heat and cook until thickened.

Serve over fluffed up grain of your choice. Now go an create your own magic in your cold winter kitchen!

Soupy Sundays- Sweet Potato Pear Soup and much more...

It's a great time of year for warm and delicious soup. So let me introduce you to this creation.... Sweet Potato Pear Soup!

This recipe kind of was a fabrication of all yummy fall tastes.

Peel and chop 3 pairs and 3 sweet potatos.

Chop an onion, and brown it in some olive oil- add some cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Take your chopped fruit and veg. and put them in a stockpot with about 6 cups of chicken stock and a bay leaf. Boil until the sweet potatos are fork tender. Then take your hand blender and whizz it all up-  actually, since I can't perform that task because of a carpal tunnel issue, I asked my sweet husband to blend and he didn't know there was a bay leaf, so it had a crushed bay leaf in there... true story.


A girl can't live on soup alone, so I served it with a spinach salad bombarded with nectarines and toasted almonds... we love toasted almonds at my house!

Oh and this giant foccacia loaf, but I shared...

Here's a final photo with a pit of parsley and if you look close- crushed and pureed bay leaf.

Bread with butter, a close up.... the bread must be fresh and crusty and the butter must be cold!

This is our fave... spinach salad with fruit and balsamic vinaigrette. May all your fall dinners be colourful and sweet!