Original Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens: Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew

This was another interesting recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. I love Indian-inspired dishes.  This one just needed a few small changes to make it fit our diet a bit better.  Here are the original stats for the recipe which serves 8:

• 295 Calories
• 6g Fat
• 94mg Cholesterol
• 867mg Sodium
• 978mg Potassium
• 32g Carbohydrates
• 29g of Protein

The calories were pretty good with this one. When I entered the recipe into my calculator, there was low vitamin A and C.  It also takes tomatoes.  Here’s what I changed:

• Deleted the tomato and added 3 red bell peppers and a 15oz can of pumpkin puree
• Changed the chicken broth to low sodium chicken broth
• Changed the canned garbanzo beans to low sodium canned garbanzo beans
• Increased the servings to 10 so the calories would be low enough to serve with 1/2 cup brown rice

Here are the stats for the dish I’m making today:

• 216 Calories
• 5g Fat
• 74mg Cholesterol
• 307mg Sodium
• 326mg Potassium
• 20g Carbohydrates
• 24g Protein
• 68% Vitamin A
• 39% Vitamin C
• 5% Calcium
• 12% Iron

Here is my upgraded version of this recipe:

Serves 10

• 2 pounds boneless-skinless chicken thighs
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 15oz cans of low-sodium Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15oz can of pure pumpkin puree
• 9oz Baby Spinach
• 3 Red Bell Peppers
• 1 cup low-sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 bay leaf

1. Line a 6-quart slow cooker with a disposable slow cooker liner. Lightly coat liner with cooking spray; set cooker aside. Add chicken, onion, red bell pepper and garlic to the slow cooker. Add curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Stir in beans, pumpkin puree, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Stir lime juice into chicken mixture. If desired, stir in spinach; let stand for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt. If desired, serve in bowls with hot cooked rice