My husband’s work had Office Olympics last week. It was nothing as active as the winter Olympics, but the chili cook off is always much anticipated. This year, my husband made a  somewhat nontraditional Cincinnati chili with chipotle peppers, ground turkey, and lots of veggies.

What’s your impression of ground turkey? Some people think it’s healthier than ground meat, others have heard nutritionists recommend against it. Here’s my take: ground turkey can be healthy as long as you get it lean. He found 99% lean and that’s what he used.

This recipe makes 10 cups and is great as nacho topping as well. Use 1 chipotle pepper if you can’t handle too much heat.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 chipotle peppers, chopped (usually in cans in Mexican aisle)
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 c low sodium chicken broth
• 20 baby carrots, 1/4-inch sliced
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added red kidney beans, rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added black beans, rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added corn, rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1/2 can (6 oz) tomato paste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute the onion, garlic, and chipotle peppers for 2 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook.

Add the chicken broth and carrots, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the beans, corn, diced tomatoes, spices, and tomato paste. Simmer for an hour on low heat. Add more water or chicken stock if it’s too thick.

To keep it healthy, serve with low fat sour cream and part-skim cheddar cheese–and watch the portion.

–Happy healthy eating!