Part I · Heart Healthy
Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: about 40 mins (the barley cooks while the chili simmers) Yield: about 9½ cups of chili plus 4½ cups of barley, 7 servings
A smoky chicken and black bean chili with sweet bell peppers, served over toasted barley, with avocado on top when you have a ripe one. Tomato paste darkened with a double measure of spices does the work salt usually does, the chicken and vegetables supply all the liquid, and two rinsed cans of beans keep the sodium low and the fibre high.
Written October 2026, for a day off that arrived because the next house on the schedule wasn’t finished being framed, and revised the same evening to match the first pot: no onion, three colours of pepper, doubled spices, no added water, and lemon in place of lime. “It tastes wonderful.”
Why It Works
- Toasting the tomato paste: A minute in the hot pot darkens the paste and deepens its flavour, so the chili tastes long-simmered after half an hour.
- Spices instead of salt: A double measure of cumin, smoked paprika and chili powder is bloomed in oil for 30 seconds before anything wet goes in, which releases its aroma. The pot needs no added salt.
- No added water: Covered for the first part of the simmer, the chicken, peppers and tomatoes release enough juice to make a thick, saucy chili on their own.
- Rinsed beans: Rinsing canned black beans removes roughly 40% of their sodium, and the beans bring soluble fibre, the kind that helps lower LDL cholesterol.
- Toasted barley instead of rice: Barley is among the lowest-glycemic grains and carries its own LDL-lowering fibre, beta-glucan. Toasting it in olive oil first, as with the Toasted Jasmine Rice, gives it a nutty depth.
- Avocado instead of cheese: It gives the creaminess cheese would, with mostly unsaturated fat.
Ingredients
The Chili:
- Chicken Breast: 2 lb (the first pot used 1.85 lb), cut into bite-sized cubes
- Olive Oil: 1 Tbsp, plus 1 tsp for the paste
- Bell Peppers: 3, any colours, chopped (the first pot used red, yellow and orange; green works too)
- Red Onion: ½, chopped (optional; the first pot had none)
- Ground Cumin: 4 tsp
- Smoked Paprika: 4 tsp
- Chili Powder: 2 tsp (a salt-free blend if you can find one)
- Crushed Red Pepper: a pinch, to taste
- Tomato Paste: one 6 oz can
- Roma Tomatoes: 4, chopped
- Black Beans: 2 cans (15 oz each), rinsed and drained
- Lemon or Lime: 1, juiced
The Base and Topping:
- Barley: one 8.8 oz bag (about 1¼ cups), dry
- Olive Oil: 2 Tbsp, for toasting the barley
- Water: for the barley, as the package directs
- Avocados: 2, ripe, diced (optional)
Execution Protocol
Phase 1: The Base
- Heat the olive oil (2 Tbsp) in the barley pot over medium heat and toast the barley (8.8 oz), stirring, for 3–5 minutes, until most grains are light gold and it smells nutty. Pull it before grains start to blacken. Add water as the package directs and cook until tender (quick barley takes about 12 minutes). Drain and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil (1 Tbsp) in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bell peppers (3), and the red onion (½) if using, and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the chicken (2 lb) and cook, stirring, until the outside is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Phase 2: Bloom and Toast
- Stir in the cumin (4 tsp), smoked paprika (4 tsp), chili powder (2 tsp) and crushed red pepper (a pinch). Cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste (6 oz) with the olive oil (1 tsp) and stir it through for 1 minute, until it darkens a shade. (It can also be toasted with the spices in a small pan, then scraped into the pot.)
Phase 3: The Simmer
- Add the Roma tomatoes (4) and the black beans (2 cans). No water: the chicken and vegetables will release plenty.
- Cover and cook over medium-low for 10 minutes, until the juices run, then uncover and simmer for 10–15 minutes more, until thick and saucy. Add a splash of water only if it starts to catch. The chicken is done at 165°F.
- Stir in the lemon or lime juice (1) at the end.
Phase 4: The Bowl
- Spoon about ½ cup of barley into each bowl, ladle about 1½ cups of chili over it, and top with diced avocado if you have a ripe one.
Variations
- Framer’s Tacos: Warm 3 corn tortillas per person in a dry skillet, 10–15 seconds a side, and fill them with chili and avocado instead of serving over barley. Corn tortillas carry almost no sodium (about 25 mg for three), against roughly 400 mg in two slices of sandwich bread.
