A MEANINGFUL MEAL

Nearly 800 million don’t have enough food. The world produces enough food to feed more than 10 billion people which is 1.5 times the world’s population. Over the years, growing my following and readership, I have been humbled and realize that this platform I use everyday speaks to a large group of people and that is why I partnered with World Vision to raise awareness about this pressing issue. I have supported World Vision for the past few years and truly love their work as global leaders in fighting hunger, effectively addressing food issues through long term development and emergency relief. World Vision provides children and families with the means to fight hunger and achieve food security. Food security means these families will know where their next meal is coming from and that it will be sufficient and nutritious to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. In a world where our culture has devalued sitting down to eat as a family and fast food is so prominent I couldn’t be more inspired to share more meaningful meals with my friends and family. Breaking bread is so sacred, it’s where people can come together to get nourishment for their bodies and grow bonds.

Last year, World Vision distributed 161,000 metric tons of food to 33 countries to help children and families fight hunger and malnutrition and 8.8 million people benefited from World Vision’s food distributions. If you’d like to get involved, I encourage you to check out and support World Vision Canada at hungerfree.ca

Step #1. Host a dinner party, treat a friend to lunch or give your annual Thanksgiving meal more meaning. I invited friends over to enjoy some chili (see the recipe below).

Step #2. Use your grocery/restaurant bill as a guide for how much you can donate to World Vision’s food work.

Step #3. Help build the movement — share your participation on social media! Use the hashtag #hungerfree

I found this recipe off Pinterest for a hearty, delicious chili on cold fall nights. It was extremely easy to make and it was a hit with our guests…

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, turkey or venison
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (optional)
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
46-oz. can tomato juice
28-oz. can diced tomatoes
15-oz. can tomato sauce
16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded cheese and sour cream, for topping

Instructions:
In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
If cooking the chili stovetop, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using. On stovetop, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.

Recipe via Pip and Ebby

This post is in partnership with World Vision Canada.