Now that autumn is looming, we need heavier food and I've started making the best vegetarian chili in the world – or at least I think so! :-) It's can be a slow cooker vegetarian chili (alias a crock pot vegetarian chili) or you can make it on top of the stove in only a few minutes.
BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: it tastes wonderful!
2nd BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: it's wonderfully healthy. Most chilis are not. In fact, they're terribly unhealthy.
3rd BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: it's incredibly simple to make … throw a few ingredients in the pot, stir them up and forget about it until you're ready to chow down.
4th BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: it's cheap – the ingredients are very low in cost and it makes a lot.
5th BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: it works into any recipe that needs chili: on top of potatoes, covered with (healthy) sour cream, on taco salads, on chili dogs, etc.
6th BEST THING ABOUT MY VEGETARIAN CHILI: nobody knows it's vegetarian! Even fool husbands, kids and your in-laws.
How To Make My Best Vegetarian Chili
It requires "Yves Meatless Ground" which is available in Krogers and Publix grocery stores here in Atlanta, as well as health food stores.
Vegetarian Chili (or Spaghetti or Sloppy Joes)
* 1 package of Yves Meatless Ground
* 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce [I used Publix organic]
* 2, 15 ounce cans of beans – again, I use organic but it's not required [you can mix your kinds of beans]
* Cumin and chili powder – I just dump those two in to suit my taste; I really like a chipotle chili powder, but it's pretty hot so go slow unless you like a scorched mouth
That's it. Just throw everything into a pot or slow cooker. Since everything is already cooked it only takes about 10-15 minutes of simmering until it's ready. And this recipe gets better, the longer it sits.
Nutrition For Best Vegetarian Chili
– The Yves is great: 1/3 cup = 60 calories, 10 gm protein and 2 gm fiber
– The tomatoes are, of course, very low in calories – I don't even count them
– Beans vary, depending on the brand and type, but the brand I use contains 100 calories for 1/2 cup with 6 gm of fiber and 6 gm of protein
Bottom line: 1 cup of vegetarian chili = 160 calories with 16 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber
Uses For Best Vegetarian Chili
+ Eat 'as is" for chili
+ Use on hamburgers
+ Chili dogs
+ On top of potatoes or rice or pasta
+ Use in casseroles
+ Change to Italian seasonings, leave out the beans (horrors! – I love beans!) and make it as spaghetti
+ Change seasonings again and make as sloppy joes
+ You can use this in any recipe that calls for chili, spaghetti or sloppy joes – just change the seasonings
I've used this recipe countless times and no one has ever realized that it's not meat! At Christmas, my brother and his wife were visiting and he's always loved chili dogs. I made them with veggie wieners and my chili. I purposely steered the conversation towards my way of eating and they both told me that there is no way to find chili that was decent without using "real" meat. I just laughed inside since they were busily scarfing down my meatless meal. I never did tell them the truth. :-)
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