Spicing it up with a low-calorie Chilli Con Carne recipe:
I’m trying my best to lose a bit of weight again – and back doing the 5:2 diet. Being sent a pack of meats from West Coast Foods which are part of their Skinni range and are very low fat is quite a help. I’ve used their 1% fat mince for this chilli con carne recipe – something I haven’t seen in a supermarket. It is just 105 calories per 100g – that’s a 20 cal saving per 100g on the leanest beef from Waitrose (5%). But, I’ve done the nutritional calculations based on what I normally buy – the 5% fat mince.
There are three tricks with this recipe that help to keep the calories down. Firstly, there’s a much higher ratio of beans and vegetables to meat than a conventional chilli – in fact, I’ve allowed just 50g of meat per portion. Secondly, I’ve dry fried everything where necessary. So, there’s no added fat to push the calories up.
Thirdly, I’ve served it with cauliflower rice, in my case from a packet but you could just as easily use home made cauliflower rice – it’s easy as you can see from my earlier recipe. A decent 100g portion of cauliflower rice is just 32 calories. The equivalent white rice would be 129 calories. So, I’ve allowed myself a dollop of low-fat creme fraiche!
I actually rather like the higher proportion of veg in my chilli. With vegetarian friends, I know they are happy enough to eat chilli sans carne – but I prefer to have a little meat. And, while I sometimes find cauliflower rice unpalatable, used with a spicy dish such as chilli con carne it works very well.
A Very Low-Calorie Chilli Con Carne suitable for weight loss diets and for healthy eating. Chilli Con Carne Recipe
- 250 grams low fat beef mince
- 3 bell peppers I used one red, one yellow and one green
- 1 large onion
- 1 small carrot
- 1 stick celery
- 175 ml dry red wine
- 175 ml beef stock or water
- 1 200g can of tomatoes
- 1 400g can of red kidney beans drained
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tsp chilli powder
- salt and black pepper
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Chop the onion and garlic cloves finely. Peel and dice the carrot and celery
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Brown the meat in a heavy based casserole pan, stirring to break up any clumps
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Remove the meat from the pan, leaving any fat behind. Brown the onion mixture for 4-5minutes then add the garlic, carrot, celery and chilli powder and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
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Add the meat back into the pan, stir through the wine and stock and the canned tomatoes. Cook over a low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally, or cover and pop in the oven at 170c
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Add the peppers and kidney beans and check the seasoning. Add more chilli powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a further 30-40 minutes till the mixture is reduced down and all the vegetables are done. Adjust seasoning to taste
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Serve with your choice of rice, cauliflower rice or noodles and with a dollop of sour cream or low fat creme fraiche
Recipe Video
This is a very low-calorie recipe. If you are not dieting feel free to use a little oil to help brown the meat and vegetables.
This time round, I’m mixing up my 5:2 diet a bit by trying to do it on the basis of a defined eating window. On both fast days and non-fast days, I am trying to eat within an 8-hour maximum window. So, that means no breakfast and no snacking until I ‘open my window’. I’m actually following the ‘clean fast’ advice of Gin Stephens and drinking black coffee, tea or water until around 1 pm, enjoying a light lunch and supper on a fast day and more on a non fast day – and then stopping eating at 9pm. I’m still doing two fast days of around 500 calories though because I do want to lose weight.
It suits me well as an eating plan – I’ve found that my cravings for sweet things have lessened and that I simply don’t snack in the same way during the morning. And, I’m losing weight at a sensible rate – about a kilo a week at the moment. With a lifestyle like mine that involves a lot of travel and eating out, I need all the help I can get. The theory is that if you ‘clean fast’ you will feel less hungry because your insulin won’t be spiked by (for example) a sugary drink.
It’s too soon to say for sure, but right now I’m more than happy with the results I’m getting by following a clean fast and ‘delay don’t deny’ techniques.
Thinking of trying this recipe yourself? why not pin it for later
Chili con carne does NOT have beans. And cauliflower with chili? You must be kidding. Good grief.
This is how I cook my chilli normally which is reassuring! How do you measure a serving once cooked to know you’re hitting the calories you have displayed above?
I portion up the whole lot and batch freeze. I live alone and this sort of food I freeze in one-person home made readymeal style.
this looks very healthy
This sounds and looks lovely I am deffinately going to try it
I’ve still never tried cauliflower rice – is it actually pleasant to eat? Much as I love cauliflower, I somehow can’t imagine it ever taking the place of a lovely fragrant mound of Basmati!
It’s good if you want something to work with a spicy dish. I don’t think it can replace the real thing in any way – but it’s healthy and very pleasant with chilli or with a spicy prawn and veg stir fry for instance. And, the calorie difference is amazing – so if you are trying to do 5:2 then it’s useful. I’ve tried the prepackaged ones and really don’t think they work though.
Great recipe
This looks and sounds lovely