Hearty.

Healthy.

Tasty.

EASY.

It’s everything I want in a meal. And so simple it makes me smile. Throw it together in the morning and you’ve got dinner done for the day. Phew!

The mountains are still getting new snow here in Utah and it’s been raining a lot at our house. So I’m still in the mood for soup, sweaters, and slippers. While you may be eating breakfasts of granola and smoothies I’m still cooking up hot oatmeal in the mornings. So this quinoa chicken chili is a welcome meal for our cool drizzly evenings.

My friend down the road recommended this recipe. It’s the Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili Recipe from Queen Bee Coupons. I changed it a bit, so check out Queen Bee’s site for the original. I always take my friend’s recommendations seriously because she makes really good food. Believe me.

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients for this quinoa chicken chili. First, the quinoa. I usually soak my quinoa for a few hours before cooking it. Soaking grains makes them more digestible and helps your body absorb all of their nutrients. You can read more about the benefits of soaking your grains here. But I don’t soak my quinoa before adding it to the slow cooker. I think 4-8 hours of slow cooking is as good as soaking in this case. I use TruRoots organic quinoa.

Second, the chicken broth. I use my homemade chicken bone broth because it adds so many nutrients to this chili. Most store-bought broths have additives like  vegetable oil and msg in them. Store-bought broths also haven’t been slow cooked with the chicken bones, so they’re lacking in minerals and nutrients. One of the best ways to boost your health is to start eating bone broth! If you don’t want to make your own, some health food stores like Real Foods sell an unprocessed and pretty much homemade broth. You can also buy products like Pacific Natural Foods Organic Chicken Bone Broth at many health food or grocery stores. I think this option isn’t as good as homemade, but it’s better than your mainstream bouillons and stocks.

And the last ingredient I want to talk about: the chicken. I like to use frozen chicken breasts from pasture-raised chickens that I buy at Real Foods. Pasture-raised chickens are allowed to live outside and eat grass and bugs. They aren’t given growth hormones or antibiotics. They are really healthy chickens that produce the best meat.

There are many other items in this chili that each have a varying degree of nutrition based on what you buy, but I wanted to focus on meat and grains because their quality will make a big difference in your health. Oh, and I also like full fat sour cream that doesn’t have any additives like Daisy Brand sour cream. Okay, I could talk about each ingredient, but let’s move on!

The toppings are really what take this chili to the next level. It’s good on its own, but it’s really good with avocado, fresh tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, and some corn chips to add some crunch. You’re going to love it.

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