Turkey Chili Recipe

This recipe is a staple in my household. I've experimented with it quite a bit and like this combination best. Chocked full of protein and  fibre it hits the spot.  Although the dietician at my clinic considers chili to be a slider food it works well for me and keeps me satisfied for hours. Enjoy!

Makes approximately 8, one cup servings. Freezes well.


1 tbl. Vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 kg or 1 pound ground turkey
¼ cup tomato paste
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes - use the no salt added kind. I use a hand blender to make to crush tomatoes a bit, for a chunky mixture. You can also used crushed tomatoes but I like the consistency of the chunky mixture better.
1 19 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 19 oz can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
2-3 tbl. fresh chopped parsley or 1 ½ tsp of dry
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1 tbl fennel seeds
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp crushed chili flakes (optional & adjust to make spicier)
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder or alternatively 1 tbl sugar
1  - 1 & 1/2 cups of water.

• In large pot heat oil, add onions and sauté until translucent (approx 2 minutes) stir frequently. Add celery. Add ground turkey, cook until brown. Be sure to break up chunks so that meat is evenly crumbled.
• Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, black beans and kidney beans. Stir. Add parsley, Italian seasoning, oregano, fennel seeds, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, and chili flakes (if using).
• Add water to thin mixture a bit. Stir and cover. Simmer on low heat for 30- 45 minutes.
• Add unsweetened cocoa powder or 1 tbl sugar, adjust spices if needed.
• Simmer for 15 additional minutes.

Some of my favourite snacks

The dietician at my clinic recommends eating every 3 hours to keep the metabolism fires stoked. It's surprisingly hard to do, I'm often not hungry or get too busy and forget. I have been trying to stick to it lately though to try and get past the 2 pounds that I've been losing and gaining for a couple of weeks now.

Here are some of my favourite snacks. (Note: some of these may only be available in Canada) 

This also comes in a vanilla flavour which is great on its own or with some fruit. Each serving (about 3/4 cup) has between 18 - 20 grams of protein and approx 110 - 120 calories.

One scoop of this protein powder contains 120 calories, 2 grams fat, 5 grams carbs and 20 grams of protein. I blend it with 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water. It's very rich and chocolately. I just discovered they have a peanut butter chocolate flavour!! I'll have to give it a try.

    

These bars are great,  comes in a bunch of different flavours - Lemon Zest is one of my faves.  About 9 grams of protein per bar & approx. 180 cals. Great when you want something sweet.

I have a couple of wedges of these with a few rice crisp crackers. The light version contains 50 cals per 2 wedges & 4 grams of protein.

These are another good grab and go snack. Gilly  also mentioned this one a while back.
They're a bit pricey here (I get them for $2.99/per) but sooo good. Strawberry Banana is one of my faves. About 140 calories and 14 grams of protein.

I either buy almonds in bulk at the health food store or the boxes that have 12 small cello packs. The cello packs are an easy grab and go,  each pack  contains 100 calories and contains 4 grams of protein.

Letting go and moving on

For weeks now I have had piles of clothing set aside to donate to a number of charities but couldn't bring myself to part with them. I have no idea why it was so hard to get them out the door; I tried explaining it to M and he couldn't understand why I wasn't ecstatic that so much of my wardrobe no longer fit. I was a bundle of mixed emotions; I loved many of those pieces and felt good when I wore them. I also felt sad for the girl who wore those clothes. Worried that I might need them again some day and also kind of happy that they no longer fit. I finally got the bags out of the house this weekend. My closet is now filled with lots of empty hangers and the pickings are slim. I love clothes and quality pieces but I don't want to spend a lot right now. I want to save the big spend for when I hit goal. My current rule is to only buy items on sale and I try to buy pieces that are versatile enough for work and socializing.

While I've been wrestling with letting go of the clothing, the scale has been bouncing around. I haven't been making the best food choices recently and all the socializing has brought some additional pressure. Whether accurate or not it feels like everyone is paying attention to how much I eat and I feel pressure to eat more that I really should. No one knows about the band except M and I am still not ready to discuss it. I get lots of compliments on the weight loss (which I am enjoying) and friends and family know that I have changed my diet and started running. I will let them know the whole story eventually, but not just yet.

I need to focus on losing the 15 pounds I want to lose by the end of August. I'm going to start logging my food and planning my meals again. I do better when I do these things, I just don't like doing them. It's a necessity at this point though otherwise I'll just keep gaining and losing the same two pounds.

Sixty!

Officially down 60 pounds!  Hope everyone is having a great week!

Sunny Days

We're having a great stretch of weather in Toronto and I've been making the most of it.  I lost my cell phone today and the person who found it was kind enough to turn it into security at the building where I had dropped it. Given that I had no idea where I had lost I wasn't even sure where to start looking. It was so good to get a call at home with the message that my phone had been found. Aren't people great?

After all my whinging about the scale, I stepped on yesterday and I was down 2.5 pounds. It was the same this morning so I'm taking it as a real loss. All feels right in my little neck of the woods. 

Hope whatever you're doing this weekend brings you happiness.