Garden Style Southwestern Chili

Garden Style Southwestern Chili

I won't give exact measurements on every ingredient because of the varying sizes that this meal could be prepared in.

Stewed Tomatoes with their broth (you can use canned, bottled, or fresh tomatoes)
1 can tomato paste
Canned Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
Salsa (to taste)
Taco Seasoning (to taste)
Garlic Clove (pressed)
Onion (chopped)
Meat (I use Chicken or Beef)
Colored Peppers (green, red, yellow, orange, etc.)
Corn (canned or fresh off the cob)
Finely chopped crookneck and/or Zucchini Squash
Hand full of Spinach chopped
Black Beans (with juice, if canned)
Kidney Beans (drained)
Chili Beans
Brown Rice (cooked)

This recipe turns out so tasty! We love to make it into burritos or a chip dip. As the cold weather sets in it will be a nice warm treat in a bread bowl!

Why Beans?

According to The World's Healthiest Foods Website "Black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as brown rice, black beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. You may already be familiar with beans' fiber and protein, but this is far from all black beans have to offer.

When researchers analyzed different types of beans, they found that, the darker the bean's seed coat, the higher its level of antioxidant activity. Gram for gram, black beans were found to have the most antioxidant activity, followed in descending order by red, brown, yellow, and white beans."