One Pot Wonder: Vegan Chili, The Detox Way

One of my favorite vegetarian dishes to make has always been chili.  I started making it when I was in high school. While my mom was always my culinary touchstone growing up, I did have a few other influences, one of whom was my dad. He made his own version of homemade chili on occasion, usually on Sundays for eating while watching football. He chopped up peppers and onion and threw it all in a crockpot to cook with some kidney beans, ground beef, stewed tomatoes, and a packet of pre-mixed chili seasoning. The funny thing is that I never liked chili, or so I thought, until one day someone made it for Mexican cultural day at my elementary school. I ate a giant bowl of it and had to be reminded, "Rachel - that's chili. You know, the stuff you don't like." haha Turns out I did like it! So I began eating my dad's whenever he would make it at home. Once I became a vegetarian, I still wanted to enjoy a bowl of the good stuff on those Football watching Sundays, so I took it upon myself to create my own vegetarian version.

The chili of my early cooking days was pretty basic and based on my dad's recipe, minus the meat. Over the years it has evolved as my tastes have changed and through picking up tid bits from fellow chili makers. Have you ever noticed that pretty much everyone has their own chili recipe? It's one of those quintessential American dishes that every family, if not individual, becomes really passionate about. It's beautiful! It's such an easy dish to truly make your own and it's inspiring to hear people talk about their favorite way to make chili at home. After talking with people or eating it at restaurants, the vorace. version of chili now includes a variety of beans, zucchini, liquid smoke, jalapenos, and sometimes other fresh veggies - like carrots and squash. Top it with some cheese, a dollup of ranch dressing, some guac, and I'm good to go!

Is your mouth watering yet?!

Now that you aware my love affair with chili, you'll understand why I was super excited to find out that I could eat it when I was doing my detox! The first three days of the detox I could only eat berries, pureed veggie soup, and broth. Womp womp. I was obsessing about getting to the the fifth day when I could incorporate some different veggies into the mix. One of the suggestions in the pamphlet I had was vegetarian chili, so I decided to make a modified version of the chili recipe I regularly make, and that's what I'm sharing with you today.

You'll notice that all of the ingredients are organic - very important when you're doing a cleanse. And you'll notice there is no oil. That's because on the detox program I was following, oils weren't allowed. So instead, I used a bit of veggie stock to saute my garlic and veggies. Pretty ingenious if you ask me! And, notice I used cooked beans that I made myself - they were not from a can. I bought a bunch of organic dry beans, soaked them over night according to package instructions, then cooked them on the stove as directed. I had them on hand throughout the week so I could add them to salads and other dishes as needed. Make a note of that: you'll need to start your bean prep about 9 hours in advance of this recipe.

If you're not on a detox, this is still a great recipe. I would keep everything the same, but feel free to use oil instead of the stock at the beginning, and then your toppings are up to you. Cheese, sour cream, a creamy dressing, something crunchy like shelled pumpkin seeds, it's up to you. Have fun with it! And I have made this same recipe for my boyfriend and I before. I put two pots on the stove, double the ingredients and divide them evenly between the two pots. I just add some ground turkey or beef to his pot right after the onions have had a chance to cook. Give it a try!

OK, let's get detoxing!

Vegan Detox Chili
Servings: 3-4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic veggie stock
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 organic red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 organic sweet or yellow onion, chopped
1/2 organic green bell pepper, chopped
3 organic celery stalks, sliced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used pink Himalayan)
3 organic on-the-vine tomatoes, chopped
1 organic jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
1/3 cup cooked organic black beans
1/3 cup cooked organic pinto beans
1/3 cup cooked organic navy beans (or kidney beans if you can find organic - I couldn't)
1/2 organic avocado, chopped
1 teaspoon organic cilantro or parsley, chopped

Start by placing a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium low heat.

Add 1/4 cup of the veggie stock and garlic. Stir the garlic while it cooks for about two minutes so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Next, add in the chopped onion and red bell pepper and stir.

Let that cook for about two minutes and then add the green bell pepper, jalapeno, and celery. Stir.

Allow all of the veggies to cook and soften for five minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom for burned bits.

Now add some seasoning. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon each chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika, as well as 1/2 teaspoon FCBP and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir.

Allow to cook for another two minutes, stirring regularly.

Now add the tomatoes, and stir to combine.

Let the tomatoes cook and soften with the rest of the veggies for about five minutes, stirring regularly and making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

 

Next, add all of the beans and stir to combine.







Pour in another 1/4 cup of veggie stock, as well as add the remainder of the chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, FCBP, and salt. Stir.

 

Place the lid on your pot, turn the heat down to low, and allow the chili to cook for ten minutes like this, stirring often.

 

After ten minutes, remove the lid from the pot and sprinkle in either cilantro or parsley, whichever you prefer. Or both! 

Stir the cilantro/parsley into the chili, turn off the heat, and leave the pot on the burner while you get your bowl ready.

Use a ladle to make yourself a hearty serving of detox chili.



Top with the chopped avocado and some extra cilantro or parsley, and enjoy! Salute!