“Caribbean Cassava Chili”

This Caribbean chili is sure to please everyone and it’s full of great flavor, energy, and nutrients. Most people know about tapioca and cassava root is tapioca and cassava root is one of my favorite foods and it’s similar to the potato. Cassava has a wonderful flavor, it’s soft and creamy, and works well in chili, soups, stews, casseroles, and all kinds of dishes. And cassava can be found at Latin markets all over the US and cassava is a staple food for many cultures around the world.

Ingredients:

26 – Oz of Cooked Organic Pink Beans - Or any other type of similar beans will also work such as pinto beans.

3/4 – Cup of Organic Cilantro or Racao another type of Cilantro – Chopped

1 – Cup of Organic Yellow Onion – Chopped

1 – Cup of Organic Green Sweet Peppers – Chopped

4 - Cups of Organic Cassava - Peeled and Cut into 2 1/2 Inch Pieces and Boil until almost tender. Don’t have cassava around then use cooked potatoes, they will work.

10 – Large Cloves of Organic Garlic – Minced

1 – Teaspoon of Organic Dark Chili Powder – This is my personal twist

2 – Teaspoons of Organic Garlic Powder

3 - Tablespoons of Organic Ground Annatto Seed Powder- Gives the chili a nice red color.

3 - Organic Veggie Salt-Free Bouillon Cubes

2 - Second Spray of Organic Olive Oil— I’ve tried not using the oil and it just doesn’t taste right… and this is very little oil.

Salt and pepper to taste

(Optional) Add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce for extra spice.

Spray a large pot for 2 seconds with olive oil… that is very little oil… then heat the pan on high heat and add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions until they are completely brown and then add the minced garlic and green peppers and sauté everything until nice and tender.

Next, add the cooked organic pink beans and all the rest of the greens and spices and the veggie stock, the almost tender cassava, and let everything simmer on low until the cassava is completely tender and the flavors mingle together. The green peppers will thicken up the stock making the chili very tasty.

Experiment and personalize this chili to exactly the way you like it.

Health Benefits of Organic Beans

It’s been shown that those who switch to plant-based sources of nutrition, and especially fiber and protein rich beans have a reversal of their cardiovascular challenges and premature death caused by heart attacks and strokes. Legumes are full of plant sterols which help to remove cholesterol and help with inflammation thus preventing cardiovascular disease.

One cup of beans contains up to 16 grams of total fiber and up to 7 grams of soluble fiber. This creates 70% of the daily fiber allowance we need to stay healthy and stave off heart attacks. In fact, plant-based diets not only help to prevent heart attacks in general, they even help those people who’ve had 1, 2, or 3 heart attacks in the past and want to keep from having another heart attack. Angiograms with people who have vascular blockages put on a whole-foods-plant-based diet completely reverse their cardiovascular disease in 30 days— Amazing!

There have been many studies showing that animal protein intake is directly related to diabetes. And being on a plant-based diet rich in fiber, with lots of plant-based protein, plant sterols, and lots of antioxidants (Black Beans contain more antioxidants that Blueberries) and choosing plant-based low glycemic foods can heal diabetes. The glycemic index of pinto beans is almost 39 or 39%, while white wheat flour has a glycemic index of 100, or 100% which is not good. And the total amount of grams of carbs times the glycemic index gives us the total glycemic load. A 1/2 cup of pinto beans contains 22 grams of carbs, times 39% which is the glycemic index = 9 a very low glycemic load. Thus beans are great for those who have diabetes and want to control their blood sugar and start transitioning to get off of insulin, getting off of medications, and heal their diabetes.

Studies show that those who eat a fiber-rich diet have a much lower chance of coming down with cancer, and especially colon and rectal cancer. And beans and legumes are full of fiber and antioxidants that help to prevent and heal cancer. In fact, in laboratory studies, it’s been shown that cancer can be turned on and off by just changing our diet. Cancers are activated with animal based proteins and these cancers can be put into neutral and negated with plant-based diets. Studies such as the “China Study” show that those who eat lots of plant-based nutrition full of fiber have a much lower chance of coming down with cancer. Animal protein creates an acidic reaction it the body, while plant-based diets create an alkaline based reaction in the body. Acid creates inflammation, and inflammation leads to disease, and sometimes that disease expresses itself as cancer. Thus eating plant-based diets rich in fiber and plant sterols such as beans is essential for great health. And beans are super inexpensive a single pound bag of dried beans can feed a person for a week.

Remember to Eat Organic - Regular beans contain up to 6 cancer causing chemicals, 12 hormone-disrupting chemicals, and 10 other disease causing chemicals… Not Good.

Eat Organic and Stay healthy!

Enjoy this Great Tasting Caribbean Chili

Dr. Paul Haider - Master Herbalist