Yummy, Good for you Chili

Dusty wants to work on healthier habits this year and gave me free and full rein on all the menus and menu planning!  While I love the control, it has been a little bit overwhelming.  Especially since I'm trying to help him stay full and calories in check.

So far this week has been ok.  Most meals have been pretty ok.  The hardest part for me is dinner.  I don't want to cook more than one dinner and while Kaitlyn isn't necessarily picky, she can be.  Monday's dinner was as simple as tacos but the meat replaced with lean turkey and went heavy on the veggies.  A side of black beans and the meal was good for you and filling.

Tuesday night we had pasta with chicken.  I took a chicken breast (boneless, skinless) and smashed the heck out of it with a mallet then lightly dusted it with wheat flour, oregano and salt and pepper.  I browned it in olive oil, removed it out of the pan and cooked some mushrooms in with water and a bit of brandy and garlic.  Once it was nice and going I returned the chicken for about 20 minutes and served it with whole wheat pasta. It was under 500 calories a serving and it kinda tasted that way.

Wednesday night was my FAVORITE.  It was really tasty, everyone liked it, even Samantha.  And, it was only one pot, so yay!  So, I'm sharing the recipe :)

What you'll need:

1 lb ground extra lean beef (can leave out or substitute with turkey)
1 table spoon olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
1 green bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or minced)
2 tomatoes
2 14.5 cans of black beans - drained
chili powder

In a stock pot, brown the beef.  Drain off all excess fat and remove beef from pot.

In the same pot, add the olive oil and onions and garlic to sweat.

While the onions and garlic are cooking, peal the carrots and add them with the bell pepper and tomatoes to a food processor and chop it all up nice and fine.

Add the remaining veggies and black beans to the pot with  about a tablespoon of chili powder.

Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 45 minutes.

This made enough for 6 large servings and we were all full after.

In addition to being easy, each serving only had 275 calories, 8.5 grams of fat, 43 mg of sodium and 24 grams of protein.  (and of course, my math could be offer, we've mostly just been watching calories).