144.8…Hearty Turkey Chili

I love making chili. You just throw everything in the pot and voila! Dinner's done. Since I'm trying to eat healthier and watch calories, I found this recipe for Hearty Turkey Chili from Weight Watchers. It's 231for a cup. It wasn't my favorite chili in the world, but it's easy to make, there's tons of veggies and it was filling.

Hearty Turkey Chili (Serves 6)

Recipe slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients:

1 spray(s) cooking spray

1 tsp canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced into rounds (I used shredded carrots)

1 pound lean ground turkey

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1 cup canned chicken broth

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt or to taste

1/4 tsp. black pepper or to taste

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

 

Directions:

1. Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil, onion and carrots; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.

2. Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, garnish with scallions (and whatever other toppings you like).

Printable Recipe 

Friday night was my son's first basketball game of the season. After a stressful game that included over time (!!), his team finally won! We went out to Mia Francesca for dinner to celebrate!

My husband and I split a Caesar salad. It rocked.

I love Mia Francesca for many reasons. Their food is ALWAYS amazing and their menu changes all the time. My meal Friday night did not disappoint. I ordered the Tuna with Arugula, Red Onion, Lemon and Olive Oil.

Yes, there was tuna under all that arugula. I ate every delicious bite.

Saturday morning was a bit of a rush to get ready to leave for my daughter's birthday party. I grabbed a piece of toast with peanut butter before heading out the door.

Her party was a success! The place we had the party at made their own pizza so I had to try it. It was pretty darn good. I had to have a second piece to make sure. :) It's ok….Saturday was my cheat day. 

After the party, my family came back to my house to continue the festivities. I put out crackers, cheese, chips, dips and veggies. I had a couple of plates that looked like this:

For dinner, we picked up Luna Grill. Yeah! I had my usual Greek Salad with a chicken kabob.

Breakfast Sunday morning was scrambled egg beaters with salsa, zucchini, green onions and turkey.

I attended a women's Jewish Federation Event with some friends at the Hilton Hotel in downtown San Diego. There were 1000 women there and the speaker was Dr. Ruth! She was hilarious! She only spoke for about 30 minutes but I would have loved to have kept listening to her. 

Lunch was served during the presentations. Our meal started with a squash soup.

Followed by salmon, quinoa and green beans.

Don't forget dessert!

I tried to take just a couple bites of each of the little desserts. I did appreciate that the rest of the meal was pretty healthy though!

When I got home, it was time to make dinner and that's when I whipped up the Hearty Turkey Chili.

Breakfast this morning was blueberry Chobani yogurt (really liking this flavor), Easy Granola, strawberries and blueberries.

I dropped the kids off at school, then went to Cardio Muscle class. Later on, I ran some errands and stopped for lunch at Wahoo's. I got the "skinny" version of my usual tacos (lettuce instead of tortillas).

This time I ate it with a knife and fork. Much easier. Less messy.

Do you pick a certain day of the week to have a "cheat day" or are all weeks different? Or do you not do one at all?

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