Rainbow Chili

Last time I made this my husband said we should have chili every week (yes, even without meat). I don't know that I would go that far, but it's definitely filling, nutritious (depending how much cheese and how many chips you add) and delicious.

Rainbow Chili

3-4 Bell peppers of different colors

1 onion (or 2 halves of different colors, or even a leek)

1 small or ½ large yam (that’s the one with orange flesh)

Lentils

Beans of choice

2 large cans of tomatoes

2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size)

Cumin

Coriander

Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

(Optional) chilis to taste

Olive Oil

You’re also welcome to add meat of your choice-I don’t simply for aforementioned reasons

Toppings:

Lime

Plain Greek Yogurt

Cheese

Rice

Chips

Avocado

1.     Pour some olive oil in a pot and turn the heat between medium-low and medium

2.     Chop vegetables and add to pot (I prefer my vegetables to be in smaller pieces, but do it however you prefer)

3.     Allow the vegetables to sweat until they start to appear soft, and the onions begin to appear transparent

4.     Chop garlic very fine or use a garlic crusher and add to vegetables

5.     Add cumin and coriander- I use a lot. As in I take off the lid part with holes and dump a small pile on. Yum!

6.     Blend canned tomatoes to desired consistency (We don’t like tomato chunks so I always make it pretty smooth)

7.     Add blended tomatoes to vegetables

8.     Chop the uncooked yam into bite-size pieces

9.     Rinse beans and lentils (the lentils can be added uncooked since they will cook in the chili) and add to the pot

10.  Add chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper

11.  Cover and allow to simmer for as long as you have patience-the longer, the better. In fact the leftovers are always even better than fresh.

12.  Check on it and add seasoning according to taste (I always add more cumin and coriander)

13.  Cook rice (I recommend brown but use whatever you have/prefer) either in a rice cooker or on the stove

14.  Dish up your rice and chili, add a squeeze of lime, a dollop of greek yogurt, and avocado. My husband loads on the cheese and chips. But this last time, everything else was so good that I forgot to add cheese and chips. And when I later added them on, they actually took away from the deliciousness, but do what you want.

I've seen several different recipes on chili and I'm not saying this one is all that revolutionary, but it serves us well in our home. I heard once the phrase "eat the rainbow" and no, it's not talking about Skittles. It's talking about PHYTOCHEMICALS! The different colors of fruits and vegetables means that they have different nutrients and health benefits. So my challenge in this chili is to get every color. I usually use anywhere from half to all of a pepper to get a little bit of everything in.

This is one combination of vegetables that I used. I'm missing blue/purple which is found in things like blueberries (which I will not put in chili) and red onions (which I will put in chili but didn't have on hand that particular day). Use up any odds and ends that you have laying around. Do people normally have parts of onions and peppers in their fridge, or is it just me? On this day it looks like I had white onion, leek, and all four colors of pepper. The yams add some sweetness, and the beans and lentils provide protein and make it hearty. Just remember to make a big batch, because it's always better the next day.

Also, be sure to wash your hands after handling the chilis. I've forgotten. Twice. And suffered the consequences. Twice. Bad News.