Healthy Comfort Food

- Grass fed beef 

- Strained Tomatoes

- Garlic 

- Onion

-Cayenne Pepper

-Chili Powder

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Paprika

-Celery Powder

-Sea Salt

-Spice 

-White Onion

-Pinto Beans

-Kidney Beans

-Cheddar cheese (milk, salt, enzymes, and annatto).

-Whole Wheat Bread (not listing every ingredient - the only thing with more than a couple individual ingredients. I promise it was the "healthiest" bun I could find at Whole Foods)

-Yellow Mustard (Sorry, no individual ingredients here either. I had a choice - to walk to the kitchen for the umpteenth time or write this blog entry.)

Hey, look at that. You can read and pronounce every ingredient. This must be the start to a really healthy meal that tastes not very satisfying healthy, as well.

So here's what I made with these ingredients...

Are you ready?

Is the suspense killing you?

Okay, here it is:

A glorious, delicious chili dog

I paired it with a simple Kale salad and the whole meal was less than 600 calories...and I was so full! 

Here are the recipes: 

Chili Dog (serves 6)

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 chili recipe (I used a variation of this recipe by The Pioneer Woman; basically, I omitted the corn flour and just cut all other ingredients in half.)

- 6 hot dogs, boiled or grilled (I love this brand - organic, and made from humanely raised cows.)

- 6 whole wheat hot dog buns (or get the white ones if you want to live a little...I wish I had), warmed

- 6 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded

- 1/2 medium white onion, chopped

- yellow mustard

Method (also known as, the perfect assembly): 

- Take heated bun and douse with mustard (it's the only way)

- Place HOT hot dog in bun 

- Sprinkle on onions

- Smother with chili

- Top with cheese (I prefer my cheddar unmelted; if you think I am nuts, put it under the chili)

- Take a bite and marvel at the fact that this chili dog is less than 430 calories

Kale Strawberry Salad (serves 2, plus a picky toddler)

Ingredients: 

- 1 bunch Dino Kale

- 5 strawberries

- 2 tbsp EVOO

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp dijon mustard

- salt to taste

Method: 

- remove kale leaves from ribs and chop to desired thickness

- slice strawberries

- whisk together EVOO, vinegar, dijon mustard and salt

- pour over kale and toss to coat all kale

- add strawberries and gently combine

Isn't she a beauty? 

If this meal teaches anything, it's that comfort food can be healthy, healthy food can be yummy, and it's all about portion control. I used nothing low fat, reduced fat, or sugar free. I used real ingredients that my granny would've recognized (except, I am not quite sure how often she ate kale...thanks trendy food of the day). Oh well - you catch my drift, right? 

Until next time, bon appetit!