I’m going to continue taking you through the B vitamins for my next few blogs, and I’ve been going in order so next on the list is vitamin B5 or Pantothenic Acid. This particular B vitamin is known as the “anti-stress” vitamin because it’s involved in the production of cortisone and other adrenal hormones, which are known to counteract stress. B5 is found in most whole foods so you only need to take a supplement if you’re displaying symptoms of a deficiency (a nutritionist can help you with this).
The best food sources are egg yolks, fish, chicken, whole-grain cereals, cheese, peanuts, dried beans, and a variety of veggies such as, sweet potatoes, green peas, cauliflower, mushrooms & avocados.
Are you noticing a trend here with avocado being high in B vitamins? You may already love them, but now you can feel even better about including them in your diet. They are considered a good quality fat though so remember that ½ of a large avocado is about 160 calories. Just make sure you keep that in mind if you’re watching your caloric intake.
I recently discovered an amazing way to eat avocado – as a topping for chili! It’s so good. We usually make a big pot of home-made chili on Sundays so we have leftovers and don’t have to cook Monday night. Just put some chili in a bowl, and put ¼ of a chopped avocado on top – amazing. Here’s our chili recipe – give it a try this Sunday!
Simple Homemade Chili
Ingredients:
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 package of lean ground organic chicken (sub in a whole grain like brown rice pasta for vegetarian version*)
1 large yellow onion
3 large organic carrots
3 stocks of organic celery
1 cup organic chicken stock
2 cans of diced tomato
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of kidney beans (drain & rinse all beans – the better you rinse them, the less effect they will have on your system if you know what I mean)
1 can of black beans
1 can of chick peas
1 tbsp of coconut sugar or maple syrup (cuts acid from tomatoes)
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (we like it spicy, so feel free to adjust the spices according to your taste)
1 tsp paprika
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
Turn stove on to medium-high heat. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large cooking pot, and add in the ground chicken. Once the chicken is browned (doesn’t have to be fully cooked) remove from pot and set aside. (skip for veggie version)
*For Veggie Chili: bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and cook brown rice pasta as per package instructions. The combination of a whole grain & legumes creates a full protein.
Heat another tbsp of olive oil and add in your chopped onions – cook for a couple minutes until translucent. Add in ½ cup of chicken stock to deglaze the bottom of the pot (loosens up the brown bits aka flavour from the chicken & onions). Add in carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the other ½ cup of chicken stock and all the rest of the ingredients including the ground chicken. Cover, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until carrots & celery are soft.
When you’re ready to serve it up into bowls, don’t forget to add ¼ of a chopped avocado on top – Enjoy!
Stayed tuned for vitamin B6!
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