light & lean black bean pumpkin chicken chili

this morning started out with an invigorating weight workout. every time i drive to the gym early in the AM feeling crappy from not enough sleep or just plain tired, i always, and i do mean always, end up feeling the complete opposite immediately afterwards.

then my day REALLY got started with some pancakes.

banana -oat surprise! pancakes.

surprise. i promise i'll use a different fruit sooner than later.

i drizzled them with my precious Walden Farms syrup. i now have a small inventory of bottles in my pantry. ever hit the store and the one (or few ) item you need is completely gone!? that's been happening to me lately. Hunt's reduced sugar ketchup....GONE. every other freakin kind of hunts ketchup is just sitting there collecting dust, untouched. rows perfectly straight. Mc Cormick smokehouse maple seasoning... nowhere to be found. the entire row! coincidence?!? vegan whipped topping... :roll: do all my readers live in this area or what LOL

well HEB did have fresh salmon on sale and plenty of it. i always keep my eye on it and 3.97 is the lowest i've ever seen it go. so, i got a few pounds. large shrimp were also going for that same price, so that went in my cart too. i seasoned a hunk of salmon with garlic and herb seasoning and roasted it in the oven along with some zucchini for lunch today. healthy, fresh, and light. clean eating makes you FEEL that way too. i also had two slices of sprouted grain sesame Ezekiel bread along with it.

i also bought some 99% lean ground turkey and cooked it up with cilantro, onions, shallots, curry, chili powder, pepper, and liquid aminos last night for dinner. i had just come in from the gym and had a craving for some cheesy enchiladas!!!

so i used that turkey mix and combined it with fresh spinach, La Tortilla Factory white-wheat soft wraps, Trader Joe's organic pizza sauce, plenty of shredded rice cheese, and fresh avocado. healthy, low-fat, low-carb, delish, and GUILT-FREE.

so as i was checking out of HEB, the best grocery store ever in life, this caught my eye. look at all those special options!!

did i mention i was still inside HEB?

who puts a mini self-serve fro-yo shop complete with not only low/no fat options but gluten and dairy-free as well inside a grocery store!?

it doesn't matter. *sheds a tear or four* two of my fave things under one roof.

did you know that a red bell pepper is green first? it doesn't grow red. did you know that? i didn't. i believe my co-worker told me that a while ago. now, it's happening on my kitchen island. cool.

nugget of info about red bell peps:

'These are more mature than green, orange or yellow bell peppers. They are rich in carotenoid phytonutrients and contain almost eleven times more beta-carotene than green bell peppers as well as one and a half times more vitamin C. Red Bell Peppers have a sweet, almost fruity taste. Pimento and paprika are both prepared from red bell peppers.'

must be why they are so expensive :shock:

almost done, last thing!

light & lean black bean pumpkin chicken chili

the stuff:

1/2 cup sweet corn
2 medium chopped tomatoes
4oz lean ground chicken breast
2 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
1 can pure pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
1 tsp smoked papripka
1 4 oz can no salt added tomato sauce
1 cup low sodium chicken broth (or water)
1/2 cup no salt added black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
couple sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
1 cup mushrooms (optional)

i split the entire pot into 5 bowls of chili.

1 serving = 1 bowl

do this:

chop up the onions, shallots, and half of the cilantro, and cook it in a medium heated pot until translucent. throw in your ground chicken along with your spices and liquid aminos and cook it until there is no more pink. dump all your vegetables, canned pumpkin, tomato sauce, beans and chicken stock in...everything except the cilantro and salt. bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10-15 minutes on low heat. add more chopped cilantro and stir. now, taste it, and add the appropriate amount of salt to your liking. this will taste EVER better the next day!