Vegetable Quinoa Chili

Who doesn't love chili? The classic can be pretty heavy in saturated fat and calories, not to mention overly seasoned with salt. This is as close as you can get to chili perfection without sacrificing your body for your love of food. Don't get me wrong - I'm all about indulging but doing it the right way with some modifications allows you to still get all of the satisfaction from your very favorite foods without putting your levels on the chopping block. And this recipe can be modified even further to make it just right for you no matter what your restrictions or requirements are. 

Basically, I used red quinoa instead of ground beef or turkey, and the addition of crumbled tofu or TVP will take the texture up a notch. I used pinto beans but of course kidney or black will work. The secret is getting lots of textures in there so that it's thick and chunky and full of a variety of vegetables. This is gluten free, and could easily be vegan without the yogurt on top. Coconut yogurt works pretty good for that. I'll let you in on a little secret though. This can be made on the fly by using a can of Amy's Vegetable Chili as a base and adding your own embellishments! Using a can of low sodium chili as a base provides a solution when you're in a time crunch, but the one made from scratch looks and tastes identical. You will be making it with all of the same ingredients anyway!

INGREDIENTS

1|2 of a yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots cut into 1|4 inch chop (or sweet potato or butternut squash)

5 large cremini mushrooms, thick sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 ribs of celery, minced

10 -15 grape tomatoes, halved (or a can of tomatoes with their juices)

1 T tomato paste

1|2 - 3|4 cup vegetable stock or filtered water

1|2 c red quinoa, cooked

1|2 crumbled tofu or TVP (textured vegetable protein) - optional

1 can pinto, kidney or black beans

chili powder 

smoked paprika

cumin

sea salt + pepper

olive oil

nutritional yeast always!

fresh chopped cilantro

greek yogurt or sour cream

DIRECTIONS

Warm some olive oil in the bottom of a medium to large sauce pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook 7 - 9 minutes until they start to brown. Add the mushrooms and the garlic. Cook 5 - 6 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. De-glaze the bottom of the pan with a splash of water or stock until all of the fond is pulled from the surface. That's the delicious brown stuff! Add the rest of the liquid, the quinoa and the beans and the tomatoes. Cook until thickened about 5 minutes, then add all of the seasonings except the cilantro and the yogurt. Cover and simmer another 10 - 15 minutes or so. Adjust the salt and pepper before serving. If you don't like cilantro, parsley is also very good. Top with a spoonful of yogurt and the fresh herbs. Serve with crunchy corn chips or warm corn bread!

ENJOY!