Chili Beans and Greens with Homemade Red Chili

Sodium in Traditional Chili Beans

In the realm of comfort food, few dishes rival that southwest appeal of chili beans simply because of its perfect blend of savory, spice, and satisfaction, along with protein and fiber in every bite. Chili beans, otherwise known as Ranch style beans, are a hearty dish, but depending on how they are made or where they were bought, might not be so healthy for your heart. This is because traditional chili beans from a can are loaded with sodium. A typical one-half cup serving can stick you with 600 mg of sodium, almost half of the daily sodium limit of 2,300 mg! And who could eat just half a cup, especially with that much sodium? Salt is not only very addictive, it distorts our tastebuds so that we can't detect how much salt we're actually eating.

Those who make chili beans at home will add beef, which adds cholesterol. Consuming too much sodium and cholesterol not only can elevate your blood pressure, it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

A homemade version of red chili beans can maximize those same savory flavors and can make this dish a homemade favorite. The benefit is you control the sodium levels and cholesterol. And nutrition. By adding other plant-based ingredients, such as mushrooms and kale, vegan chili beans get a boost of flavor, fiber, nutrition, and texture. Beans are a superfood, which is why nutritionfacts.org recommends eating 3 half cup servings each day. In fact, beans and legumes are great for heart health. Just a cup a day, which is less than the recommended, for 3 months have been shown to slow resting heart rate as much as exercising for 50 hours on the treadmill! That's incredible, and helpful, but don't actually try and replace beans for exercise lol. The bottom line is getting your servings of beans will be easy and delicious with recipes like this! 👇

Ingredients

• 7 cups freshly cooked pinto beans

• 2 cups homemade New Mexican Red chili sauce, from our Salsa eBook!

• 1 1/5 cups minced portabello mushrooms (rinsed well)

• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh kale leaves (stems removed)

• 1/2 cup minced white onion

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or to taste

If you don't have our Salsa eBook, you can use your own homemade red chili sauce, but I highly recommend using dried New Mexican red chili! It's the best! If you don't have a red chili recipe, I'll share one on another blog post soon.

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, on medium-high heat, saute the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and kale for about 7 minutes. Stir frequently until the kale and onions are softened. If you are not using a non-stick pan, it may help to use a quick spray of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

2. Empty those ingredients into a medium bowl or small pan. Keep them covered to keep them warm. We don't want to smash these, we want to keep their texture.

3. Using the same large skillet, add the pinto beans. Using a large steel potato masher on medium heat, smash them until they almost look like refried beans. They don't have to be completely smashed.

4. Stir in just half the red chili until it saturates the beans. Then pour in the rest of the red chili sauce without stirring it in so that it simply surrounds the beans like a gravy. This is how I think you experience red chili better! Mixing it all in will only drown out its amazing taste.

5. Lastly, top the beans with the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and kale. Lightly stir in these ingredients but try to keep the integrity of the chili sauce.

Enjoy. No tortillas necessary.

God satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good things ~Psalm 107:9

written by Lupita Ronquillo for Vegan Health and Yoga

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Resources:

Slow Your Beating Heart: Beans vs. Exercise

BOLD Indeed: Beef Lowers Cholesterol?