Healthy Chili Meal Prep

There are plenty of comfort foods that are immediately struck off of the menu when you start Boot Camp Training in New Jersey. Thankfully, there are ways to reinterpret recipes, and even switch up the ingredients, to make them leaner and healthier.

Chili is a classic comfort food, but many standard recipes are filled with fatty cuts of meat. If you love chili but want to enjoy it in a lean, high protein form, then try out this leftover turkey chili.

Low Fat, High Protein Chili – What You Will Need

750 grams of lean ground turkey, or finely chopped leftover cooked turkey.
2 large white onions, finely diced.
3 crushed garlic cloves, or garlic powder.
3 bell peppers, diced.
Canned goods – kidney beans, white beans, and one large can of tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes in juices.
Chili powder, 1tbsp, or to taste.
Taco, burrito, or general purpose Mexican seasoning, 1 tbsp.
Salt and black pepper, to taste.

Cooking Your Chili

Turn on your crockpot (slow cooker), and heat a skillet on your stove for preparing the meat.
Cook the turkey meat until it is browned. If the turkey is already cooked, you won’t need to complete this step. Add the turkey to the crockpot.
In the same skillet, sauté the celery, onion, garlic, and bell pepper until browned. Add them to the crockpot and remove the heat from the skillet.
Here’s the easy part. Add everything else to the slow cooker, including two cups of water. You could also use low salt beef, vegetable, or chicken stock, in place of water.
Cook the chili on a low setting for 8 hours. If you’re in a rush, you could increase the temperature and reduce the cooking time. Cooked turkey only needs around 5 hours on low.

Remember that chili tastes better the longer that you cook it, and there are even some who won’t eat it until the following day after it is cooked. This recipe will stay good in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days, or can be frozen for 5 – 6 months and reheated.

This recipe has an almost perfectly even carb to protein ratio, making it an ideal meal for refueling after workouts. For an even healthier meal, avoid adding too much salt while cooking.