Baby It's Cold Outside - Time To Make Some Keto Friendly Chili! -

I recently transitioned to Keto and love it. I had visions before I started of the Atkins days of old. I hated Atkins – I felt so deprived all the time so it was bound to not last. Sure I lost weight – and quite a bit of it. But it really wasn’t sustainable. With Keto though I am seeing awesome results and don’t feel deprived at all. I can literally eat anywhere – I just need to modify what I normally order and it doesn’t need to be salad with no dressing!

Some of my favorite Keto things are protein shakes with low net carbs. Best way to start my day. On Keto I am literally losing a pound a day at the moment. I definitely didn’t gain a pound a day to get here so I am very happy with this rate of weight loss. Sure the first few days I actually gained a little bit since this is a high fat weight loss plan but as soon as I landed in ketosis – wow!

In addition to Keto I do have some periods where I do intermittent fasting which helps the weight loss progress even more. I don’t resort to that because I have to, I simply love the process of fasting and if you are looking for quick results, it is definitely the way to go.

Now to the chili – prior to Keto I would make what I always considered a healthy chili. It is definitely one of my “go to” recipes. I would always include alot of beans and veggie crumbles instead of meat. That is about as far from a keto friendly chili as I can go. I loved it but it lacked MEAT. Now I get to have a chili I have always dreamed of and not feel guilty about it at all.

Today I had so many chores to do at the barn for the horses and it was such a relief to know when I get home – dinner is almost done!

I always make far more than I need so I can freeze some. Grabbing single portions out of the freezer as I am running out to work definitely makes it more possible for me to stay on plan.

This is cooked in a Crockpot but you can definitely cook it on the stove or in an Instantpot. I have all options but almost always use the Crockpot. Then I can start it, go to the barn to care for my horses and come home to a warm meal ready to eat. This is even more critical in this cold weather.

Start by browning 5 pounds of hamburg (then draining). Then I add in one red, one yellow, one orange and two green peppers – chopped. Oh yeah, I love the color! As an option you can add in a chopped onion but if I do no one else in the house will eat it so I generally don’t – they aren’t huge fans of onions. Personally I can eat one (especially red onions) like an apple.

Place all in the crockpot with a 12 ounce can of tomato paste and a 28 ounce can of tomato puree. Be sure to find a can of puree that has the least net carbs. Now that can will ordinarily not be enough for this much chili but after I put that can of puree in the Crockpot, I fill that empty can with water and dump that in also. Another great way to keep the net carbs down.

Lastly, I add in four pre-made packages for chili flavoring mix. I usually use three original flavor and one hot. That way it has a tiny bit of “kick” but not so much that I am overwhelmed. Cook in the Crockpot for about 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Sometimes I even add a secret ingredient to make it have a sweet tinge to it – (2 cans of diet 7UP – ssshhh don’t tell anyone).

It is done when it looks like that! Very thick and delicious keto friendly chili. Serve as is, or with shredded cheddar cheese on top (my husband’s favorite) or a dollop of sour cream on top (my favorite).