I’ve had TVP (textured vegetable protein) chili on my “to cook” list for the longest time and finally got the motivation to make it. It turned out as wonderful as I was hoping it would. Yay for successful recipe experiments! 
TVP and Black Bean Chili (vegan and gluten free)
I’ve had this package of Bob’s Red Mill TVP on the shelf for months now.
I don’t know why I was so intimidated by it, it’s ridiculously easy to work with.
Hydrated TVP in the pot with chili spices and red onions…
Looks like ground turkey, doesn’t it?
I topped mine with: 1oz reduced fat/sodium cheddar cheese (90 cal), a scoop of homemade guacamole, and 3 Lindsay low sodium black olives
For my dipping pleasure: 1.5oz Garden of Eatin organic blue corn tortilla chips (210 cal) and 1/4 cup Chobani 0% plain Greek strained yogurt (35 cal)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill TVP (textured vegetable protein)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 2 or 3 TBSP chili powder or to taste
- 1 TBSP cumin
- Pinch of dry mustard
- Dash of cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar or other sweetener
- Black pepper to taste
- Salt, optional (I used AlsoSalt salt substitute)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 can no salt added whole kernel corn with juice
- 2 cups cooked black beans
- 6oz tomato paste
Preparation:
1. Boil 1 cup water (I did it in the microwave); pour it over 1 cup TVP in a bowl, let sit for about 10 minutes. Mix it around and fluff it with a fork to make sure all of it is submerged in the water.
2. Slice or dice onion, add it to a large pot with the olive oil and minced garlic; start sweating the onions and garlic on medium heat
3. When TVP is hydrated, add it to the pot with the onions, garlic and EVOO. Add your spices in, mix well making sure the TVP is well coated in spices. Let cook for a minute or two.
4. Add in tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and corn with the juice from their cans; mix well. Finally, add in cooked beans and stir well. *Add more spices at this point if desired
5. Cover and let simmer on low-medium heat for 30-45 minutes.
8 servings, approx. 212 calories each
Note: If you like your chili very spicy, add more cayenne and/or hot sauce of choice.
This was SO GOOD!! I enjoyed it with dozens of splashes of Tabasco. 
Dustin loooooved it, too! You honestly cannot tell that it’s meat free. This is a definite winner for omnivores, herbivores, and die hard meat lovers. I also like that it’s vegan and gluten free, although, it contains soy. I would substitute quinoa for the TVP if you can’t have soy. I’ll definitely keep this in my recipe rotation, it’s amazing! Plus it’s packed with protein, flavor, and did I mention filling? Yeah, drinking 3 glasses of water with this put me over the top. 
Can’t wait for the leftovers!
One thing I did notice, or rather have been noticing for awhile now: hot peppers (jalapenos, cayenne, etc.) give me a headache immediately after consuming them. 
Uh oh, am I allergic to the nightshade family? (Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, etc.) I just recently got into spicy foods in the past few years so I never noticed it before, but in the past month or so I’ve noticed that slicing jalapeno and bell peppers makes me sneeze and, eating hot sauce or jalapenos gives me a headache right above my eyes and temple area. I thought it might be a coincidence, but now I’m wondering. Man, that would suck. Food allergies in general suck! I’m definitely going to have to pay attention to this and follow up on it with my doctor. Time for me to see an allergist, I’d say, lol.
Question: what is your favorite kind of chili?
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And that’s even after overindulging in sodium this weekend — deli sandwiches, my weakness. So when Monday morning came around, I decided to continue this positive downward trend and set out for a long, long walk. But first: breakfast!
Cannot believe these are gluten free! They taste SO amazing! They’re moist, chewy, soft, and absolutely delicious. You can’t tell that they’re gluten-free, they’re THAT good. Udi’s, you rock! If I ever go gluten free, take stock out in Udi’s, my friends! LOL 
It wasn’t just a leisurely sidewalk stroll, it was a very hilly path where eventually you hit a patch of mud and rocks — no pavement, minimum maintenance road — I wasn’t ready for such an ambitious climb. I thought it would be a breeze, but it was tough. We covered 4-6 miles, I’m not sure exactly. I tried to figure it out on 
She kept turning around to make sure I was behind her, but apparently my flailing arms weren’t a good enough indication that I was thirsty, LOL. I was so sore when we got home, and even more so the next day. Even my shoulders hurt. What the heck? It was a brutal walk. I’ll have to do it a few more times to adjust, but it’s definitely not easy. I’ll master it, though. 
So, I went to Shop Rite with mom this evening and picked up a special dinner for him: snow crab legs. Meanwhile, I had a nice piece of grilled Mahi mahi. Crab legs are a wee bit too salty for me when I’m trying to keep my sodium intake in check, so I settled for just one bite of his and a very nice fish dinner of my own. Mahi mahi tastes just like chicken to me, anyone else think that? I swear if I didn’t know better, I would think that it is chicken. 
I also ate almost a whole bunch of grilled asparagus. 
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