I came up with this Healthy Slow Cooker Chili because I was on a mission to find something I could devour but not feel so guilty about. I’ve been meal portioning and taking part in the 21 Day Fix program for over a year now so I’m constantly in search for healthy portioned meals. I’ve realized that there really isn’t all that many 21 Day Fixed Approved recipes out there. Sure you can search through Pinterest or their website and find plenty but I’m a food blogger and compared to all the other recipes and food bloggers out their I’ve come to realize that I need to create some of my own! I portioned it by what other 21 Day Fix Chili recipes I’ve found. 1-1 1/2 Cups seems to be the norm, I can honestly tell you one cup is PLENTY. The beans, lentils and ground turkey fills you right up! Plus I added some vegetables in there of course to get that vegetable serving in.
Be creative, if you’d rather add more veggies and make it meatless go for it! We add red pepper to give it more of a kick. Your picky husband won’t eat ground turkey, throw in ground sirloin, just stick to the measurement of 1 cup and your golden. I held off on the cheese that I normally love on top of my chili but only because I had my blue cup already previously in the day, the next time I make this I’ll be saving my cheese for the topping!
I’m not lying about how good this was. Here is the quote from my husband when we finally sat down to eat this that at 8pm at night after a crazy busy day.
Husband: “Wow I like how you put lentils in there.”
Me: With a question mark over my head “What are lentils?”
Husband: “These black things.”
Me: “Wow I’m so impressed you knew what those are!”
Husband: “Of course I do, you make a pasta sauce with them!”
Now that’s a husband of a foodie. Try the sauce it’s amazing!
- 1 can of Great Northern Beans
- 1 28 oz can of Organic Crushed Tomatoes
- 9 oz of steamed Lentils (I bought the already made lentils)
- 1 pd of Lean Ground Turkey
- 3 Carrots
- 3 Celery Stalks
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2-4 tbsp. of Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp. of Chili Powder
- 2 tsp. of Cumin
- Red Pepper (optional)
- Chop the carrots, celery and onion into small pieces.
- Add the vegetables and garlic to a large sautee pan. Pour the olive oil over the vegetables moving them around to coat evenly. Set the heat to medium and sautee for roughly 5 minutes moving everything around as to not stick.
- Add the ground turkey and cook until browned.
- While that is cooking add the lentils, beans and crushed tomatoes to a slow cooker.
- Once the turkey is cooked through add it to the crock pot. Add the cumin and chili powder and any red pepper you may want. We like a good kick so I added a few teaspoons through the day to get it to the degree we like.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
- Serve with cheese, nacho chips or sour cream if desired!
