Nutritional Powerhouse!

With the Boston Marathon right around the corner, I am trying to really kick up my good food intake. I absolutely love making chili because of the diversity of ingredients that taste good all mixed together, its easy to make in large quantities and freeze, and its perfect for work day lunches.

I started out this chili with several cups of dried lentils, mixed beans, and split peas. I soaked them overnight and through the work day the next day to be sure that they would be ready for cooking.

One of the key ingredients of the chili, and one of my major weaknesses, pickled jalapenos. They are slightly spicy and pack a flavorful punch, so I like to chop them and add them in the chili, then put them on top as well.

I don’t normally put kale in my chili, but I thought, why not? It offers such great nutritional value and pairs well with lentils and beans.

To start off, I sautéed red onions and garlic in olive oil, then added some tomato paste to bring a nice tomatoey richness to the dish.

I then added in the chopped jalapenos, canned tomatoes, corn, kale, and my spices, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes. I like it spicy!

Mmmm. This chili was SO good. It felt great eating it too. Just for fun, I decided to use a recipe calculator to see what great nutrition this dish had to offer.

A 1.5 cup serving packs 35% of your RDA of iron, 67% of your Vitamin C, 68% of your folate, and 18 grams of protein, among other things. This will definitely be a repeat creation in our house!

If you like to make chili, what are your favorite additions? Anything unexpected?