Nutrition Bite of the Week: My Paleo Chili

My wife and I follow a paleo diet lifestyle, and for those not sure about what the paleo diet is, please see http://thepaleodiet.com/.  It is a website by Dr. Loren Cordain and has great information about the paleo diet, what it is, what the principles of it are, etc.  If you are inclined, his book, The Paleo Diet is also a great read (I get no monetary compensation for any of this, I am just a believer and follower of the diet).  Onto the chili.....

("Pot-o-chili" by FiveRings (talk) - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pot-o-chili.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Pot-o-chili.jpg)

First, the ingredients:
14 small cans 'no salt added' tomato sauce (I use Kroger store brand)
4 large cans 'no salt added' diced tomatoes (I use Kroger store brand)
3 lbs lean ground grass fed beef
5 medium sweet vidalia onions
6 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 orange bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
1 large carton baby portobella mushrooms
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp avocado oil

As far as my spicing goes, well, that's a family secret!  I will say, I use Penzey's spices and their Medium Hot Chili Powder (it's salt free which is a plus!) in my chili.  I don't add extra sodium to the chili either.

I should note, that originally being from Wisconsin, I get all of my spices from Penzey's.  Love their products. (Again, I'm not monetarily compensated for this, I just really like their products, high quality)

You'll need a very large pot to put everything into.  I start my base using 14 small cans of 'no salt added' tomato sauce.  I then add in 4 large cans (15 oz) of 'no salt added' diced tomatoes.  I then add my spice mix to this base.


I then dice the onions, cut up the mushrooms, and put them in the with ground beef and brown it. Once this is cooked, I place it in the pot with the base.


I then cut up the bell peppers and place them in a large pan and sauté them in avocado oil with the minced garlic. Once ssautéed, I place them into the large pot with everything else.


I then bring the whole thing to a boil for 5 mins and then reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour to let those spices meld together with everything.


That's my recipe for a low sodium, low fat, paleo chili!