Vegetarian Chili

The other day I tried out this morning star stuff.  It worked AMAZING!!!  My boys did not know it wasn't real beef.  In fact one of them said "MOM I love this chili because you finally put beef in it and not turkey."  I just smiled:)  I put the tomatoes, peppers, some onion and fresh tomato in my ninja blended it all up. ( my kids won't eat chunky)  Poured it all in with my beans, veggie crumbles, and some spices.  It was so tasty and super healthy!!!

I am excited to use the crumbles in my spaghetti sauce on my Squash now also.  You can have 2/3 cup of the morning star stuff for only 80 calories.
1 cup of the chili was 300 calories. I like it really thick, plus some cans of chili beans rinsed.  If you made it thinner with more tomato sauce and less beans you could lower the calories quite a bit.  Tons of fiber, low in fat, high in vitamin c & the tomatoes provide so many health benefits.

Tomatoes also contain important anti-inflammatory nutrients called carotenoids and bioflavonoids. Key tomato carotenoids are lycopene, a red pigment with potential anti-cancer effects, and beta-carotene, an orange pigment that is an important antioxidant to protect against damage from sunlight.

Bioflavonoids, which are concentrated in the tomato skin, counteract inflammation and allergic reactions. The main compounds are quercetin and kaempferol.

Studies indicate that tomato consumption is associated with a reduced risk of:

• prostate cancer
• ovarian cancer, especially in premenopausal women
• digestive tract cancers
• cardiovascular disease
• asthma and chronic lung disease

The absorption of carotenoids and flavonoids from tomatoes is greater from cooked tomatoes than fresh tomatoes, since cooking breaks down the tomato cell matrix and makes the carotenoids more available. The addition of olive oil to diced tomatoes during cooking greatly increases the absorption of lycopene. Oil is essential for absorbing carotenoids from tomatoes in salads or salsa. There is almost no absorption of these vital nutrients from salad eaten with a non-fat dressing.