This week I wanted something simple and comforting. I haven’t done too many recipes for chili so far, but I found one I had to try. Our lives have been pretty busy lately, but we took some time to visit our families (socially distanced, of course). Make sure when you visit your loved ones, you take the proper precautions as well, especially if you have older relatives. Remember, you may be young and healthy and fight off the virus, but your older relatives may not be so lucky. We’ve learned over and over, that if you don’t you have a greater chance in becoming infected (*cough* President Trump *cough*). With that being said, I do not wish any ill will on people who don’t take COVID-19 seriously and hope that there is a lesson to be learned. I’ll take my public health hat off and put my healthy recipe hat back on.

The recipe I picked this week is for Spicy Hummus Turkey Chili from Running to the Kitchen. I never thought of putting hummus in chili. I LOVE hummus. It’s wonderful on so many things. Just don’t eat too much of it. It’s healthy in smaller portions. However, in chili? Yes, please. While I am not a hummus snob, I will NOT buy premade hummus. I can make it in a jiffy, in any flavor I want. I can also control the salt content. Premade anything runs the risk of containing too much sodium. You can literally make it in 15 minutes. My favorite contains smoked paprika. For my version, we will be using homemade. I will also be skipping the cheese for the sodium reason as well. The rest of the recipe is pretty healthy. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I increased the servings from 4 to 8 to reduce the calories
• I replaced the store bought hummus with a homemade version.
• I removed the tomato and added pumpkin puree and red bell pepper to increase the vitamin A and C.
• I deleted the cheese to reduce the calories and sodium.
• I cut the amount of hummus in half to reduce the calories.
• I added some spinach for extra vegetables and to increase the vitamin A.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Spicy Turkey Hummus Chili

Serves 8

For the Hummus (America’s Test Kitchen)

• (15 ounce) can low sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
• ¼ cup tahini
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup water

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 40 seconds. Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes; serve cold. (The hummus can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

For the chili

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 15 ounce can low sodium white beans (any variety), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 5 ounces baby spinach

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the turkey and cook until browned. Transfer the turkey to a plate and set aside.
3. Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pot.
4. Add the onion, red bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno. Cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
5. Transfer the turkey back to the pot and add the salt, pepper, coriander, cumin and red pepper, stir to combine and cook another minute.
6. Add the pumpkin puree and broth to the pot, stir and let simmer over medium heat uncovered for about 20 minutes until some of the liquid has cooked off and the mixture has thickened.
7. Add the beans, 1/2 recipe hummus and spinach and stir until incorporated and spinach has wilted.
8. Add the cilantro and green onions last and give it one final stir.