Nightshade-Free Sweet Potato Chili

If you are deep in the elimination phase, this is proof that chili can still be chili. The flavor comes from cinnamon, ginger, oregano, and a nomato base instead of the usual tomatoes and chili powder, and it keeps every bit of the bowl, the warmth, and the slow-cooker ease you actually want on a chili night. It is real chili, built to let an immune system on high alert settle rather than escalate.

The build is honest food doing real work. Sweet potato carries beta-carotene, which the body uses as a source of vitamin A, and that supports the gut lining and the skin. A pot of long-simmered chicken broth is a source of glycine and collagen, the kind of gentle, gut-supportive base that earns its place in autoimmune cooking. None of this is a cure, and nobody should promise you one. It is simply nourishment that respects where your body is right now.

There is a chicken in this pot, and it is worth a breath of thanks before you cook. Whole foods, raised and handled with some care, are not a given. Standing at the counter with a knife and a few real ingredients, unhurried, is its own small medicine.

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb raw chicken, chopped (thigh or breast both work)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup no-tomato ('nomato') sauce (Core swap for tomato; confirm your batch is built on beet, carrot, and pumpkin or squash with no nightshade, paprika, or pepper)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 avocado, chopped, to garnish

Method

Add everything except the avocado to the slow cooker: the sweet potato, onion, raw chicken, broth, nomato sauce, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, coconut oil, and salt. The chicken goes in raw and cooks through during the long, slow simmer.

Set the slow cooker on high for about 3 hours, or on low for about 6 hours, until the sweet potato is tender and the chicken is cooked through and pulls apart easily. A little longer on low does no harm.

Ladle into bowls and top each with chopped avocado. Serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

Use the Instant Pot's slow-cook setting in place of a dedicated slow cooker and run it for about 3 hours, treating it as the high setting above. The source notes this as a working path; we have not timed it ourselves, so check that the chicken is fully cooked before serving.

For a faster route, brown the chopped chicken with the onion on Saute mode first, then add the remaining ingredients except the avocado and pressure cook on manual until the sweet potato is tender. Pressure timing is untested here; start short and check.

Stovetop variation

Saute the chopped onion and chicken in the coconut oil until the chicken is browned, then add the broth, nomato sauce, sweet potato, garlic, and spices. Simmer until the sweet potato is tender and the chicken is done. Top with avocado.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*