- Fire-roasted: Replace the Roma tomatoes with 2 cans (14.5 oz) no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained, for more smoke and no chopping.
- With corn: Stir in 1 cup frozen corn with the beans.
- Cool and creamy: Top with a spoonful of plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
Meal Profile
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient in the amounts above (the whole pot), then divided by about 14 cups. One serving is 2 cups. A value marked † is partial: at least one ingredient has no published value for it, so the true figure is somewhat higher.
The basics
| Whole pot | Per cup | Per 2-cup serving | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 3,351 kcal | 239 kcal | 479 kcal |
| Protein | 274 g | 20 g | 39 g |
| Fat, total | 78.1 g | 5.6 g | 11.2 g |
| Saturated | 13.0 g | 0.9 g | 1.9 g |
| Monounsaturated † | 40.8 g | 2.9 g | 5.8 g |
| Polyunsaturated † | 12.7 g | 0.9 g | 1.8 g |
| Carbohydrate, total | 397 g | 28 g | 57 g |
| Fiber | 102.9 g | 7.4 g | 14.7 g |
| Soluble † | 11.8 g | 0.8 g | 1.7 g |
| Insoluble † | 10.9 g | 0.8 g | 1.6 g |
| Beta-glucan † | 9.5 g | 0.7 g | 1.4 g |
| Resistant starch † | 7.8 g | 0.6 g | 1.1 g |
| Sugars † | 39.7 g | 2.8 g | 5.7 g |
| Cholesterol | 612 mg | 44 mg | 87 mg |
| Sodium | 1,890 mg | 135 mg | 270 mg |
| Potassium | 8,769 mg | 626 mg | 1,253 mg |
| Available carbohydrate (total minus fiber) | 294 g | 21 g | 42 g |
Ratios and shares
- Sodium : potassium: 0.22 (below 1 favours blood pressure; the WHO goal is near 0.6).
- Saturated fat share of energy: 3.5% (guideline: under 10%).
- Protein density: 8.2 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Omega-3, per serving: 201 mg in total, including EPA + DHA 8 mg (DPA 7 mg, ALA 185 mg). Omega-6 : omega-3 ratio 8.0 : 1.
Fats by type (per serving)
| Fatty acid | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 16:0 palmitic (saturated) † | 1,430 mg |
| 18:0 stearic (saturated) † | 304 mg |
| 18:1 oleic (monounsaturated) † | 5,586 mg |
| 18:2 linoleic, LA (omega-6) † | 1,521 mg |
| 20:4 arachidonic, AA (omega-6) † | 58 mg |
| 18:3 alpha-linolenic, ALA (omega-3) † | 185 mg |
| 20:5 EPA (omega-3) † | 4 mg |
| 22:5 DPA (omega-3) † | 7 mg |
| 22:6 DHA (omega-3) † | 5 mg |
Essential amino acids (per serving, against the daily need of a 74 kg / 163 lb adult)
| Amino acid | Per serving | Daily need | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Histidine | 1.28 g | 0.74 g | 174% |
| Isoleucine | 1.77 g | 1.48 g | 120% |
| Leucine | 3.03 g | 2.88 g | 105% |
| Lysine | 3.21 g | 2.21 g | 145% |
| Methionine + cysteine | 1.33 g | 1.11 g | 120% |
| Phenylalanine + tyrosine | 2.95 g | 1.84 g | 160% |
| Threonine | 1.64 g | 1.11 g | 148% |
| Tryptophan | 0.49 g | 0.30 g | 164% |
| Valine | 1.95 g | 1.92 g | 102% |
Vitamins and minerals (per serving)
Daily references are the U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes for an adult man (31-50).
