Triple-Grain Chicken Chili

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a little more than obsessed with fiber. It’s my favorite part of carbohydrates – which happen to be my favorite nutrient, by the way. There’s so much fiber does for us in so many ways, it’s really, truly incredible, so I’m always looking for more ways to include it in my daily diet (more on those incredible fiber-powers in a future post). With Winter fully upon us, I’ve been using my crockpot a lot to make soup, stews, and chili because it’s super easy and convenient for cooking in bulk. Chili, for me, is especially awesome because it’s so versatile. Eat it on its’ own, on a baked potato, with eggs, tortillas, as a dip, with steamed greens – the list goes on. It’s sad that it gets a bad rap so often for being a not-so-healthy food, considering it’s typically made with lots of fatty beef, cheese, and salt. Not to say any of those things are necessarily bad, but if you’re on a budget and eat the same thing every day, it can get pretty rough.

I’ve designed this chili to be everything chili is supposed to be – hearty, hot, and satisfying – without all of the grease. It’s also easy to make it vegetarian by leaving out the chicken and using vegetable stock in place of water. The grains give it the same texture that would come from ground beef without the environmental impact and high fat content. This recipe makes about 4 cups of chili, which freezes well for storage. If you have Celiac or gluten allergies, simply leave out the barley and replace it with another grain or more beans!

¼ cup rinsed Quinoa

¼ cup Barley

¼ cup Wild rice

½ cup dry Black beans

2 Bone-in chicken thighs

2 tsp Chili powder

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Cumin

½ tsp Allspice

½ tsp Cinnamon

1 cup no-salt added crushed tomatoes

½ Onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic

Water

Add all ingredients to a crockpot set on high. Cover with water and set to high for 3 hours, then set to low until beans are tender and chicken is cooked through. Be sure to check your water level. If the grains soak in too much water, it will burn the chili and make the entire thing taste bad. Add about ½ cup water if things are looking dry, and adjust as you need to. In the end, you want it to have the thick texture that chili typically has, so don’t worry if things are a little goopy looking!

Here in Phoenix, our weather is looking more like springtime than January, but for those of you on the east coast covered in feet of snow, this is the perfect recipe for being holed up inside over the weekend!