Did you know that if you eat the same thing every day, your body begins to reject it?
That must have been exactly what happened to me last week with poached eggs. I learned how to make them right, got way too excited and then ate enough of them to keep the free-range chickens busy for months.
When you get to the point when you can’t even look at an egg, much less any animal product without feeling sick to your stomach, you know it’s time for a vegan meal. This week, that meal was vegan chili — and in no small amount. I made an entire slow cooker full of it, deciding I would have meals for the week.
Boy, was I right. Not only did I have enough for the week, I also had extra to feed my boyfriend and anyone else who happened to walk by my house with a spoon.
I got the recipe off of the Food Network’s website, my newly discovered Mecca, and trekked for the umpteenth time to the grocery store, where an old lady behind me in line asked why I was “playing house” and buying so much tupperware.
A little thwarted but still on a mission, I proceeded back to my house to send my kitchen into a sudden state of tornado. I threw knives around in a flurry of excitement as I haphazardly chopped vegetables and tossed them in a growing mix of vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, beans and spices.
The whole process took less than 30 minutes, and then I left it all in the slow cooker for three and a half hours. At the end, I had a boiling stew and steaming corn bread hot out of the oven: a family-portioned miracle meal.
This recipe was a little on the expensive side, but considering I had enough chili made to feed me for a full five days, I think it was money well spent. You can also always split the cost with roommates or friends, and probably still have leftovers to spare.
I never knew what the ingredients of chili even were until I took it upon myself to actually make it this week. Turns out it is full of a very healthful and filling variety of vegetables that can keep your stomach happy for a greater portion of the day, which is great if you have to spend a long day up on campus and don’t want to pack a meal.
The beans give this meal a much added punch of protein, and the tomatoes and veggie broth fulfill your daily intake of vegetables, usually a hard thing to include when eating on a budget.
It’s also a great alternative to poached eggs or anything else you might have eaten too much of lately. Yes, I’m talking to you with the Valentine’s Day chocolate.
~~~~~~
The recipe is available here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/vegetarian-chili-recipe/index.html. When I tried it, I skipped out on the couscous part.