| Nutrient | Per serving | Daily reference | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A (RAE) † | 111 µg | 900 µg | 12% |
| Vitamin D, total | 0.0 µg | 15 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) † | 3.50 mg | 15 mg | 23% |
| Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) † | 12.9 µg | 120 µg | 11% |
| B1 thiamin † | 0.41 mg | 1.2 mg | 34% |
| B2 riboflavin † | 0.36 mg | 1.3 mg | 28% |
| B3 niacin † | 14.6 mg | 16 mg | 91% |
| B5 pantothenic acid † | 2.29 mg | 5 mg | 46% |
| B6 † | 1.34 mg | 1.3 mg | 103% |
| B9 folate, total (DFE) † | 155 µg | 400 µg | 39% |
| B12, total † | 0.3 µg | 2.4 µg | 10% |
| Vitamin C † | 120 mg | 90 mg | 133% |
| Choline (vitamin-like) † | 141 mg | 550 mg | 26% |
| Calcium | 62.9 mg | 1,000 mg | 6% |
| Magnesium † | 132 mg | 420 mg | 31% |
| Sodium | 270 mg | 2,300 mg (limit) | 12% |
| Potassium | 1,253 mg | 3,400 mg | 37% |
| Phosphorus † | 472 mg | 700 mg | 67% |
| Iron, total | 4.49 mg | 8 mg | 56% |
| Zinc † | 2.72 mg | 11 mg | 25% |
| Copper † | 0.45 mg | 0.9 mg | 50% |
| Manganese † | 1.00 mg | 2.3 mg | 43% |
| Selenium † | 42.1 µg | 55 µg | 77% |
Phytonutrients (per serving)
- Lutein + zeaxanthin: 370 µg †
- Beta-carotene: 1,059 µg †
- Lycopene: 912 µg †
- Phytosterols: 20 mg †
- Flavonoids: 9 mg †
- Polyphenols: 49 mg GAE †
- Nitrate: 3 mg †
Glycemic impact (estimate)
Black beans (about 30), barley (about 25-30) and tomatoes are all low-GI, and the chicken slows things further, so this is an estimate for the whole bowl. With about 42 g of available carbohydrate per serving, the glycemic load works out to roughly 10–15 (low is 10 or under, high is 20 or over).
Watch-outs
- Oxalate: at least 24 mg per serving; not yet researched for Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, Tomato paste (Amazon brand), Red bell pepper, Yellow bell pepper, Olive oil, Cumin, Paprika (smoked paprika proxy), Chili powder, Pearled barley, Olive oil (a low-oxalate diet for kidney-stone prevention aims for under 100 mg a day).
- Purines (total): at least 35 mg per serving; not yet researched for Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, Tomato paste (Amazon brand), Red bell pepper, Yellow bell pepper, Olive oil, Cumin, Paprika (smoked paprika proxy), Chili powder, Lemon juice, Olive oil. Relevant to uric acid and gout; a low-purine diet keeps to roughly 400 mg a day.
Dog check
Not as written: contains Cumin, marked ‘avoid in quantity (spice)’; Chili powder, marked ‘avoid (spicy; most blends contain garlic and onion powder)’; Lemon juice, marked ‘avoid (acidic, psoralens in rind)’. Give the dog plain baked chicken, plain barley and rinsed, unseasoned beans instead. Chili powder blends usually contain garlic and onion powder too.
Not counted: the optional avocado (about 70 kcal and 7 g mostly unsaturated fat per ⅓ avocado) and the optional onion; red pepper flakes and any salt at the table; yield COUNTED 2026-10-20: 14 cups of food in all (a 3-cup chili + 1-cup barley bowl, then 10 cups of chili and barley mixed); with the barley estimated at about 4½ cups, that is about 9½ cups of chili. Values are from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), with mercury from FDA monitoring data; see the Master Nutrition & Food Facts workbook for every ingredient.
Notes
- For a dog: the onion and the chili powder (most blends contain garlic and onion powder) make the pot unsuitable. Bake or poach a few pieces of chicken plain for the dog, and give plain barley and a spoonful of rinsed, unseasoned beans (Great Northern work well); the black beans in the pot carry the spices.
- Keep the barley separate from the chili in the fridge, so it doesn’t soak up the liquid and turn soft.
- Avocados: ripe ones give slightly to a gentle squeeze in the palm, and show green under the stem nub. Ripen hard ones in a paper bag with a banana for 1–3 days.
- It holds well: the first pot sat lidded at the barest simmer on medium-low for about 35 minutes after it was done, while the dog was walked and fed. The flavours deepened and nothing dried out, because the chicken sits in sauce.
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge, and the chili freezes well. Cut and add the avocado just before serving.
Recipe by Tony Seliquini, October 2026. Named by Tony.
Written October 2026 · part of the Recipes collection.