5 Chili Recipes (no processed ingredients)
When cooking healthy, it’s important to avoid processed and canned ingredients, to avoid the high amounts of metals from stored food in aluminum or tin containers, among other things. Here are some other things important healthy cooking tips to keep in mind
- If your recipe calls for adding canned broth, add water instead. When cooking in your MEC pots all the food taste is preserved, nothing is lost like if cooking in metals so water is sufficient to bring out those flavors and there is no need for other flavor adding canned ingredients.
- Use sea salt (has many trace minerals), raw sugarcane, aka Jaggery, and minimally processed cooking oil like coconut oil, sesame seed oil, or olive oil. Avoid highly processed vegetable oils, corn oil and the likes.
The MEC difference:
The biggest difference is the taste of the food and its nutritional value. The food tastes much better, is more nutritious when cooked in MEC. Besides your food being fully non-toxic (no metals and chemicals interacting and leaching in to the food), and more nutritious (the heat cooking the food is different and cooks without damaging nutritional cells). Here are some more advantages to making chili in MEC’s pure clay pots:
- Easy one pot cooking: The complete recipe can be done in one pot, including cooking the beans. Beans and lentils take anywhere from 30 mins to 1.20 hours to cook. To save time off course you can use home pre-cooked beans too.
- Less water needed: Less water is required than mentioned in recipe for conventional cookware.
- Cooking beans in pure-clay prevents flatulence: The water left from cooking the beans will be enough for the recipe, typically it’s recommended this water be discarded to prevent beans from causing flatulence. Not so when cooked in clay.
- Pureeing can be done right in the pot: If recipe calls for pureeing ingredients you may not have to when cooking in clay. Just let the ingredients cook some more and smash against the clay walls and they can be pureed and will blend in well with the rest of the recipe to form a thick base. When cooking in other ware the ingredients acquire a harder texture and thus require pureeing separately to mash them down.
Below you can find 5 best chili Recipes (vegetarian & non-vegetarian) — healthy, non-toxic and delicious for cooking in your MEC Pure Clay Pots.
1. Slow Cooked GREEN CHICKEN CHILI – A Unique & Healthy Twist on Traditional Chili
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 2 large sweet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1″ cubes (about 2 pounds); 16-ounce tomatillo salsa (salsa verde) (about 2 cups); 2-3 cups water; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 2 teaspoons (or more) kosher salt; 1 teaspoon (or more) freshly ground black pepper; black beans; Sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, and/or finely chopped onion (for serving; optional)
Cook time: 40-50 minutes
Recipe:
Add all ingredients – mix chicken, potatoes, salsa, beans, water, cumin, salt, and pepper in MEC pot. Cover and cook until chicken shreds easily with a fork and sweet potatoes are tender, on low or medium. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve topped with avocado, cilantro, and/or onion, if using.
2. BEEF AND SQUASH CHILI – Comfort Food at its Finest
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
1 dried ancho chile; 1 dried pasilla chile; 2 cups water; 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1 pound boneless beef — cut into 1/2″ pieces; Kosher salt; Freshly ground pepper; 1 large white onion, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 acorn squash, scrubbed, sliced into thin wedges, then into 1″ pieces; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas); Sour cream; Chopped avocado; Sliced red onion (for serving)
Cook time: 1 hour
Recipe:
(1) Toast chiles in a dry small MEC pot over medium heat, turning occasionally and pressing down to help them make contact with the pot, until darkened in color and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.Cover with 2 cup water; let sit 30 minutes to soften. Purée chiles and water by smashing it against the walls of the pot cover and let it sit.
(2) Add 1 tablespoon oil in a MEC pot over medium. Add beef with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7-10 minutes. At this point, some liquid will have accumulated. Then add white onion and garlic. Cover and cook until softened (stir once or twice if need be), 6–8 minutes. Add cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
(4) Add chile purée and 2 more cups of water to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and meat is tender, 20–25 minutes. Add squash; cover and cook until tender, 10–15 minutes. Stir in lime juice.
(5) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Toss pumpkin seeds and remaining 1 teaspoon oil on a baking sheet; season with salt. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool. Serve chili topped with sour cream, avocado, red onion, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
3. Butternut Squash, Turkey and Beans Chilli – Amazingly Delicious and Healthy
Ingredients:
(Serves 8)
1 large red onion, finely chopped; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary, Kosher salt; 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper; 1 1/2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey; 3.5 lbs whole peeled tomatoes, drained, juices reserved, and chopped; 4 cups diced butternut squash; 15-oz. cooked or dried cannellini beans; 1 pound Tuscan kale (also called dinosaur or Lacinato kale), stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped (about 8 cups); 12 large sage leaves, finely sliced.
Cook time: 1 hour
Recipe:
- Add some water in an MEC pot set over medium heat, add the onion, garlic, rosemary and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is just barely softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed red pepper and turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Now add the cooked beans.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot, and let the mixture cook covered for another 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the squash, cover the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is just tender about 25 minutes.
- Add the beans, kale and sage and cook, until the kale is cooked, about 5-7 minutes. Season with additional salt if needed and ladle the chili into MEC bowls and serve.
4. Vegan Kidney Beans & Halapinio Chili – A Healthy vegan Chili Cooked in Pure Clay
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
1 medium yellow onion, diced; 1 cup shredded carrots; 1-2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 cup bulgur, rinsed; 2 tablespoons chili powder; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (about 2 medium or 6 plum tomatoes); 15-ounce dry kidney beans, 15-ounce dried black beans, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste; Chopped fresh cilantro
Cook time: 1 hour
Recipe:
- Add water and both varieties of beans to the pot, cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer for an additional 10-15 mins.
- Add the onion, carrots, and jalapeño and sauté, stirring them. Add garlic, add the bulgur, chili powder, and cumin and stir until well combined.
- Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender about .45 mins. Season with salt to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro, if desired.
5. VEGETARIAN BLACK BEAN CHILI – A Serious Crowd Pleaser
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
2 cups chopped onions; 1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers (about 2 medium); 6 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tablespoons chili powder; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 3 15- to 16-ounce dried black beans, Chopped fresh cilantro; Sour cream; Grated Monterey Jack cheese; Chopped green onions
Cook time: 50 minutes
Recipe:
Add beans, onions, bell peppers, garlic, water and cook for about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne.. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls. Pass chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and green onions separately.
“Everything is so moist tender and delicious that I cook in it!…”
– Diane Bedlin
