Monday Nutrition Tip of the Week: There's never a bad time to fix chili

It will be 100 degrees in  my neck of the Texas woods today, and probably tomorrow, too. My plants are shriveling up, and my dog's shed hair is collecting like tumbleweeds in the corner of the yard. So what did I fix for dinner last week?

Chili, of course!

I stumbled upon this recipe on a new website I found while searching for a salmon filet marinade. It's Santa Fe Chicken Chili from Fried Eggs and Toast, a blog that is "Part Nutrition, Part Education, Part Policy. Combine."

This is actually a great summertime chili (if there is such a thing) because it's sweet and spicy, and uses chicken instead of beef. It's great with heaping pile of cilantro and fresh lime. We really liked it! Here's the recipe...try it out soon.

Santa Fe Chicken Chili: (Serves 4-6)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin, to taste
1 teaspoon ground cayenne or chipotle pepper, to taste
1 sweet medium sweet potato, peeled, diced
2 15-oz. cans pinto or white beans, rinsed, drained
1 28-oz. can Fire Roasted Tomatoes, with juice
8-oz. (1 cup) chopped roasted green chilies- mild or hot
2 cups chicken broth, more if needed
1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar
A small drizzle of agave
2 heaping cups cooked chicken pieces- hand torn looks nice
1 juice of lime or lime to taste

In a large pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat and cook chopped onions until they are soft and translucent.  This step should take 3-5 minutes depending on stove.  Once onions are translucent add your tablespoon of cumin, cayenne pepper, and minced garlic.  Stir to combine and cook for an additional minute.  Add chopped sweet potato, pinto or white beans, green chiles, chicken or vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of balsamic or apple cider vinegar and a drizzle of agave.  Stir gently to combine.  Bring to a simmer then lower heat, cover pot with lid and cook for 30 minutes or until your sweet potato is soft.  After 30 minutes or so add cooked chunks of chicken and lime juice.  Continue warming pot without lid and add any additional spices, agave, or lime juice and voila you are done.

Photo from Fried Eggs and Ham website.

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Workout of the Day

Insanity: The Asylum: Back to Core

Group workout today with our Asylum buddies! Asylum is a 30-day program, and our goal is to work out once a week with the people who are going through the program with us. We are trying to do a different workout each time we meet, and that meant that we needed to meet on the 4th of July this week. Were there any complainers about meeting on a holiday? NOPE! It's awesome to hang out with such dedicated people.