Can chili be made wirth REAL ground beef and be good for you

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  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Well the title of this thread and what you actually put as your post are two very different things!

    First, YES, REAL GROUND BEEF IS FINE! I'm so tired of seeing all the bs about fat content in beef. Get grass-fed beef! Just like humans, if you feed cows stuff they aren't supposed to eat (corn!) their bodies won't be happy. Corn-fed "regular" beef that you get at the grocer, ick. Get the real stuff. It's the corn-fed cattle that have the high omega-6 content that's not good for you. Grass-fed cattle do much better - as in a great source of omega 3's. Plus, if you are really worried about how lean the beef is, all the grass-fed beef I get is super lean. (Which, like someone earlier hinted at, too lean and it's just nasty.) *end soapbox*

    Anyway, like suggested previously, just drain the excess fat from what you have, although you didn't say what kind of ground beef you have. You have some great recipes in here!

    Happy cooking! :)
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
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    This is a really yummy chili recipe!! It's from the America's test kitchen cookbook... Sorry, I don't have the nutritional info with me now but if you want it send me a message and I'll get it to you later when I can look at home. Also, I made it in the crock pot! :)

    Chili!
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    1 onion (chopped)
    1 red bell pepper (stemmed, seeded, chopped)
    1/4 cup chili powder
    1/2 tablespoon cumin
    1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    3 garlic cloves
    1 pound ground beef
    1 can dark red kidney beans
    1 can diced tomatoes
    1 can tomato puree
    1. heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds.
    2. Add the beef and increase the heat to medium high. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.
    3. Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the beef is tender, about another 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving! Enjoy :)
  • joleanrook
    joleanrook Posts: 117
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    We use ground buffalo (you can buy it at walmart in the specialty meats seciton)... it is lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol than beef but it tastes just as good and in my opinion BETTER. You will know it's better for you when you go to drain the fat, there isn't barely any... not like when you brown hamburger meat!! I substitue buffalo for beef ALWAYS.

    Also, FYI, buffalo is always organic because they are not allowed to use chemicals. They are also grass fed.

    Once you have had a buffalo filet mignon you will never go back to beef!!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    A tip for using ground beef, in almost any recipe:

    start with the lowest fat content you can handle. Brown it up and drain away the excess fat. Put the ground beef in a colander and pour very hot water over it. Pat dry. You have just reduced the fat content by a LOT.

    When I use hamburger in this way, I log it in my diary as the calorie content of the original beef, but the reduction in fat content is pretty significant. If I knew exactly how much it was reduced, I'd log it that way, but it goes down by quite a bit.

    (source: Dr. Oz....I think)
  • janna674
    janna674 Posts: 410 Member
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    here is my favorite chili recipe...it uses ground turkey with a little bit of sausage so its very flavorful and its Emeril's recipe...I have never calculated calories for it but all chili is fairly healthy...lots of beans and veggies yum

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/turkey-and-hot-sausage-chili-recipe/index.html
  • lisafrancis629
    lisafrancis629 Posts: 287
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    Lean Ground Beef (93% lean) has 170 calories and 8 fat grams for 4 oz. Ground turkey has 160 calories and 8 fat grams for 4 oz. I got the info from 3 different websites but some times the nutritional info is on the packages. To me, there are just some things I make that aren't as good unless as use ground beef so as long as I buy lean, I don't fret about it.

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