Lean, Clean and Mean Delicious Chili

When you’re trying to get lean and ripped, making dinner for a family of 5 can be a little tricky since they’re not inclined to eat chicken, brown rice and veggies 5 days a week!  And while I don’t normally solicit ideas from the children (at least not until they’re paying), I do like it when they enjoy the food I put on the table for them.  I am notorious for sneaking stuff into meals for them that I know they wouldn’t eat otherwise. 

As you read in my last post, I have added a bit more carbs to my day now (about 75) since I’m doing P90x.  And I try to eat most of them by 6pm.  It’s essential to have the energy during the day especially because I’ve been adding 2 or 3 mile runs before the resistance workouts.  So, here’s a fantastic recipe that the whole family will love, not to mention, it’s filled with vitamins and nutrients!  Give it a try and I guarantee it will be a staple in your house.  It’s also great because this recipe makes a lot and its very filling so there’s plenty of leftovers for when the kids get home from school the next day!

Mom’s Lean, Clean and Mean (Yummy) Chili

•  1.5 – 2lbs lean ground turkey
•  1 large red pepper diced
•  5-6 jalapeno peppers diced (adjust based on your desired “hotness”)
•  2 onions diced (I usually buy 1 white and 1 yellow)
•  2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•  1 large can crushed tomatoes and sometimes I’ll add 1/2 of another too 
•  1 can of organic kidney beans and 1 can organic black beans
•  half a bag of frozen chopped spinach (I don’t always do this) 
•  1 or 2 tbsp of chili powder
•  1 or 2 tsp of cumin
•  1 or 2 tbsp of crushed garlic
•  1/2 cup oat bran 
•  fresh chopped cilantro
•  1 ripe avocado (for use as a topping after chili is cooked)
•  shredded cheddar (for topping after cooked)

Use a large pot and brown the turkey.   Then just throw in all the remaining ingredients except the toppings as you get them ready.  Once it’s all together and cooking in the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 40-50 minutes. Top each bowl with freshly diced ripe avocado and sprinkle with the cheese.  It doesn’t even need sour cream (plus, you may even choose not to sprinkle the cheese either!)

There’s a lot of ingredients such as the black beans, oat bran, spinach and avocado that add a lot of nutritional value such as protein, fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Nutritional Breakdown:          35 g. protein, 45 g. carbs, 8 g. fiber, 14 g. fat (all healthy fat), 430 calories

Enjoy!  …. and let me know what you think.  I love the feedback.