Vegetarian Chili – Blum Center for Health
This is a great one-pot meal that you can whip up for a party or stash in the freezer for those chilly winter days. The mix of beans make this high in protein and fiber and the spices are loaded with healing properties. Top the chili with slices of avocado for some healthy fat or serve it over brown rice.
Blum Center for Health is located just moments from Doral Arrowwood Hotel Conference Center in Rye Brook, New York, and uses their expertise in Food as Medicine, Mind.Body.Spirit and Functional Medicine to custom design your treatment program. Classes offered include Nutrition in the Kitchen as well as cooking gluten free, and cooking with children.
Blum’s state-of-the-art, teaching facility is designed to be aesthetically pleasing, easy to navigate and environmentally friendly. Importantly, the kitchen was created to make visitors feel at home. Its 11-foot island can comfortably seat 12 people with plenty of space for food prep and cooking on the Wolf 36″ Induction Cooktop. (This cooktop does not use fossil fuel and is only “on” when the magnetic cookware is placed on it.) There are closed circuit television cameras and screens to project the cooking demonstration so that it’s easy to see what the chef is doing. The camera can also stream activity from the kitchen into the waiting room so that visitors can preview the classes. Because the kitchen is separated from the waiting room by a sound-proof sliding glass wall, clients, guests, and staff can see classes and know what an integral part cooking is to the Blum Center for Health. In addition to classes, Blum offers retreats and the use of its kitchen for private events.
Nearby at the hotel, there are plenty of ways to relax and unwind at Doral Arrowwood. This picturesque retreat hotel has been designed to accommodate executives and weekend leisure guests alike. The wellness services at Doral Arrowwood focus on fitness. The Westchester Health Club at Doral Arrowwood services include certified personal training; Massage services; Racquetball and squash courts; Two indoor tennis courts and three outdoor courts; Indoor/outdoor heated pool with lap lanes; Steam rooms; Sauna rooms; Recumbent bicycles; Free weights and dumbbells; Precor elliptical trainers; Life cycles/stairmasters; Nordic track; Treadmills; Concept II rower; Cardiovascular equipment; Aerobics; Sand volleyball court; Outdoor basketball courts.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves , garlic minced
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 1 zucchini , diced
- 1 yellow squash , diced
- 1 red pepper , seeded and diced
- 1 green pepper , seeded and diced
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes , drained
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Fine Pink Salt
- 1 ½ cup vegetable stock
- 15 oz. black beans (drained), or 2 cups cooked (you can also mix one cup black beans with 1 cup kidney or pinto)
- 1 avocado sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot on medium high heat
- Add the onion with a pinch of salt and sauté until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.
- Add the zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes, salt, chili, cumin, oregano, and cinnamon and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the stock or water to deglaze the pan. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to simmer and let it reduce by half
- Add the beans and heat for a minute. Taste to see if salt is needed
- Garnish with cilantro and slices of avocado
Spa Index Kitchen Notes
Vegetarian Chili with Avocado
Nutrition
My family didn’t finish this one — I liked it myself but they said it was “too close to vegetable soup” without protein. My try again with chunks of BBQ firm tofu.