by Livvy
What?! FAT-MELTING chili?! Yup. According to Dr. Oz…
“Eating the right foods is crucial to weight loss. This vegetarian chili is hearty, tasty, and has all of the right fat-fighting ingredients to help you slim down. The protein-rich beans help build muscle, while the hot spices boost your metabolism to burn fat. Perfect for a family meal or to freeze and eat later, this recipe will help you drop those extra pounds.”
Sign me up! I didn’t know hot spices could boost your metabolism. If that’s the case, Hubs should be skin and bones cuz he eats a LOT of spicy food. Once when we had company over, I asked him to refill the salsa bowl. Well, he snuck ‘a little’ hot sauce into the bowl, too.
When a few of us unknowingly dipped our chips and took a bite, our mouths were ON FIRE. I had a FIT! He ruined the whole bowl of salsa! And he acted like it wasn’t hot at all. (Insert lots of eye-rolling and head-shaking.)
When I found this recipe on Dr. Oz’s website, I almost passed it up because of the very long ingredient list. But at second glance, I realized I already had most of them. And it’s all basic stuff – no special trip to the health food store required.
I will say, though – make sure you look at the quantity of each spice (like 3 TABLESPOONS of cumin) to make sure you don’t need to add those to your grocery list as well.
I’m glad I decided to make it because this chili turned out GREAT! It’s got some heat, but not too much. Tons of flavor. Very hearty, very filling. And I could feel the fat just melting off my thighs as I ate it. Not really. But, it doesn’t hurt to visualize, eh?
Yields about 14 cups
***
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Veggies:
- 2½ cups diced red onions
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 2 peppers, diced
- 1 medium sweet potato, diced
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 (10 oz) bag frozen corn
Flavors:
- 3 Tbsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 4 Tbsp. chopped garlic (I only used 2 Tbsp.)
- 2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeños
- 2 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Canned Goods:
- 3 (14.5 oz) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
- 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
- 1 (15 oz) black beans
- 1 (15 oz) can Adzuki beans*
- 2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle in adobo sauce*
- 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
Optional:
- 1 to 2 cups vegetable broth or vegetable juice (You can also just use water.)
Topping Suggestions:
sliced or diced avocado, vegan sour cream, vegan shredded cheese, tortilla chips/strips, chopped scallions/green onions/cilantro, lime juice
Notes
Yes, all of the portions above are correct, there are no typos. I know that’s a ridiculous amount of onion/cumin/chili powder/garlic/oregano, but I trusted Dr. Oz and followed it exactly (except for the garlic, which I cut in half)… and it tasted great.
The only thing I might change next time is the cumin – I might do 2 Tbsp. instead of 3. You can find Adzuki beans at most health food stores, but you could also substitute another bean-like chili or northern. If your grocery store has a Hispanic or ethnic aisle, you’ll likely find the little can of chopped chipotle in adobo sauce there.
Just a thought – you could use the leftover tomato paste, chipotle, and jalapeño as part of a marinade.
No cooking process photos this time. It’s pretty basic stuff…
Instructions
STEP 1
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes and mushrooms, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften about 10 minutes.
STEP 2
Stir in the cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic and jalapeño and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.
STEP 3
Add the tomatoes, beans, oregano, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and cinnamon. At this point, you can add a little vegetable broth, vegetable juice or water if you like your chili a bit thinner. (I added about 2 cups of vegetable broth because it was REALLY thick.)
STEP 4
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the corn; cook 5 more minutes, until corn is heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Time to go melt some fat away while I eat a bowl of chili and watch Michigan slaughter Massachusetts. GO BLUE!
