Chili Time is a Good Time

Which means winter = a good time.

I am a chili lover to the core. There is something about the warm, chunky texture that is so calming, satisfying and enjoyable to me.

Actually, the other day I was watching a food documentary entitled, Food Matters. It spoke of the healing powers of food, which I love learning about and actually really spoke a lot about the power of both the vegan diet (yay!) and also eating a raw foods diet (hum.) . Actually, it startled me to learn that even when you steam veggies (a daily practice in my life), you are depleting them of their natural nutrients, making it harder for your body to digest. The more food is processed & cooked, the harder your body has to work in order to digest it. Therefore, the more you eat raw foods, the less work your body does to digest them, and the more nutrients you ingest and can do good things for your body.

Makes. Sense.
BUT.

I actually like eating warm and hot things! Actually- I'm almost famous for the fact that I drink my tea and eat my soups at almost boiling temperatures!

Sometimes learning new facts like that makes me a little sad, but then I get re-inspired by how good my chili is - and I realize, that maybe I'll just need to eat twice as much of it in order to account for all of the nutrients lost in the cooking of it (ha! foiled the system!)!

So, without further ado- my new and improved chili recipe! Now featuring... Forbidden rice!

Ingredients: (portions are based on estimations made by me (I'm not a big measurement person), so when in doubt, go with your gut)
2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 onions- diced
10 cloves of garlic- finely chopped
2 tablespoons of curry power
1.5 teaspoons of ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 sweet potatoes - peeled & diced
3 green bell peppers - diced
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 canned Chipotle peppers - diced
2 cans of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
1.5 cups of black beans
1.5 cups of black rice
1 teaspoon of ground pepper

Cooking Instructions:
In a large pot, head the oil and onions over med/high heat for about 10 minutes or until onions start to brown.
Add garlic, curry powder and cumin and stir for about 2 minutes
Add cinnamon and stir for 1 minute
Add vegetable broth and stir for 2 minutes
Add the sweet potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes and chipotle peppers. Stir together for 2 minutes.
Put the lid on the chili and let vegetables cook for 10 minutes.
Add the beans and rice and stir together for 1 minute.
Add ground pepper and stir together for 1 minute.
Let chili sit with the lid on it for 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Serve, enjoy, relax!
(This will make enough to serve you and your loved one(s) for 3-5 days)

Also, of note- back to the needing to eat most things raw in order for your body to fully digest them: They also said that if 51% of the foods you eat are raw- then you are good to go- salad, anyone?