Chili season OMG what to do

cthoma70

Ok, it's chili season and I love chili I need some LOW calorie chili recipes, I LOVE Major Cajone's Firehouse Chili(on web) so if anyone has any ideas to help with this thanks

Andrea923

Try ground chicken or turkey instead of beef, add more beans, add more veggies, don't add cheese or sour cream on top...look for small changes to cut calories!

wbgolden

And for god's sake don't feel the need to make your new awesome healthy chili into a "dog"

runnermama81

Venison makes good chili too and is lean:)

Kelly_Wilson1990

Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Great source of extra protein. I use half ground turkey and half ground beef.

muitobem

A little sour cream is not going to hurt anything...and there is low fat sour cream out there....Add more beans, less meat...If you do up your own chili, go to the recipe maker here on mfp and place in your ingredients, how many it serves and you'll have your calorie count as well...
And yes, using turkey instead of ground beef...make Chicken Chili(it's a white chili)....

_blackbird

Well, I always make my chili vegan... cuts down on the calories for sure. Also, spice it with some onion and garlic powder.... you wont even need to add cheese

DakotaKeogh

Try the vegetable meat substitute crumbles in place of the meat. I use the Morningstar brand ones. They're fine. Mix in black beans to the recipe. Add lots of veggies to the sauce base and simmer to break them down. Meat (or substitute) and beans can go in last.

SuzMac1981

Quinoa chili!!!!!! Just look at the LOW calories!!!!

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/quinoa-chili.php

muitobem

You can use Vegan Crumbles in place of the meat as well...I think they are made by Boca...

dimplzz

Favorite Chili EVER! And it is even magnificant without the hotdogs in it!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135726-there-was-a-post-titled-inspired-by-the-chili-dog-only?hl=recipe+for+hot+dog+chili&page=1#posts-1846569

No-Buns-About-It Chili Dog Chili

PER SERVING (1 cup): 129 calories, 1.25g fat, 834mg sodium, 22g carbs, 5g fiber, 8g sugars, 9.5g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

That isn't a typo -- this is chili inspired by chili dogs. Take a bow, fellas! (Can hot dogs bow?)




Ingredients:
Two 14.5-oz. cans stewed tomatoes (Mexican-style, if available), not drained
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
7 hot dogs with about 40 calories and 1g fat each (like Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks), chopped
One 15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Optional: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
Optional topping: shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

Directions:
Roughly chop the stewed tomatoes, reserving all juice. Set aside.

Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add chopped bell peppers and onion. Stirring occasionally, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped (fresh) tomato, give mixture a stir, and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add stewed tomatoes and the reserved juice to the pot. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, removing the lid occasionally to stir.

Remove pot from heat and remove the lid. Allow chili to thicken for about 20 minutes.

If you like, season to taste with salt, black pepper, and/or cayenne pepper. Top each serving with cheese (optional), and enjoy!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

EmpressOfJudgment

I second the turkey chili idea. I also make mine with lots of beans and I add corn and sometimes zucchini. If you add vegetables and season it well, there is no need for cheese or sour cream. However, plain yogurt is a good substitute.

I made that today for our football party and it was a big hit.

p.s. I use A LOT of onions.

SuzMac1981

Favorite Chili EVER! And it is even magnificant without the hotdogs in it!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135726-there-was-a-post-titled-inspired-by-the-chili-dog-only?hl=recipe+for+hot+dog+chili&page=1#posts-1846569

No-Buns-About-It Chili Dog Chili

PER SERVING (1 cup): 129 calories, 1.25g fat, 834mg sodium, 22g carbs, 5g fiber, 8g sugars, 9.5g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

That isn't a typo -- this is chili inspired by chili dogs. Take a bow, fellas! (Can hot dogs bow?)




Ingredients:
Two 14.5-oz. cans stewed tomatoes (Mexican-style, if available), not drained
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
7 hot dogs with about 40 calories and 1g fat each (like Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks), chopped
One 15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Optional: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
Optional topping: shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

Directions:
Roughly chop the stewed tomatoes, reserving all juice. Set aside.

Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add chopped bell peppers and onion. Stirring occasionally, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped (fresh) tomato, give mixture a stir, and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add stewed tomatoes and the reserved juice to the pot. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, removing the lid occasionally to stir.

Remove pot from heat and remove the lid. Allow chili to thicken for about 20 minutes.

If you like, season to taste with salt, black pepper, and/or cayenne pepper. Top each serving with cheese (optional), and enjoy!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

834mg sodium.... yeesh!

Wynterbourne

I recently stumbled across two recipes I'm dying to try, but just haven't gotten around to them yet.

http://foodbeast.com/content/2011/10/08/tabascos-buffalo-chicken-chili/

and

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crockpot-turkey-white-bean-pumpkin.html

SarabellPlus3

Well, I always make my chili vegan... cuts down on the calories for sure. Also, spice it with some onion and garlic powder.... you wont even need to add cheese

Yep! I make my chili really healthy, no recipe, just whatever I have at the ready. Chili is one of the healthiest meals....... Until I decide it should just be a vehicle for cheese and Fritos. Lol THAT's the bad part!

MartiJJohnston

I'm making chili right now for about 150 calories/cup. I used the extra lean ground sirloin (140 calories/3.5g fat - 4 ounces) and only one pound. This might sound gross, but I cut up one 1/2 yellow squash in small cubes to put in it for more filler/lower calories. It's really good though! Any time you can add veggies to a dish it lowers the calorie count and of course makes it more nutritional!

Good luck!

cobracars

I compared the ground turkey to the lean 90/10 ground beef and I didn't see that big of a difference in the overall numbers, so I make mine with beef.
Big part of mine is to use fresh chopped tomato instead of canned, and to start with dried beans instead of canned. By eliminating the store-bought canned stuff I cut WAY down on the sodium. I also used salt substitute instead of salt (potassium cloride vs sodium cloride). Same taste but zero sodium.
If you want the recipe send me a note and I'll be happy to share it.

dragonfly74

Chili can be fairly healthy. Lean beef, chili beans, stewed tomatoes, onion and green pepper. Add some chili powder and you are good to go. Chili isn't unhealthy here.

Hearts_2015

Found some Sodium free canned tomatoes at Trader Joe's so I used those and bought some Pinto & Kidney beans in bulk and soaked those and tossed those in. Saved me a TON of sodium going the route of no cans. Also tossed in an onion, used Cayenne pepper (or any no sodium chili powder works too), and you can add meat or not...beans have a tons of protein in them.

Have fun:drinker:

ETA: There's several types of ground turkey, the 'everything from the the turkey' (ew) type, the all white turkey breast pkg (most expensive but lowest in fat and sodium I've found)., the other is also called 'ground turkey breast' but it says in small print on the pkg. that it's not just the breast meat but parts of the neck and ground wings etc. are also part of it when ground up. (was also reading a article on this on the Net..pretty eyeopening!).

I used to get the .99 cent roll of ground turkey then I read about it and have never bought it since, yes it's far less costly but as someone above shared not very much difference between the fat in it and beef.

Hearts_2015

oops, double post.

squintana1979

You can find some pretty kick butt healthy chili recipes on Eatingwell.com. I came across a turkey black bean chili that looks scrumdiddilyumptous.