Fiery Tomato & Beef Chili
Here’s a dish that’s sure to become a favourite with you and those around you. Imagine the scenario: it’s another hectic weekend – the kids are at various clubs, the household chores need doing, there’s a friend who needs your help... AND you’ve got to find time to make a healthy dish that will help you on your weight-loss journey, without depriving your family of the foods they love. The answer? Fiery Tomato and Beef Chili – a meal you can prepare in ten minutes and then leave in the slow cooker for up to 8 hours. Did I mention there are only 212 calories per serving, too?
Ingredients
Instructions
4 steps
Heat a little oil in a large skillet over a medium heat and gently fry the onion, adding the garlic a minute or so after. Cook for another minute or so.
Add the ground beef, breaking up the meat with a fork as it cooks. Continue to cook until the beef is brown all over.
Drain off the fat and place the meat, onion and garlic mix in the slow cooker, along with the remaining ingredients.
Cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Nutritional value per serving:
Serving size: 1 cup | Calories: 212 | Total Fat: 4 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 32 mg | Carbohydrates: 23 g | Dietary Fibre: 6 g | Sugars: 4 g | Protein: 16 g
Notes: Background
Beef – an excellent source of protein
Our bodies need protein for a number of reasons:
- Hair and nails (both are predominantly made of protein)
- Building and repairing tissues (protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood)
- Making enzymes (aids digestion), hormones (balanced hormones = balanced mood), and other body chemicals
Protein is also good for weight-loss
- Helps you feel fuller for longer (by slowing digestion) – so you’re less likely to go back for seconds, or snack soon after your meal.
- By eating less, you’ll begin to lose fat, but you can also lose muscle mass (our bodies take energy from both). But by eating lots of protein, you can maintain your muscles – which is good news, because lean muscle tissue burns calories!
Notes: Ingredients
Fire-roasted tomatoes
- A method for preserving tomatoes, which also gives them a distinctive caramelised flavour and enhances their natural sweetness.
- According to research, cooking tomatoes enhances their lycopene content (lycopene is a phytochemical with antioxidant properties).
- You can buy them from the store or make your own – there are lots of recipes online and all you need is a broiler, gas or charcoal grill.
Grass-fed beef
- Grass-fed beef is beef that’s come from a cow that ate grass and grass-like vegetation, and not grains, which are fed to most cows (to fatten them up before slaughter).
- For the reason above, this type of beef is favoured by people following the Paleo diet, which does not include grains.
- Grass-fed beef, although still fatty, is significantly more nutritious than its grain-fed counterpart:
- It contains more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) – a type of fat that some say could be instrumental in preventing weight gain.
- It has much more vitamin K2, which plays a role in maintaining a healthy heart and bones.
- It has more antioxidants, especially vitamin E, which is good for the skin.
