I mean, isn't it bad enough that the short days and long nights mean that it's dark when I go to work, dark when I get home and there's no time for riding my bike? Must I freeze my tail off, too?
I don't know about you, but on days like this, I start craving a cozy spot on the couch, a warm blanket to crawl under, and a nice big bowl of some sort of comfort food. But when you're trying to eat better, a lot of those comfort foods suddenly become big no-nos. Those biscuits are most likely full of trans fats. The chicken and dumplings you love don't love you back. And you might as well forget about ever letting fettuccine alfredo ever pass your lips again.
But then there's chili. Even the chili you grew up usually isn't too bad. As long as you choose a lean hamburger to cook with and drain the excess fat, chili generally won't blow up your diet ... in moderation. It's got quite a few healthy veggies, like tomatoes, onions and garlic, in there to give you all sorts of good nutrients, the beans are an excellent source of fiber and the fat generally isn't off the scale, at least the way most people make it.
But nuts like me are always on the lookout to make a good thing better, so when I found a recipe for a turkey chili in an issue of Nutrition Action last year, I had to give it a try ... and then I gave it a few tweaks to, in my opinion, make it even better. This recipe improves upon the classic chili in two ways. First, it really ups the ante on the amount of vegetables and involved. Second, as the name suggests, it ditches the red meat in favor of much healthier ground turkey, without sacrificing taste or quality.
Now, I know quite a few people will be skeptical of that last statement. I know I was a little hesitant to put the first spoonful in my mouth. But when I did, wow! I didn't even bother to tell the rest of my family that the turkey contained chili instead of beef, and they never even suspected a thing. In fact, I handed my wife recipe to show her what I fixed. "You fixed this?" she asked. "The turkey chili?" I told her yes. "But you didn't use any turkey!" she remarked, a little puzzled. It took some time, but I finally convinced her that she had eaten turkey chili.
So, if you're looking to supercharge the nutritional value of your foods, but you're still stuck wanting the tastes of "non-diet" meals, give this recipe a try, and even pull the same trick on your dinner companions. You'll be surprised at the results.
Here's my somewhat altered version:
Turkey Chili
1/4 cup canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
About a cup of finely chopped fresh mushrooms
2 (or more, or less, or no) fresh jalapeños, sliced and quartered (I find 2 jalapeños gives the chili just a slight kick, which is about all my younger children will tolerate. You can add more for a spicier chili, or eliminate them completely if you prefer tamer fare.)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
2 12 oz. bottles dark beer (The dark beer does give the chili a fuller-bodied taste, but in a pinch, regular beer works almost as well.)
1 oz. dark chocolate, chopped or grated
2 15 oz. cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
2 15 oz. cans no-salt-added kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups corn, cut from 2 to 3 cobs or thawed from frozen
1 tsp salt
(1) Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, red pepper, mushrooms and jalapeños and sauté until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
(2) Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and whole wheat flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
(3) Add the turkey, beer, chocolate and tomatoes. Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the turkey is fully cooked, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
(4) Stir in the beans and corn. Season with salt.
Serves 8.
Nutrition info
(This is for the original recipe. My altered version might add a few calories, carbs and fiber, because I added the mushrooms, jalapeños and cumin. But the fat content should be the same.)
450 calories
14 g fat
1.5 g saturated fat
31 g protein
470 mg sodium
40 mg cholesterol
46 g carbohydrates
13 g fiber
Thanks to all the fiber provided by the wheat flour, this is a very filling recipe. A one-cup serving should leave most people fully satisfied. A family of four could probably get two meals out of one pot, making one nice weekend dinner, plus an extra for one of those hectic nights through the week when you might be tempted to hit a fast-food drive-thru.
Best of all, the entire dish can be finished in about an hour, food prep and all, though letting it simmer longer only improves the flavor.
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