My Dad is a big guy. He’s 6’2″ and he enjoys his food. When he comes to my house he has some pretty high expectations of what he’s going to be eating. A home-cooked meal is always appreciated and even more so since my mom passed away. The last thing he wants to hear me say is “Hey Dad! I cooked you up a healthy meal today!” To him, that means bland and unexciting. I’ve found some easy ways to turn our family’s favorite dishes into heart-healthy dishes and have them still taste great.
One of my favorite meals to make up for parties and get-togethers is chili. I mean, seriously, could any one dish be more versatile? Serve it on it’s own with some cheese and onions, on top of baked potatoes, hot dogs, burgers, nachos…the possibilities are endless!
This chili recipe is loaded with good-for-the-heart veggies and tastes amazing! Simple changes like choosing extra lean meat and low or no-sodium veggies can turn a hearty dish like chili into a heart-healthy dish just like that. I headed to Save Mart to pick up everything I needed for this recipe and I was super pleased with how easy they made it! The products were clearly labeled and made selected heart-healthy ingredients a breeze!
When it’s so easy to make a family favorite better for everyone – why wouldn’t you?
Heart-Healthy Slow Cooker Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 2 med onions chopped
- 2 cups chopped bell peppers {red yellow, orange, green}
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 28 oz can low sodium crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can no sodium diced tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can low sodium tomato paste
- 1 14.5 oz can low sodium beef broth
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cans kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Brown beef and drain off fat.
- Add onion, peppers and garlic. Cook until veggies are tender.
- Transfer to slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients, stir once and cover.
- Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Nutrition
Heart disease runs in my family. Runs rampant in my family really. My Dad lost his dad when he was only 11 years old to a heart attack. My Uncles and my Dad have all had heart attacks, most have multiple stents. It’s pretty serious. I know that heart disease risks increase dramatically if someone in your family has heart problems and so that means serious business for my two little ones. The good news is that there are simple changes you can make to your lifestyle to reduce the risk and a heart-healthy diet is one of them. What family favorite dish do you think you could makeover to be more heart-healthy?
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Have a great day!
Melissa says
I think I have an average slow cooker – but couldn’t add the black beans in as it was nearly overflowing. I don’t mind buying a bigger one – just thought others might find it useful if they have 2 sizes – use the big one 🙂 Slow cooking as I type so I will let you know how it tastes this evening! Thank you for the recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I think the one I used for this recipe is a 6qt? I do have like 20 slow cookers though lol! Hope you enjoyed the chili!
Gary W Allen says
Leave out the beef and change to veggie broth and then you will have a ‘heart healthy’ meal – also needs some cumin for flavor.
Teresa says
I don’t have 6-8 hours, can I cook it higher in the crock pot for a shorter amount of time?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Absolutely! Three to four hours on high will be fine.
Lois says
Trish, I love this recipe. We just tried is last weekend and everyone liked it!