Clean Eating Chili Dogs

Do you know I’ve never had a chili dog?

I’m not sure if I grew up under a rock, or if it’s because I’ve never been to a live sports event (~gasp!), but I never had one until I decided to make them tonight for dinner.

I don’t know where the wild hair came from, but suddenly, it sounded good.

The funny thing is, I served it to my husband with the grand and prideful announcement that I had made chili dogs for dinner. He was really excited until I put the plate in front of him. The first and only thing that came out of his mouth was… “Where are the dog”? (I think he’s had them before.)

I guess chili dogs are supposed to have hot dogs under that mound of chili. Silly me. But we ate them up and practically licked our plates anyway.

If you can find a good source for a low fat and clean hot dog of some sort, feel free to add it. But I must say, these are good as they are. Even if it is just chili in a hot dog bun!

And if you’re feeling really adventuresome, put this in a hamburger bun and you’ve got sloppy joes, or put it in a bowl and call it…… wait for it….

Chili!!

(Am I creative, or what? – Don’t answer that.)

Clean Eating Chili Dog Recipe
(Make approximately 12 cups of chili)

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion
6 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 large can stewed tomatoes
3 cans tomato sauce
1 cup veggie stock
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 package TVP (textured vegetable protein)
1 can kidney beans

Directions

Step 1 – Wash, clean and chop your bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Put them in a pan with olive oil on medium heat and cook until onions are translucent.

Step 2 – In a large pot, combine the rest of the ingredients and place over medium heat.

Step 3 – When the onion mixture is done, add it to the pot. Once the entire thing is warmed through, you’re finished!

One word of caution, stir the pot frequently. With all that TVP soaking up the liquids, it can burn very quickly.

Eat and Enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Kids can help in many aspects of this recipe. I have a small chopper for things like garlic that my son loves to pound away at with his little hands. I always have an extra bowl for him to put just-chopped veggies into. He feels useful and helpful, and it gets the veggies out of the way while I do other things.

He helps empty the ingredients into the pot, and loves to stir while the pot is still cold.

Nutritional Content
(1 serving – 1 cup chili
I did not include the hot dog bun in this because the nutritional values will be different depending on what you buy. I purchase a whole wheat, no sugar bun from my local health food store.)

Calories: 171
Total Fat: 2 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 504 mg – I question this. I doubt it’s this high with the ingredients I use. Check the sodium on the broth you use. It makes a difference.
Carbohydrates: 25 gm
Dietary fiber: 8 gm
Sugars: 9 gm
Protein: 15 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 8

The good: This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin A, and a very good source of Vitamin C.

The bad: This food is high in Sodium. – Again, I question this. I think the food selections they use in their database may be higher in salt than the products I use. Check your canned ingredients for sodium content.

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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