Meatless Monday: Three Bean Slow Cooker Vegan Chili

Using a slow cooker is a great way to prepare healthy meals in large amounts quickly and easily making it an excellent choice for the busy work week!  You can save leftovers for later on in the week or freeze in individual glass containers for a super-fast nutritious meal anytime.

This week’s recipe will warm you up and fill you up with plenty of protein, fiber and phytonutrients including the powerhouse antioxidant, anthocyanin.  Anthocyanin lends a blue or purple color to foods and is found in black beans, blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes and red/purple cabbage.

Ingredients:

8 oz. or 1 cup of dried black beans
8 oz. or 1 cup of dried kidney beans
8 oz. or 1 cup of dried white or cannellini beans
4 Leeks
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
1 red, green, orange or yellow pepper
2 cups kale, chopped
4 jalapeno peppers (more as desired for spicy flavor)
¼ teaspoon chipotle spice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 cups water
1 cup dried wheat berries (substitute quinoa for gluten free)
26 oz. or 3 cups of crushed or strained tomatoes (look for one in box or glass jar, not a can)
¼ teaspoon sea or Himalayan salt (to taste)
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1 avocado

Directions:

1.)    Rinse dried beans then soak overnight in slow cooker (do not heat slow cooker, just cover). To make morning prep fast, chop veggies (onion, peppers, garlic, leeks, kale) the night before and store in the refrigerator.

2.)    The next morning, drain and rinse dried beans.  Add olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker, then add beans, chopped onions, peppers, garlic, leeks, kale, water, tomato, spices, wheat berries.  Add additional water or tomato sauce as needed to fully cover the beans and veggies in the crock pot, up to the “fill line”.

3.)    Set slow cooker to high for 6 hours – then re-set to high for 4 hours or cook on low for 10-12 hours if you won’t be home during the day.

Chop avocado and serve on chili as a garnish.

Enjoy!

Substitutions:
Wheat berries – quinoa
Leeks – scallion, onion, chives
Onion- leeks, shallot
Kale- spinach, beet/mustard/collard greens
Beans – use any variety including pinto, navy bean, etc.

Meatless Monday: Three Bean Slow Cooker Vegan Chili