Showing posts with label points. Show all posts
Showing posts with label points. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Vegetarian Chili


I've been craving chili lately and decided to make it tonight when I found an old chili recipe my mom sent me wayyy back in the day.

Alex was also much more willing to have some since my mom added a note to the recipe saying that this was veggie chili even she would eat (given that she's a meat eater). He also added ground turkey to his.

This chili is mostly beans and veg rather than soy. Next time I make it I might add a bit more chili powder or garlic to give it more of a kick though. And some corn, lime juice and cilantro might be a nice touch as well.

It's great garnished with fresh onion, a wee bit of fresh cheese, and since I was feeling indulgent today, I also added just a few fritos from a single serving bag we bought at a convenience store down the street. (Absolutely can't have leftover fritos hanging out!) It would have been better to add baked tortilla chips. That'll be my official recommendation!

Unless you want tons of leftovers, you could make just half the recipe. I went for the whole thing though since I didn't want to have half cans of beans leftover. I also used canned lentils instead of dry ones, and I wouldn't recommend that. They were too soft.

I also have to recommend the largest stock pot you have. I used what I thought was big enough, and it wasn't.

The recipe makes 12, count 'em, 12 servings at 5 points each and 260 calories. Plus whatever you use for garnish. Mine was 7 points per serving with the cheese and fritos. Still not bad!

Recipe Below:

Five-Bean Vegetarian Chili

2 tsp olive oil
2 med. onions, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1-12 oz. pkg dry lentils
1-16 oz. bag frozen black-eyed peas
4 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes w/puree
84 oz. water (3 tomato cans filled)
1-16 oz. can black beans, rinsed
1-16 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed
1-16 oz. can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 tsp salt

In a large kettle, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic and peppers. Cook, stirring occassionally for 8-10 min. or until the vegetables are soft and fragrant.

While vegetables are cooking, pour the dry lentils into a colander and rinse thoroughly under water. Drain. Add the lentils and frozen black-eyed peas to the kettle, along with remaining ingredients.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 min.

Stir occassionally. Chili should be thick and rich. Season to taste. For spicier chili, add more chili powder or up to 1 tbsp hot sauce.

Flavor improves if refrigerated overnight. Add water if necessary when reheating.

Friday, April 24, 2009

The Cookie Monster Strikes Again!!


Ummm...yeah...that would be me!

I haven't been sleeping well (which i can't figure out) and have been super tired. Unfortunately, when I'm tired and cranky, I turn to food. So this morning, I had a bigger breakfast than usual to try and combat that a bit. I totally inhaled it! Which was fine, all within my Weight Watchers points. Except that I still wasn't satisfied. But i wasn't technically hungry either.

Tired, having trouble concentrating on the notes for my morning meeting, I went to the kitchen for an extra cup of coffee. Again, okay. But then it happened...*someone* left two big bins of cookies on the kitchen table! Chocolate cookies!

Totally snarfed one down!

So that's the bad part. The good part is that a) it was quite little, b) i resisted a second one by asking myself what good it would really do, and c) this was the third day someone had left out different kinds of awesome cookies. And this was the first time I indulged.

So a little bit at a time I guess.

It's more about why I was eating this morning, than what, at the end of the day, i did eat. My biggest challenge too is that I totally felt better after my snarfed breakfast, cookie and coffee.

I should start calling that gnawing part of me the cranky monster.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Pizza and spades


So Alex had the guys over tonight to play cards, and I had to face the temptation of pizza.

I planned on eating just one piece but ate a second when I saw I still had enough points left for the day. Now the rest sits in the box taunting me.

Which made me wonder, point- and health-wise, is it really worth blotting the oil off pizza? Does it work, I mean? Are you a blotter?