Name: 3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Healthy, Plant-based
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 3 stalks organic celery, chopped; 2 red or yellow bell peppers, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 medium white or regular sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped; 2 small zucchini, chopped; 2 tsp. salt; 3 T or more chili powder; 2 T ground cumin; 1 T dried oregano; 1 T sweet paprika; 2 tsp. ground cinnamon; ground pepper to taste; 2 14.5 oz cans chopped tomatoes with juice; 3 cans mixed beans (I used black beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans), rinsed and drained; 2 cups vegetable broth; baby spinach, for serving (optional); avocado, for serving (optional); In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, celery, peppers, zucchini. I used a bit of broth while sauteeing but you can use a little olive oil too. Add salt and ground pepper and saute until softer and getting translucent.; Add spices to pot and stir for 1 minute.; Add sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, broth and bring to a simmer.; Simmer for 30 minutes until potatoes are soft but not mushy. Taste for seasoning and add more chili powder or spices, salt and pepper.

I was craving something hearty and warm, part chili, part chowder. I threw together ingredients I had on hand in the pantry and voila! A delicious, filling and nutrient-packed bowl of goodness! With 20 mins of prep, you can throw this together and let it simmer away until you are ready to serve.

I used Japanese sweet potatoes because they add a really nice starchy texture and aren’t too sweet. As a bonus, my kids think they are white potatoes.

3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili

Prep 20 mins

Cook 35 mins

Total 55 mins

Author Lilah Wise, Naturally Whole

Yield 10 servings

This chili is warm, hearty and full of health benefits from fiber, plant protein and spices. Feel free to adjust the seasoning and spices to your liking. It's best the next day but everyone who has eaten this has raved and wanted seconds. Yes, even the kids!

I serve my chili on a bed of baby spinach with some sliced avocado. But feel free to serve with warmed tortillas, brown or cauiflower rice or quinoa.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 stalks organic celery, chopped
2 red or yellow bell peppers, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium white or regular sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
2 tsp. salt
3 T or more chili powder
2 T ground cumin
1 T dried oregano
1 T sweet paprika
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
ground pepper to taste
2 14.5 oz cans chopped tomatoes with juice
3 cans mixed beans (I used black beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans), rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
baby spinach, for serving (optional)
avocado, for serving (optional)

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, celery, peppers, zucchini. I used a bit of broth while sauteeing but you can use a little olive oil too. Add salt and ground pepper and saute until softer and getting translucent.
Add spices to pot and stir for 1 minute.
Add sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, broth and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 30 minutes until potatoes are soft but not mushy. Taste for seasoning and add more chili powder or spices, salt and pepper.

Courses Main Course

Cuisine Healthy, Plant-based

It’s 2019! Have you made your new year’s resolutions yet? All those desires cloaked in wishful thinking that you may vaguely attempt for a few weeks before the next vacation, personal drama or life event takes precedence and you are lost, once again?

I’m here to tell you, you DO NOT NEED A “NEW YOU”.

You already contain the elements you need within you. Sound hokey? Like Deepak Chopra feel-good rubbish?

Well, too bad. It’s true.

The message that you need a “new you” dominates in popular magazines, on diet websites, and it sure does a good job selling stuff that coincides with our ideal image of ourselves. Want to get fit? Then you need a new pair of leggings/headphones/trainer. And maybe you do need those things to help you. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you’re getting things in the hope that you will suddenly become an avid runner even though you run only when chased, then I’m afraid it’s not going to go well.

In our attempts to change our habits for better ones, we often lose and grow frustrated, wondering why we failed yet again. The “New You” wasn’t better and you are still the same old you. So better continue with the old habits and beliefs right? And now you get to feel bad about yourself to boot.

WRONG.

The OLD YOU is already good enough. In fact, the old you is your secret superpower. The OLD YOU knows itself, it’s flaws and imperfections, like an old married couple who know each others’ quirks like the wrinkles on their foreheads.

You are all you need. Once you realize this, and stop punishing yourself for being not enough, you can harness your strengths in order to push yourself in the ways you need to.

Perhaps you are amazing at organizing and list-making. You can shop and meal-prep for the week in order to stay on track with healthy eating. Perhaps you are good at making friends and love socializing? Maybe this translates to a new workout or class that makes joyful movement a real aspect of your life.

Most of us think that change comes from outside of us- like a new dress/diet/relationship that will suddenly transform you. If I only had the right _______, I would be __________. Our minds are intrinsically trained to focus on the negatives, or what we perceive to be negatives or lacks. We think “I hate my frizzy hair” instead of “I love my thick and unruly hair”. Radical self-acceptance is a necessary arbiter of change. You can’t begin to change something when you can’t accept its there.

As a health coach, I strive to see each client for who they are now, not who they hope to be. I can highlight their strengths and use them to the client’s advantage. Small changes, when applied diligently and with care, can yield huge results. And the only person who knows what’s changing? YOU. The very same, old YOU.

So, no, you don’t need a NEW you. You need to wisen up to all that the old you offers. Accepting your limitations and obstacles doesn’t make you less than; it makes you human and whole. And from that interesting, fertile place, you can sow the seeds of change from the ground up. Growth is required and may be painful. But that’s ok too. Discomfort is only that.

The old you knows this. All you have to do is listen.

To work with me as a client, click here.

Archives for January 2019

3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients