Post-weight loss surgery Easy Chili recipe

Before I had gastric bypass surgery, I ate a lot of “convenience food” – frozen dinners, hummus and crackers, and prepared salads from the deli.  I’ve never been much of a cook, and it always seemed pointless to learn how to cook for only one person.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but having weight loss surgery would force me to change my ways.

What they don’t really emphasize when preparing you for surgery, is how many foods you will NOT be able to tolerate afterwards.  You are always trying to eat enough protein without making yourself over-full.  If you eat too much, instead of just feeling “stuffed”, you tend to vomit your food back up.  I learned that “filler foods” – rice, bread, noodles – did not really sit well with me after surgery.  Unfortunately for me, this was a large portion of what I had been eating before surgery (frozen dinners are mostly filler foods in my experience).

Since surgery, I have been trying to cook more to make sure I am getting all of the nutrients I need in the small portions I require.  This has led me on a search for the easiest recipes I can find.  Meals that I can make myself but don’t require too much skill in the kitchen (at least for now).  I have definitely had a few WTF moments when something turned out way different than I expected, but overall I feel better eating foods I make myself.

I am going to share a recipe for Easy Chili that I’ve cobbled together from various family members and other sources.  Most of the ingredients are canned, which is a huge help.  Even with my minimal cooking skills, it only takes about 2 hours to make from start to finish.  This meal is pretty much on a constant rotation for me, and it freezes really well too.

I start by dicing one yellow onion.  Add some olive oil to the pot you are using (6 quart is plenty big) and sauté the onion with minced garlic.  I use about three teaspoons of pre-minced garlic (probably 3 cloves or so).  Once the onions start to get translucent (5 mins or so), I start adding in 1 pound of ground beef.  I cook all of this together until the beef is fully browned.

Next, I start adding in my canned ingredients:  1 can of diced tomatoes, water (tomato can 2/3 full), 1 can of black beans (drained), 1 can of kidney beans (drained), 1 small can of green chilis, and a 12oz can of tomato paste.  I work all of this together and then add some seasoning:  chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.  I’m not much for measuring, but I would guess 1-2 Tbsp of chili powder, 1-2 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp each of garlic and onion powder.  Continue to stir until the pot is well heated, and then simmer for about 30 min to an hour.

Most people will want to add cayenne powder as well for some spice, but I skip this due to my now delicate digestion.  My mom likes to add zucchini for some extra vegetables, and it goes pretty well.  Once cooked, I let it cool fully and store leftovers in the fridge overnight and then put some in the freezer.  This can feed me for several weeks, but I do have to eat smaller portions.  It has a great amount of protein between the ground beef and the beans, which is great for me. Shout out to Budget Bytes for inspiring my seasoning mixture.