This vegetarian chili recipe with sweet potato is about to be your new go-to

January is basically a month-long meal-time paradox: Short days and cold weather elicit cravings for comfort food (mac and cheese, anyone?), but post-resolution intensions are saying “just the salad, please.”

Here’s a dish that lets you have it both ways: an ingredient list that reads like it’s straight out of a salad bar, but the end result is a warming—yet protein-packed—bowl of vegetarian chili.

The recipe comes courtesy of The Plant-Based Solution, a new book by cardiologist Joel Kahn, MD. After 30 years working directly with patients suffering from heart disease, he traded his scalpel for a pen and an integrative approach, and now focuses on healing patients through nutrition.

The book is brimming with research on avoiding heart disease—which for him is a diet that consists of “no more than 25 percent of calories from fat,” so he emphasizes avoiding oils while cooking, even “healthy” ones like olive and coconut.

Some of the recipes come straight from his family’s Detroit-based healthy restaurant GreenSpace Café, and this one uses a great healthy-chef trick: you sauté the crunchy onions and celery in a splash of water instead of olive oil, which works surprisingly well for turning them into a soft an aromatic base for the chili. Ready for a meal that will make your tastebuds and your cardiologist happy?

Scroll down to get the heart-healthy chili recipe.

Sweet potato-lentil chili

Serves 6

Ingredients
Splash of water1 3/4 cups diced onions1 cup diced celery2 1/2 cups diced sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes3 large garlic cloves, minced1 tsp sea saltFreshly ground pepper2 tsp chili powder1 tsp paprika1/2 tsp nutmeg1/2 tsp ground cumin1/4 tsp cinnamon1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)1 1/4 cups dry red lentils2 1/2 cups water1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes1 can (15 oz) black beans or kidney beans, rinsed1 bay leaf3 Tbsp fresh lime juiceLime wedges (for serving)

1. In a large pot on medium heat, add the water, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and spices, and stir through.

2. Cover and simmer over medium heat for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat if the onions are sticking to the bottom of the pot.

3. Rinse the lentils. Add them to the pot with the water, tomatoes, beans, and bay leaf, and stir to combine. Increase the heat to bring to a boil.

4. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf, and stir in the lime juice. Serve with lime wedges.

Recipe originally from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton and re-printed by The Plant-Based Solution by Joel Kahn, MD.

If you’re craving more comfort food, check out this Paleo shepherd’s pie and this ketogenic meal you can make in your slow cooker.