Turkey Chili

One of my favorite meals that I have made since weight loss surgery is turkey chili.  I say "I" but really "we" made the chili.  My husband and I both worked on this pot.  I mixed a recipe I found on Baritastic, the weight loss app for people who have had bariatric surgery, and my husband's recipe.  I am going to give you the recipe I used and a note at the end about which things could be switched out if you have different preferences or needs.  Some of my measurements are not exact and can be changed to taste.  I use base measurements and then add as I see fit to work for us.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. ground turkey
3- 5 oz. cans V8
1/2-1 poblano pepper*
1/2-1 onion
4-6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. cumin
1 heaping Tbsp. chili powder
1 box chopped tomatoes*
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the ground turkey in a skillet.  Mince the onions, garlic, and peppers and add them to the turkey as it is cooking.  Then stir in the cumin and chili powder as well as salt and pepper.  In a pot, pour in the chopped tomatoes.  When the turkey is cooked, pour it into the pot with tomatoes. Then add the V8.  Bring to a simmer for at least 15-30 minutes.  Honestly, the taste was better the next day so let it simmer and sit for as long as possible.  You can even cook an extra batch to freeze for easy lunches.  You can, of course, garnish the chili as you like.  I like a little dollop of sour cream and/or and bit of shredded cheese in mine.  My husband likes crackers and cheese in his.  This chili is the first chili I can eat without any garnish.  That is how good this is.

*Notes: We use poblano peppers because we prefer the taste and spice level.  The original recipes called for bell peppers, but my husband cannot eat them.  You can use the peppers that work for your needs.  We use the boxed "Pomi" brand of tomatoes.  We cannot use canned unless they are canned by me because of my daughter's corn intolerance.  Pomi is corn free.

Here we go again...

I am going to give this ago once again...  If you look through my older posts, you can see that my family has been through a lot of ups and downs.  We have all struggled with health problems.  We are finally starting to get better and I would like to share our stories.

To get started, I have a secret...  Only a few people know but I'm going public now.  I had weight loss surgery.  I am almost three months out and have already lost 46 pounds.  I was at the point where I had exhausted all other options.  I was gaining weight again, no matter what I did.  I struggled with PCOS (I had a partial hysterectomy to get relief from endometriosis, but still have my ovaries), fibromyalgia, a rare foot problem, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, and my cholesterol was borderline.  I was less than a hundred pounds overweight but I was having all of these problems.  In fact, I only qualified for the surgery because of the health problems.  When I started the process, I did not qualify based on weight/BMI alone.  I have been fighting this for most of my life, especially since my teenage years.  I am almost 35 and headed for not much longer.  My husband had this surgery four years ago and it was a miracle for him.  He was very supportive and I had to do something.  I felt very selfish as I rarely do anything for myself.  Now that it is done, I wish I had done it sooner.  It was not just for me, but for my family's well-being as well.

Now, my husband and I use a new specific diet as well as keeping mostly corn free for our daughter who has a severe corn intolerance.  Many of my old recipes on the blog do not fit our family's needs now.  Some, however, can be modified to fit.  I have been working on this a lot lately and I would like to share.  Hopefully, I can help others who have been through my struggles and others who have gone through the surgery and struggle with recipes.

Here are some pictures to show my progress so far.  This was a few days ago when I hit the 44 pound mark.  Ignore my face.  I am still struggling with my skin at the moment.  However, my blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are all where they should be again.  I am no longer on any medication.

***Disclaimer: If you have gone through bariatric surgery, always make sure the recipes you use are okay according to your needs and the advice of your doctor/surgeon/dietitian.  I am very careful to follow the advice of my own but everyone is different.  It is important to keep communicating with your doctor/surgeon/dietitian, especially if you have had or will have bariatric surgery.