The cool days of Fall are now upon us and that means one thing to me - chili season. I love chili in all of it's traditional formats. Meat, beans, tomatoes, and strong flavors of cumin and dried chiles are what I consider to be key for a delicious bowl of red. Lately however, I've been leaving out the meat to make the dish lighter and I really haven't missed it.
As long as you have a great base of flavor, you really don't need meat to make chili hearty and satisfying. The key is to use a variety of beans that add different size and textures which make the dish much more interesting and complex. I like to use 3 types: pinto beans, black beans,and chickpeas (garbanzo beans). The pintos add a creamy texture while the black beans and chickpeas are firmer and have a texture more reminiscent of meat.
5 Health Benefits Of Eating Beans
There are also many reasons why beans should be more prevalent in our diet. Dr. Oz lays out 5 reasons why legumes are incredibly healthy:
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Including beans in your diet several times a week may decrease the risk of colorectal adenomas (polyps), which may in turn lower the risk of colorectal cancer.
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Eating beans regularly may lower the risk of coronary heart disease.
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The Shanghai Women’s Health Study looked at the legume consumption of over 64,000 women and their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that consumption of legumes, particularly soybeans, was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. The more legumes these women ate, the lower their risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
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Beans are hearty and are a good alternative to high-fat protein sources like red meat.
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In the Nurses Health Study of 83,818 women, researchers found that women who ate peanuts and peanut butter had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Peanuts, which technically are considered a legume, are high in healthy fats, magnesium and fiber.
The Key To Great Chili
Over the years I've made countless pots of chili and learned from my mistakes and successes. The main thing I've learned is not to rely on those little packages of chili powder to flavor your chili. They're loaded with sodium, fillers, thickeners, and are just not very good. I highly recommend making your own chili powder as having freshly toasted and ground spices make all the difference. Alton Brown has a fantastic recipe for chili powder that I highly recommend trying.
The second thing is that using a good stock really helps bring out more flavor. This recipe uses vegetable stock, however there are some really good mock chicken and beef broths out there if you'd like to add more meaty flavor to this vegetarian dish.
3 Bean Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Ingredients
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 large (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups vegetable stock
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbls homemade chili powder (or a package of storebought if you must)
1 Tbls hot sauce (optional)
Kosher salt to taste
Directions
Put all ingredients in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for at least 45 minutes. If you'd like your chili thicker, continue to simmer uncovered until your desired consistency. Serve with low fat cheese and/or a dollop of plain fat free yogurt.
Serves 4
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