Nacho Usual Nachos...

Today was one of those days that didn't exactly happen like I'd planned. I had my schedule all mapped out, my to-do list written, and priorities established. But, things happen and I try to be flexible and available. My parents asked me to babysit, which they RARELY do, and since I adore spending time with my little sis, I couldn't say no. What that means is that I'm about 3 hours behind on everything that I wanted to do. It also means that some things got "cut".


Oh, well that's life. On the up side, I got to spend the whole afternoon with my favorite muchachita! When my parents returned to take over kid duty, they were starved and had chili in the refrigerator. Mom quickly created a "taco" salad with chips, greens, chili, lots of cheese, sour cream, and ranch salad dressing. It looked great, but was loaded with calories and fat! But, it looked so good it inspired me...


I love chili. It's one of my favorite meals. Chili's easy to make, versatile, perfect for feeding company and taking to pot luck, and if made well can be nutritious -- oh yeah, it can also be super cheap! So when I got home, I did a quick pantry assessment. I had nearly everything, so I started my dish. My chili always starts with a sauteed onion in a little olive oil. After a few minutes, in goes a can of diced tomatoes (Mexican style is great, but I didn't have them so plain is fine) with the liquid and a drained can of kidney beans (or black beans, garbanzo beans, chili beans, whatever). To this I added one veggie burger patty and spices -- about a Tablespoon of chili powder, teaspoon of cumin, cayenne, salt & pepper. This cooks over medium low for about 5 minutes or until it starts to boil a little. Finally, I added a handful of corn to the mix and let the whole thing simmer for 15 more minutes. In 20 minutes, I had a pot of filling, delicious chili!


Not to be outdone by my mom's taco salad, I made my own version. Really it's more like kicked-up nachos, but that's just semantics. To the plate, I added a handful of blue corn chips and topped with mixed spring greens. Next, I ladled a couple of spoons of chili (maybe 1 to 1 1/2 cups) and topped with shredded soy jack & cheddar cheese. This delicious "nacho salad" was so filling and yummy!


To compare the two dishes, Mom's salad had chili made with beef, sour cream, shredded cheese, and ranch dressing -- all foods high in fat (including the really nasty saturated kind) and calories. In contrast, mine had practically no saturated fat and was actually very low fat, since soy cheese isn't too bad (plus it's cholesterol free). It was also high in fiber due to the kidney beans and soy in the veggie burger. There wasn't any fattening dressing or sour cream and in my opinion it was plenty flavorful on its own! The difference in calories could easily be over 300 (almost a whole other meal!) and I don't feel that I sacrificed anything. To Mom's credit, the sour cream was reduced fat and they're eating more veggies these days!

There are lots of delicious soy products out there on the market waiting to be tested. Veggie burgers, soy crumbles, and even veggie hot dogs are great alternatives and can be mixed into casseroles, chili, soup, and other dishes, which can make them much more acceptable to people who typically resist soy. Soy cheeses are coming along...they still don't melt well, but they do taste good. Soy milk has come SO far -- from the nutty, earthy, gritty flavor it once had to a creamy, smooth product that even comes in chocolate and vanilla. Soy has been shown to have some heart protective benefits and may reduce the risk of some types of cancers. But the best reason to use soy is to help reduce the use of meat products, which can (and do when over-consumed as in the typical American diet) increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and constipation (ew!).


One more good thing...dinner was ready in about 30 minutes and gone in about 10...did I mention that I was starved when I got home? Ah well, eating slowly will be saved for another blog.