Yep, I said it. Chili with no tomatoes. With my Elimination Diet in full swing I am having to get a little creative with my entree recipes. There are only a certain amount of things to be made with little to no ingredients that are on my Elimination Diet Food List … and then you start wanting all those other foods. Tomatoes are still hard to not have – especially when your fave brand of stewed tomatoes is on sale! But I decided to take on the challenge of making a chili without tomatoes. And I have to say I feel quite inventive! It even turned out a shade of normal chili! I hope you enjoy this vegan and gluten-free No-Tomato Macaroni Chili – Elimination Diet Recipe.

Have you noticed that while on a restrictive diet almost every food that anyone makes, or at restaurants, has the foods you can’t eat on it, and very few of the foods that you can? And those foods you can eat are rarely alone? Like you can have a nice salad but at Olive Garden it comes smothered in calorific dressing? Spaghetti or other pasta dish that may be free of tomatoes but only use non-gluten-free noodles. So it’s a little frustrating being the dieter. Having people ask you if you want the left over veggies they cooked – and wondering why you can’t even though they know you can’t eat the butter that they had smothered all over those veg. But it’s my choice to do this diet, to restrict myself to what I’m at now. So I have no one to complain to or about, except me. So I should probably stop complaining? Okay – the chili. How do you make a chili that is always tomato based into a non-tomato based? Use pureed carrots! I am a pureeing queen and love to add extra veggies and thickness to soups with pureed cauliflower, or spaghetti sauce with butternut squash. But this time no cauli or squash – just carrots. It’s the perfect veg to puree and is also almost the perfect chili color! Add normal chili spices, a ton of other veg … a little macaroni? Yum!

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Start by boiling (or steaming) your carrots until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. While carrots are boiling, chop onion, peppers, and mushrooms into small pieces. Once the pot is drained of carrots add 1/4 cup vegetable stock then dump in all the chopped veggies, along with the bay leaf, and saute until tender. Slice the jalapeno in strips – leave the seeds and ribs. In your blender dump half the carrots and jalapeno, one tablespoon homemade taco seasoning, one teaspoon oregano and a couple cups stock and blend until smooth and soupy. Pour into pot with veg. Add rest of the carrots and jalapeno, another tablespoon taco seasoning, last of oregano and stock and blend.Add half the second container of veg stock and the rest of the taco seasoning to the pot and mix. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot and mix. Set to low heat and cook about 30 minutes to combine all flavors. In a smaller pot boil half the bag of noodles until just tender then drain and add to chili pot and cook 30 more minutes. Portion out and enjoy!

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No-Tomato Macaroni Chili, 10 servings

2 lbs Carrots, chopped and boiled
1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped small
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Orange Peppers, chopped small
2 Pkgs Sliced Mushrooms, chopped
1 Jalapeno, cut in strips
1 Cntr Imagine Vegetable Cooking Stock
1/2 Cntr Imagine Vegetarian No-Chicken Cooking Stock
6 Tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning
2 Tsp Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
5 Cans S&W Low Sodium Kidney Beans
1/2 Pkg Gluten-Free Macaroni Noodles

1. Wash and chop carrots into smallish pieces then boil until tender. Drain and set aside to cool down.
2. While carrots are boiling mince garlic then chop onion, peppers and mushrooms into small pieces.
3. After carrots are drained add 1/4 cup stock to the pot then add chopped veg, minced garlic, and bay leaf and saute until tender. Slice the jalapeno into strips.
4. In a blender add half the carrots and 1 tablespoons taco seasoning, one teaspoon oregano, and half the jalapeno and 2 cups stock and blend until smooth and soupy. Pour into veg pot and finish other half of carrots, jalapeno, one tablespoon taco seasoning and oregano and stock.
5. Pour in other stock container and turn heat to medium-low and mix.
6. Drain and rinse beans then add to pot with the rest of the taco seasoning and mix. Let cook 30 minutes.
7. In a small pot boil half the bag noodles until tender then drain and add to chili and cook 30 more minutes.
8. Portion out and enjoy!