Light Touch
Healthy chili loaded with flavor

This hearty dish is part soup, part stew - let it play the role in your mealtime game plan that suits your taste and needs.

It’s full of flavor and low in fat, getting substance and nutrition from a modest amount of ground lean turkey meat, as well as from light and dark-colored beans, brown rice and lentils. You can top off the chili flavor with an extra dash of red pepper if you wish.

Preparation requires several hours. Consider making a double batch, storing some for the future.

Black and White Chili

• 1 cup dry navy beans, soaked (see note)
• 1/2 cup dry black beans, soaked (see note)
• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup lentils, dry
• 1 cup water
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• (optional)
• 1/2 pound extra-lean ground turkey
• 10-ounce can no-added-salt tomato puree

Drain and rinse the beans. Place them in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan with 1 1/2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Add garlic.

Cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add rice and lentils, along with 1 cup water. Bring this to a boil again, then reduce to simmer. Add onions, chili powder and red pepper, if desired.

Cover and simmer for about 2 more hours, stirring occasionally; add water if necessary to keep the beans covered.

Brown ground turkey in a skillet; drain off excess fat. Stir tomato puree into the meat and simmer for about 15 minutes. When most of the water has cooked away from the beans, add meat sauce and mix well.

Makes 12 1-cup servings. Adjust serving size to your taste.

Nutrition information per serving: 175 cal., 28 g carbo., 2 g fat, 13 mg chol., 11 g pro., 5.7 g dietary fiber, 20 mg sodium.

Note: Dry beans, as called for here, need to be soaked before cooking. Rinse them in water first. For the traditional method, use 3 cups of water for every cup of dry beans; let soaking beans stand overnight in the refrigerator (8 to 12 hours); drain, rinse and cook.

For a quick soaking method, add 3 cups of water to each cup of dry beans; heat to boiling and cook for 2 minutes; remove from heat, cover the pot and let beans stand for 1 hour. Drain, rinse and cook.

[back to top]