White Chili - Diabetic Recipes 123

When you cook up a pot of white chili, the aroma is so amazing don't be surprised if your neighbors drop by for a unexpected visit (this has happened to me twice).

This delicious white chili recipe is perfect for the diabetic. It is very high in protein and and low in carbs. As long as you don't add bread or crackers, a diabetic can eat all they want and not feel guilty. The white beans are high in the type of fiber that stabilizes blood sugar and keeps it from going up. It has been well documented that garlic lowers blood sugar and you can't seem to put too much in this recipe as it harmonizes so well with the other ingredients. Cilantro also lowers blood sugar. Lemon helps you digest carbohydrates better and therefore lowers sugar.

Ingredients For White Chili:

Half a whole chicken (de-skined, boiled, and de-boned)
1 Can of White Beans
1/2 - 1 Cup FRESH Cilantro (chopped)
1 Large Onion
2-8 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
1-2 Table Spoons of Greek Pepperoncini (chopped)
1-2 teaspoons of Juice from the Pickled Pepperoncini
I-2 FRESH Lemons
Salt
Black Pepper

Directions:

Skin the chicken but don't worry about getting every little bit off. The skin on the wings is quite difficult to take off so I always leave that on and it gives some extra flavor to the broth. Cut up the chicken into manageable pieces, freeze what you don't use. Boil at moderate heat until the meat is practically falling off the bone and it has cooked down into a good rich yellow broth. You may need to add a little water a few times during this process as it boils down. Add some salt and a little black pepper while the chicken is boiling. Take the chicken out of the broth and let it cool. De-bone the chicken into little pieces and put back into broth.

Now add everything else except the lemon and cook on low for about an hour. If you really want to make it good, put it on a very slow simmer and cook for longer.

Don't skip this important step:

After dishing into bowls for serving, squeeze some FRESH lemon (I like a lot) and add a little black pepper (preferable fresh ground).

Substitutions & Additional Notes:

Be sure NOT to add the lemon while cooking as the lemon juice will quickly turn bitter.

I know those plastic lemons are handy and keep a long time but I really encourage you to try this with FRESH lemon. The blend of the fresh lemon and the other ingredients just has a flavor to die for.

You can find pickled pepperoncini in the condiment section of most major grocery stories. I used to have trouble finding them but now I've even seen them at the Dollar Tree for a buck a jar. If you don't have any pickled pepperoncini, you can substitute a small can of green chiles but it's not quite as good.

Pepperoncini, which is sometimes spelled with only one p, pepperoncini, has a bit of kick to it but isn't nearly as hot as jalapeno peppers. If you want more heat, just add more peppers but be careful to let everything simmer for a while before you taste as it can take a while for the heat to meld into everything. Peperoncini are also called sweet Italian peppers (but with kick) and Tuscan peppers.

If you don't like heat, carefully remove all of the seeds from the pepperoncini.

Be careful when selecting white beans in a can as some companies add sugar and other undesirable ingredients. You can of course cook up some dry beans and use them instead but of course this is not as convenient.

White beans and navy beans are the same thing. Any type of white beans will work, although I prefer the smaller ones in white chili since they break up more which makes for a better juice. However, you can use the larger great northern beans or the even bigger cannellini beans. I've also seen people use red beans with this type of recipe but I don't prefer it.

If you want to save yourself from having to de-bone the chicken, you can just buy some boneless chicken breasts. However, the broth will NOT be as rich or as tasty. The bones actually flavor the broth and the meat off the back and in the wings are particularly good in this recipe.

I prefer to use more white meat than dark meat in this recipe so I usually freeze the legs and thighs to use in other recipes later. I also usually cut off some of the choice breast meat and freeze it pre-cut for stir-fries. Don't throw out the neck. It gets tender if you boil it long enough.

This is an easy recipe to double and it freezes well (except the fresh lemon of course). I often do so. Then, I freeze individual servings and everytime I take one out, especially on a cold day, I rejoice in having this homecookin' ready in only a few minutes.

More diabetic recipes.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about this white chili recipe.