When my husband and I, along with 7 of our patients, went through a 21 Day Purification Program this past January, there were a lot of naughty foods that needed to be removed from our diets. And for the first 10 days, to give the liver and kidneys a break, we cut out meat as well. With a lot of our easily-grabbable food choices off the table, we had to get creative to make healthy and filling meals that also tasted good. Lentil chili quickly became one of our favorites.
Though the Purification Program is long over, the lessons we learned have carried on into our every day eating. We still drink two smoothies a day, since it’s much easier to drink a salad (okay, spinach and fruit) than to chew the whole darned thing. Everyone knows that eating salad takes at least half an hour. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t have an hour a day to spend on salad.
We have this chili for dinner at least once a month, and always cook up a large batch, making it easy to grab it to go for lunch at work. We add avocado, cilantro and, of course, hot sauce (the kind that’s just chili peppers and vinegar) to give it a little kick. The result is a spicy, satisfying, fiber-filled meal that keeps even my husband full for hours.
The recipe we use was adapted from the this Lentil Chili Recipe created by Whole Foods Market.
Do you make chili without meat? Have you used a similar recipe? Let me know how it turned out!
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- 8 medium sweet potatoes, holes poked and wrapped in aluminum foil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 large red pepper, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 6 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 ¼ cups)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 8 cups (two cartons) vegetable broth
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 4 teaspoons cumin
- 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Diced avocado for serving
- Set oven to 450 degrees. Place wrapped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender, while working on chili.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion, pepper, carrots and garlic. Stir until vegetables begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of vegetable broth if vegetables begin to stick.
- Add chili powder, cumin and smoked paprika – cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add lentils, tomatoes, and remaining broth.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to medium-low heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer.
- Remove sweet potatoes from oven, cut open and spoon out insides into dishes for serving. Top with chili, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
I really need to schedule in a cleanse! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be sure to use it next cleanse!
The Standard Process program is awesome, Birchann. Let me know when you do it, and how the chili comes out!