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 Spice & Everything Nice... Pumpkin Spice Donuts!

Fall is here, Halloween is tomorrow, and pumpkin spice is in the air! 

Why not surprise your loved ones with fresh pumpkin spice donuts tomorrow morning to set the holiday cheer?

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

(Makes 8 Donuts)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (I used white spelt flour)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin spice + 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/3 cup brown sugar or maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg or 3 TBLSP egg whites

1/3 cup almond milk (or other milk) + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp coconut oil 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the almond milk and ACV and let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl combine the flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients including the almond milk mixture and stir well.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all is combined.

6. Pour into donut molds, muffin tins would work too! 

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

8. Let them cool on a cooling rack or plate for a few minutes, then drizzle with honey.

Enjoy!

Ratatouille... Not the Movie

When life gives you homegrown organic heirloom tomatoes, you make ratatouille! 

I was at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach when I was home last week, and I had an amazing side dish of ratatouille. It is one of my favorite side dishes. So much flavor and depth. 

When I came home from my trip, Tyler had brought home fresh heirloom tomatoes from his coworkers garden. Immediately I knew I was going to make ratatouille! I always thought of the dish as more of a fall or winter dish, but surprisingly, it is a great summer dish since it has zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. Let's get to how you make this wonderful dish! 

What You Will Need:

(Makes 6-8 Servings)

1 medium eggplant cubed and drained

2 red bell peppers chopped

2 medium zucchinis chopped into crescent moon shapes

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 medium tomatoes diced

1 large yellow onion cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 bunch of basil wrapped with cooking twine + 6 leafs of basil chopped

Pinch of crushed red pepper

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 TBLSP olive oil divided

1. Cut the eggplant into cubes and set it out on paper towel to drain while you prep the rest of the vegetables.

2. Once all the veggies have been prepped, wipe a nonstick pan down with a little olive oil and heat to medium heat. When the pan is heated, cook the eggplant until it is a golden brown, and then take it off the heat and set it to the side.

3. In a large pot, heat one tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the onions start to become translucent.

4. Next, add in the garlic, basil bunch, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. After 2-3 minutes, add in the peppers and cook for a couple minutes before adding the zucchini. Allow it all to cook together for a couple minutes.

6. Next, add the tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes covered.

7. After 8-10 minutes, add the eggplant to the pot, and continue to cook the ratatouille covered for 15-20 minutes on low-medium heat. 

8. Once the veggies are soft, turn off the heat, take out the basil bunch using tongs, and add the remaining 1/2 TBLSP of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and some fresh ground pepper and stir.

 

Serve warm & enjoy! 

Amazing Zucchini Bread!

Hello All! I feel like it has been forever! Life has been crazy, but amazing! Lots of traveling, cooking, planning, and creating. Today I bring you zucchini bread! Yep, it is not a mistake, it is bread with actual zucchini in it, and it is AMAZING!!! Even Tyler thought it was the best thing ever! 

This recipe is lower in fat, has protein and is fiber rich, does not contain ANY refined sugar, and is simply delicious! 

What You Will Need:

(1 loaf of bread or 10-12 muffins)

3 TBLSP egg whites

1/4 cup honey

3/4 cup blended dates (Soak the dates in water for at least an hour, save the water but drain the water out into a bowl or plastic container, using a food processor or blender, purée the dates into a paste, adding a TBLSP or two of the date water. **You can save the extra date paste in the fridge and use it later on!)

1/4 cup no sugar added applesauce 

1/4 cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

1 cup grated zucchini 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional: 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or raisins.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a bread loaf pan.

3. Whisk together egg whites, honey, date purée, applesauce, coconut oil, zucchini, and vanilla extract.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

5. Pour the wet batter into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon until fully combined.

6. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for 35 minutes, after 35 minutes, place foil lightly over the top of the loaf and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Let it cool for about an hour (IF you can wait that long) and serve!

**IF you are making muffins, preheat oven to 425 degrees, let the muffins cool for 5 minutes and then turn them down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 12-13 minutes.