Sweet Potato Chili

One-​pot dishes do wonders for your health and sanity. Fun activities for a chilly, fall day: get lost in a corn maze, carve pumpkins, pick apples, and play in leaf piles. Not-​so-​fun activities: cook dinner. After chasing a puddle-​jumping toddler all day, it’s hard to gather the energy to cook a complicated meal—​which is why this one-​pot wonder comes in handy.

With this quick and easy recipe, you just toss a bunch of nutritious ingredients into a pot and let it stew. This chili features beans, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are starchy superstars and one of the few plant-​based sources of vitamin B6, which helps the brain produce serotonin and melatonin. Melatonin helps the body fall asleep and stay asleep, while serotonin stabilizes moods and promotes feelings of happiness. There’s no surefire way to prevent temper tantrums, but better sleep and a healthy brain are good ways to start.

Note: For a vegan version of this dish, substitute tofu for the turkey.

Sweet Potato Chili

Evelyn Rusli and Arianna Schioldager

With this quick and easy recipe, you just toss a bunch of nutritious ingredients into a pot and let it stew. This chili features beans, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are starchy superstars and one of the few plant-​based sources of vitamin B6, which helps the brain produce serotonin and melatonin.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Servings 7 -1/2 cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound (459 grams) lean ground turkey (optional)
• 1/2 (100 grams) onion finely diced
• 1 garlic clove
• One 15-​ounce (425-​gram) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• One 15-​ounce (425-​gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• One 15-​ounce (425-​gram) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium sweet potato (approximately 300 grams), diced
• One 15-ounce (411 gram) can diced tomatoes, no salt
• 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

Instructions

 

• If using turkey, in a large pot over high heat, add the oil and turkey. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add the onions and sauté for 5 more minutes, until they become soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 to 3more minutes.
• Add the beans, sweet potato, tomatoes, vegetable stock, and spices. Simmer on medium for 30 to 35 minutes, until the sweet potatoes become soft and the chili thickens.

Notes

Excerpted from First Bites: A Science-Based Guide to Nutrition for Baby’s First 1,000 Days by Evelyn Rusli and Arianna Schioldager. © 2023 Evelyn Rusli and Arianna Schioldager. Published by Countryman Press | W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Credit: Caer, Inc.

Keyword beans, Chili, Evelyn Rusli and Arianna Schioldager, Fall, First Bites, Garlic, Spices, Tomatoes, Turkey, Winter