Protein Packed Turkey Chili

I don’t permanently count anything out of my diet BUT, when preparing food at home I like to make it as lean and clean as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is with your choice of protein. Many people think that eating lean means weighing your portions and force-feeding yourself unseasoned, unsalted baked or boiled chicken breast for breakfast lunch and dinner. Let me tell you first hand, we are better than boiled chicken. To keep my at home diet interesting, I opt for the ever versatile, California grown Foster Farms Organic (97% lean) Ground Turkey. I love to sub ground turkey into any recipe that calls for ground beef. Burgers, meatballs, tacos, lettuce cups, casseroles, pasta sauce and my favorite, chili.

Compare 4oz of Foster Farms Organic Ground Turkey to 4oz of normal Ground Beef Chuck and the stats look like this:

Calories - 160 FF Turkey vs 270 Chuck

Total Fat - 9g FF Turkey vs 21g Chuck

Protein - 22g FF Turkey vs 20g Chuck

If the nutritional stats didn’t already win me over, the USDA Organic certified standards Foster Farms adheres drives it home. Their land is farmed without pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Their turkeys are fed an organic, all-natural and vegetarian diet. No GMOs, antibiotics or growth hormones. I encourage you to trade your protein in for turkey and start with my moms chili recipe below:

Protein Packed Turkey Chili

My mom has made this chili recipe with soft tofu for years… I upped the protein with ground turkey. A key ingredient for this chili is the blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is high in magnesium, potassium, iron and it has a low glycemic rate so it adds a little sweetness without spiking your blood sugar.

Of course turkey chili is amazing with the classic toppings, but I love using it for nachos and healthified huevos rancheros (chili and eggs) topped with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a few tortilla chips.

Ingredients

1 package Foster Farms Organic Ground Turkey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 T blackstrap molasses
4 cans stewed and seasoned tomatoes
1 can black beans
2 cans kidney beans
1/2 onion diced
1 red pepper diced

RECIPE

Dice and sauté onion and red pepper with olive oil until soft (3 min)

Add ground turkey, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper

Break apart turkey with wooden spoon or spatula until cooked/slightly browned

While the turkey mixture is browning, pulse all cans of stewed tomatoes in the blender. Be careful not to blend too much or it will turn into a tomato sauce :)

Add stewed tomatoes, 3T molasses, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp chili

Simmer for 5 - 10 min

Open and rinse beans. Be sure to shake the excess water out of the colander

Add beans

Simmer for 10-15 min - simmer longer for a thicker chili but remember that chili is always thicker as leftovers