Saturday, June 13, 2015

My favourite Vegetable chilli served in a variety of ways

I was recently on holiday in Canada and Alaska. I found Canada to have fantastic healthy vegan food options and plenty to choose from as well. Alaska however was a different story. We did an incredible tour for about seven days around wilderness lodges near by some of the famous national parks. The scenery was fantastic however the food not so.

I'm no longer vegan however i still largely enjoy a vegan diet but I am back to enjoying cheese from time to time. So even as a vegetarian I did find it really difficult to get nutritious healthy food with fresh vegetables. In fact I did become sick with what i thought was a routine flu however after two weeks I was frustrated as I felt like my body would've fought it off rather quickly. I put this down to a lack of vitamins and minerals i normally enjoy from eating a lot of fresh healthy ingredients. It was not to be though not in Alaska anyway.

There was a silver lining, at the end of the trip we stopped for lunch in a lovely small town on the outskirts of Anchorage and they have a Friday market day with lovely food stalls, arts and crafts etc and much to my delight and the one other vegan on the tour we discovered a lovely food stall with a big vegetable chilli. There were actually quite a few people from the tour that ended up buying it so we were;t the only ones feeling the effects of a lack of good food.

This chilli was devine, and use like what we would eat at home quite regularly, its so easy, so cheap but full of goodness. You can also add pretty much anything you want and take anything out you don't like, here's my favourite vegetarian chilli.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
1 -2 red capsicums
2 courgettes
1 head of broccoli
1 tin corn kernels
1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin chick peas (or other beans)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 tsps italian herbs
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsps freshly crushed cumin seeds

1. You'll need one large frying pan or big pot. Saute the onions till clear then add garlic and brown slightly. I normally like to use rice bran or macadamia oil. Then add the herbs and spices, you may need to add a little more oil. Fry and story constantly mixing the herbs and spices into the onion and garlic.

2. Add chopped capsicums and zucchinis and continue to story fry with the onion mix. Once they soften slightly add a small amount of the tinned tomatoes. Then add your broccoli and continue to stir fry a few minutes.

3. Slowly add more tomatoes and simmer until your vegetables soften but are still semi crispy. (I don't like mine too soft i still enjoy a bit of crunch you never want mushy vegetables. You add the corn last it doesn't really need cooking just mix it in.

4. Serve however you like some of my favourites are on quinoa, or mashed potatoes, or you could use brown rice or i even like to serve in a mexican wrap with quinoa, avocado, cheese (or not for dairy free).

Enjoy!!

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