As you may have noticed, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve blogged. First came Easter, then came the Royal Wedding, then came a holiday and before I knew it time had flown away with me. But in the words of Take That I’m now Back For Good.
So…I went on holiday for a friends wedding. Nice you may think. And oh it was. But the food, the food. The food was all-inclusive and handily included 24 hour room service. So after 5 days straight of staying up until 6am, jeagerbombs, tequilas, 3 course meals, amazing desserts and burgers from American diners I have actually been scared to weigh myself. I did even make it to the gym a couple of times whilst on holiday, but after the first 2 days, in the words of my Grandad, I thought ‘blow it’, why bother?
Grandad’s mantra has come back to haunt me it seems and I have been on a healthy eating kick ever since I returned. My friend’s diet blog Cake and Salad offers some wise tips on shedding the pounds so check this out if you are in a post holiday nightmare like me. At the moment I am trying not to eat carbs every other day (or failing this, just not after 6) as I just can’t do it every day, I just can’t.
I had some friends round for dinner last week and cooked up a lovely Mixed Bean Chilli dish with wild rice for them as a healthy dish, which was so delicious I thought I would share the recipe with you lot. Our good work was slightly un-done however as we also enjoyed some cava and shared an assortment of mini desserts I was given after a foodie photoshoot that day. But the point is that I sort of stuck to the diet and repeated my usual mantra to myself ‘it could have been worse’.
So please find below for my recipe of Mixed Bean Chilli that has evolved over the years. With regards to the recipe it differs every time I make it according to what I have in the cupboard - it’s great for using lots of unused veg and different sorts of beans, so you can really tailor it to your individual taste. The three/four squares of dark chocolate is optional, but it adds this lovely texture and deepening of flavour to the dish, and FYI Mexicans add dark chocolate to their chilli so I reckon I’m definitely onto a winner here. Plus, it is full of antioxidants and is therefore good for you. I’m sorry I don’t have any photos to share but that in itself is another long, drunken story…
Nice pic of butter beans from Deliciousmagazine.co.uk
Mixed Bean Chilli
Serves: 4-6
Serve with: Wild rice, salad, or veg if looking for a low carb dish, with a little cheese if you are feeling naughty
Or indeed, a few crunched up lightly salted Doritoes plus the cheese makes a real tasty (non diet friendly) topping)
Ingredients:
1 x tin of chopped tomatoes
1 x box/jar of passata
1 x tube of tomato puree
2 x tin of borlotti beans
1 x tin of butterbeans
1 x tin of kidney beans
1 x tin of sweetcorn
Bag of carrots, peeled and chopped
1 x onion, peeled and chopped
Couple of handfuls of peas
Chilli powder
Paprika
Seasoning
3/4 squares of dark chocolate
Method:
1) Peel and chop carrots and boil in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes until a little soft – but not completely cooked as they will continue to cook once you add the other ingredients
2) While the carrots are boiling, chop the onions and lightly sautee in a bit of water to soften
3) Once the carrots and onions are part cooked/softened, drain the carrot water and add the onions to the saucepan
4) Whack in the chopped tomatoes, paddata, tomato puree, borlotti beans, butterbeans, kidney beans and any other veg you may fancy
5) Also whack in the chilli powder, paprika and seasoning
6) Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer for around 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the peas, sweetcorn and dark chocolate. NB. If you add the peas and sweetcorn in too early they turn a non nice shade of green/overcook
7) Simmer for another 10 minutes then serve with your wild rice/veg/tortillas/cheese
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