Crockpot Chili & 30 Minute Cornbread

There's nothing more satisfying than a bowl of homecooked chili and cornbread on a chilly fall night. Or maybe on a Sunday while you watch your favorite football team. Either way, it's a simple fact that it's one of those feel good meals! And now you don't have to feel guilty for eating it! 

What's even better, you can throw all the ingredients into the crockpot in the morning, and when you come home, dinner is ready! Or throw it all in Sunday morning, and meal prep is done for the week, all you have to do is divvi it out! 

So now that I have got you dreaming about a perfect fall mean on a chilly fall evening, why don't I give you the recipes...

Crockpot Chili 

(Serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 can diced tomatoes with juice 

1 can no salt added tomato sauce

1 4oz can diced green chiles

2 15oz cans of no salt added kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 15oz cans of no salt added cannellini beans drained and rinsed

1 green pepper diced

1 yellow onion diced

2 TBLSP and 1 tsp chili powder

1 TBLSP Italian seasoning

1 tsp hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste 

Optional: 1 pound lean ground turkey 

Method:

1. If using ground turkey, brown it in a frying pan, then add to crockpot. 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and stir well.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Cornbread

(Makes one 9x9 pan worth)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal (try to use organic)

1 TBLSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs or 6 TBLSP egg whites**

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

1 TBLSP apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9x9 baking pan with a little bit of coconut oil.

2. Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, honey, oil, and milk. Stir well.

5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry into the dry mixture and combine quickly, no more than 15 seconds. THE BATTER SHOULD LOOK LUMPY! Make sure you do not overmix the batter! 

6. Pour the batter into the pan and get it in the oven as soon as possible.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

**Note: for Vegan alternative use 2 flax eggs (1 flax egg = 3 TBLSP ground flax and 1 TBLSP water. Let it sit in the fridge for 10 minutes. Do this step when you do step 2!) 

#eatyourheartout

Pumpkin Pie Protein Waffles!

Today is a happy a day! Fall is upon us soon! All things pumpkin are coming our way! If you know me, you know I am a sucker for ALL things pumpkin. Plus, Fall is my birthday season, so it's kind of a win-win for me!

It's a crazy week for A Fat Kid At Heart; a lot of big things are happening! I am so excited to share them with you when the time is right, but for now I will keep you anticipating!

In honor of Fall starting soon, I thought I would share with you my pumpkin pie protein waffles! So easy, so delicious (as usual), and healthy! Also, for those of you that love pumpkin creations as much as I do, I scored organic cans of pumpkin purée that are BPA Free too at Costco last year! (I'm hoping they'll have them again!)

Here's What You'll Need:

1/3 cup egg whites or two eggs

1/4 cup pumpkin purée

1 scoop protein powder (I use Sunwarrior Classic Vanilla!) 

1/2 TBLSP almond milk

1-2 tsp pumpkin spice or cinnamon if you don't have pumpkin spice

Almond butter

Pure maple syrup

A waffle maker (duh! :)

Nonstick spray

Method:

1. Plug in the waffle maker to heat it up.

2. Mix together eggs, pumpkin, protein powder, milk and pumpkin spice.

3. Pour it into the waffle maker, but make sure you don't pour too much or it will overflow! 

4. Cook for about 6-7 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.

5. Top with a little almond butter and maple syrup.

So good! Enjoy!

Apples and Bananas... Banana Bread

Good morning gorgeous humans! I woke up this morning with a craving for banana bread; it must be the cool windy morning we are having here in Sacramento. I am definitely gearing up for Fall recipe wise. It is my favorite time of year, with both my favorite holidays Halloween and Thanksgiving! (Every fat kid at heart loves Thanksgiving!!) I grew up in Southern California, and they don't really have a Fall season where leaves change, weather changes, etc. So when I moved up to Nor Cal, experiencing my first Fall here was amazing! 

So anyway, back to my cravings... I wanted banana bread, but I didn't want to feel extremely guilt for it. I had also picked up some spelt flours and I wanted to try them out. Spelt flour is a wheat flour, but it has less gluten than whole wheat flour, which is what I typically use. It is NOT 100% gluten free, so if you are celiac, don't use it as an alternative. However, for those who are not, it is a great alternative to whole wheat flour. It is light, nutty, but a little sweet too. I used both whole spelt flour and white spelt flour in this recipe because mixing them makes for a better baking batter, but if you wanted to use all whole spelt flour it would work too! Spelt flour has a great amount of protein and fiber, and essential nutrients! 

So now, you are probably wondering how to make this amazing bread right?! Well let me share with you the recipe that will have your family and friends loving you forever! ;) 

What You'll Need:

(Makes 1 loaf of bread)

1 1/4 cup white spelt flour

1 1/4 cup whole spelt flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup overly ripe mashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas, and not too overly ripe)

3 TBLSP of egg whites

3/4 cup date purée 

1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.

2. With a fork, mash the bananas into a purée. It is okay to leave some chunks of banana!

3. Combine all the dry ingredients together, and combine all the wet ingredients together.

4. Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix with a wooden spoon until there are no clumps.

5. Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle of the bread.

That taste of Fall is upon you! Enjoy!

#eatyourheartout