Keto Chili & Back on the Keto Wagon

At the beginning of the year I hopped back on the keto wagon after being off of it for many months. I was feeling heavy, lethargic, depressed, and in a fog. I knew that it was time to clean it up and dial in my nutrition.
Getting back on track was surprisingly easy. I lost 9 pounds in my first week; which is always very motivating. I kept my meals very simple. Very, very, simple. That allowed me to focus, kill the sugar cravings, avoid the carb flu, and get into ketosis. Well, simple can get boring very quickly. I knew I needed to find some more palatable and satiating meals if I am going to stay on track. I decided that this upcoming week I better step up my meal prep game.

​I have been craving chili; nothing is better than a warm belly and it has been especially cold here lately. When you can tuck in to a comfort food you feel like you aren't restricting yourself.

I used the Keto Chili recipe from the Simply Keto Cookbook* by Suzanne Ryan of Keto Karma.**

Keto Chili
Ingredients:

• ​1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound bulk sausage, mild or hot
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes (with juices)
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste (see note)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• ⅓ cup water

Topping Suggestions:

• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sliced green onions
• Sour cream
• ​Sliced jalapeños

​Directions:
1 In a large pot, brown the ground beef and sausage, using a wooden spoon to break up the clumps. Drain the meat, reserving half of the drippings.
2 Transfer the drained meat to a slow cooker. Add the reserved drippings, bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes with juices, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and water and mix well.
3 Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 5 hours, until the veggies are soft.
​4 Serve topped with shredded cheese, green onions, sour cream, and/or sliced jalapeños, if desired.
Note: When buying tomato paste, check the labels and find the lowest-carb option available. The macros for this recipe may vary slightly depending on the brand of tomato paste you use.

Per Serving: CALORIES: 387 | FAT: 24.6 g | PROTEIN: 33.5 g | TOTAL CARBS: 11.4 g | NET CARBS: 7.9 g

Instead of cooking this in the crock pot I simmered it in a pot on the stove. I upped the water to 1 cup because I like my chili to be a bit looser. I thought this a yummy, hearty, meal and I felt full and sated.
If you end up making this, let me know if you liked it! Thanks for reading!
​*Simply Keto Cookbook:
www.amazon.com/dp/1628602635/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0MQoCbRJYPTWJ ​
**ketokarma.com/