It's chili time! And our Recipe Makeover means this hearty southwestern chili is far lower in calories, fat and sodium than traditional chili. It's easily prepared in a slow cooker (crock pot).

About this Recipe Makeover

Chili, an all-American dish, can be calorie-laden, particularly when the portions are large. Our madeover recipe cuts the calories, fat and sodium from the original recipe.

A few simple substitutes can make all the difference, such as replacing higher-fat cuts of pork with lean, regular beer with light, regular sauce with lower-sodium. Decreasing the serving size from six larger servings to eight one-cup servings further helps make this a healthy choice.

Ingredients Convert to Metric Show Makeover Show Traditional

• 1 lb boneless lean pork, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 lb fully cooked lean smoked sausage, cut 1/2-inch slices
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can reduced-sodium tomato sauce
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 cup light beer (room temperature), or water
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 dash of salt
• 1 dash of black pepper, or to taste

• 1 lb boneless pork country-style ribs, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 lb fully cooked smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 cup beer (room temperature), or water
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: