As a dietetic intern at the St. Louis VA Healthcare System, my main job is to use nutrition to promote a healthier lifestyle. Through Operation Food Search I had the great privilege to be exposed to a world and population I didn’t ever see growing up in the suburbs in Colorado. My experience at Operation Food Search has been both incredibly humbling and educational working with underserved members of the community. There are people who are working so hard to stretch every dime and still coming up short at the end of the month, and OFS is a leader in serving these communities and working to end hunger in St. Louis.
One of the most enjoyable experiences I had was at a cooking demonstration at a food pantry called The Dream Center. We prepared a white bean basil ham chili, which was absolutely delicious! The recipe was modified to represent a lot of the ingredients the food pantry had a surplus of, hence the ham. Our mission was to show the people using the pantry that it is possible to make healthy meals using the food from the pantry, and that healthy food can be delicious. Many of the pantry visitors expressed their initial hesitation because the use of “weird” or “unusual” chili ingredients. But when you are offering free samples people will try the food… no matter how “weird”. The chili was a hit, just about everyone really enjoyed it. It was so rewarding to see people stop back by the desk for another sample or to share that they got the ingredients and will make the dish at home.
Chili is one of those great meals that is inexpensive, easy to make, and you can make it with just about anything in your kitchen. Chili is great when you just don’t know what to do with those vegetables that are starting to go bad or you just don’t know what to do with. Chop up (or use canned) tomatoes, any kind of pepper, onions, garlic, potatoes, zucchini, etc. Any combination of vegetables will do! Throw in any type of bean, herbs, spices, add meat to it if you want to, and let the stove do the work for you. Everything goes into one pot, which makes clean-up easy. It is also one of those dishes that is easy to make a lot of at one time and freeze in smaller containers for later. Large-batch cooking and using ingredients you already have on hand is a great and easy way to stretch the budget, and who doesn’t like that?!
If your taste buds are enticed and your tummy is startling to rumble, try the recipe for yourself:
Serves 6, 1 1/2 cups per serving
Ingredients
- 1 pound ham
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 large lime
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- 2 (15½-ounce) cans great northern beans, no salt added
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Materials
- Can opener
- Colander
- Cutting board
- Large pot with lid
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Sharp knife
- Small bowl
Instructions
- Cut ham into ½-inch cubes.
- Rinse, peel, and finely chop onion. Peel and mince garlic.
- Rinse tomato. Remove core and seeds. Chop.
- Rinse lime. Cut in half. In a small bowl, squeeze juice from one half. Discard seeds.
- Rinse and chop cilantro and basil.
- In a colander, drain and rinse beans.
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. If onion or garlic start to brown, lower heat.
- Add ham, beans, broth, spices, tomato, lime juice, basil, and cilantro. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- If using, top with red pepper flakes.
Chef’s Notes
- Use any canned beans you like in place of great northern beans.
- Serve over a bed of cooked greens like spinach, kale, or chard. Or, serve over brown rice.
- For a different flavor, use Thai basil instead of regular basil.
Laura Moore, VA Dietetic Intern