Detox - Day 1

I made a vegetarian chili for lunch.


I based my recipe off of one I found in the book. One of the philosophies of South Beach Eating is to make sure to get your vegetable servings in and that they should comprise the biggest percentage of your daily food intake. I fail at this. It's not that I don't like veggies. I do. Its that I live in a household of picky eaters that won't eat them and when I buy them they go bad before I can finish them. I hate wasting food.


Well, I've put my foot down. I told the husband, "You're going to be thirty, it's time to start eating like an adult." Yeah, I got the frowny face but with him jumping on as first mate of the vegetable eating ship the cabin boys will follow (I love me some nautical metaphors). Hello vegetables other than canned corn and canned green beans! I can't tell you how excited I am to eat something else.


So what better way to get a lot of different veggies ingested than to make a hearty soup out of them. I used crackers, for the boys, as vehicles. And it worked. 4ft said it was good and ate all of his and the Grumpybutt dipped his crackers in it and actually ate them. The broth ought to have some nutritional value, right? I thought it was absolutely delicious. I didn't need the cracker vehicle. I coupled it with a large romaine hearts salad and had iced green tea. 


Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients:
1 tbs EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 yellow bell pepper; chopped
1 orange bell pepper; chopped
3 stalks of celery; chopped
1 medium onion; chopped
4 cloves of garlic: minced
2 cups sliced mushroom
1 zucchini; chopped
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
2 14 oz cans of cannellini beans


Directions:


1.) Add TBS EVOO to a large saucepan and heat on medium.
2.) While oil is heating. Start chopping all the vegetables. When oil is lightly smoking add in all the fresh veggies and saute them for 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add spices and stir. Cook another 10 minutes until soft.
3.) Add in tomatoes and beans with their juices.
4.) Simmer for 30 minutes 
5.) Serve warm.