The grand entrance.

I'm making my grand entrance back into the blogging world. Let me re-introduce myself.

Hello there! Remember me? Good ol' TFG? 

I disappeared for a little while. In case you are curious to know what I've been up to, here is a brief summary in list form:

• I spontaneously joined a gym. Best decision ever.
• I baked cookies. And ate them.
• I started juicing kale. Best decision ever #2.
• I went on the most scenic 3.5 mile run of my whole life.
• I started eating farina for breakfast. Fancy.
• I had my sunflower seed butter taken away. But don't worry, I gained another.
• I taught Turbo Kick without music. It was ...interesting. I wouldn't repeat that.
• I got buff.

(Which of these is not like the others?)

I have a recipe for you today! I've been cooking every weekend, but I haven't been making anything worthy of putting on the blog. However, yesterday I was determined to make something somewhat fancy. And healthy. And easy. 

Which fits all three categories? Only my most favorite go-to dish ever. CHILI! 

I know. I made chili like, really recently. But I promise this chili is completely different from that chili. I promise.

Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked pinto beans*
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (or ~3-4 fresh tomatoes)
• 1/2 or 1 chopped jalapeno (depending on preferred spiciness)
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt/pepper

*To cook, combine 2 cups beans + 9 cups water and simmer for about 45 min or until soft. 2 cups uncooked beans makes 4-5 cups cooked beans.

Once the beans have cooked, add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin seeds to the pot.

Cook the sweet potatoes. The easiest way to do so is by piercing holes in them and microwaving them. I microwaved 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes together for 10 minutes. Chop them (and peel if desired) and add to the pot.

Season with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.

And garnish with cheese (melted, of course) and salsa. Dinner of champs! Try this next time you want to spice up your usual chili recipe. 

Any holiday health goals? This time of year, it's so hard to stay on top of making healthy choices. My goal is to control my dessert consumption. Anyone with me?!