Monica’s Chili: Before and After

I’m crazy about charts! They make life seem so manageable. I fell under their spell in the 5th grade, when Mrs. Park asked us to memorize what seemed a Mt. Everest of information on world explorers. We had to stuff our brains with Vasco da Gama, Amerigo Vespucci, Francisco Pizarro and the rest of their cohort, along with dates, discoveries,  countries of origin, the  rulers who backed them, the natural resources they found, and so on. I’m having traumatic flashbacks just thinking about it!

 I was a good student, but this was too much- even for me. I needed help, and my mother supplied it- in the form of a chart!! Suddenly, the menacing mass was arrayed in neat little rows and columns. Because I remember Mrs. Park’s admonition to me not to “gloat”, I won’t tell you the outcome; but I’ve been a fan of charts ever since.

By complete coincidence, a visitor to this site requested one comparing the nutritional profiles of Monica Bhide’s Indian-Style Chili, before and after its trip to the spa. I’m delighted to present it to you now in all its rational glory. A few points: First, Monica serves her chili in bread bowls, for which accurate nutritional information is not readily available. Since I omit the bread entirely from my version, I think it makes sense to omit it from the “before” analysis as well. That way, we’ll have an apples-to-apples comparison. Second, Monica’s recipe serves 4. However, the dish is SO filling that I felt comfortable increasing the number of servings to 6, which automatically decreased all of the nutritional counts per serving. In the chart below, I’ve provided data for the original recipe with ground beef and ground turkey, and I’ve offered my make-over in counts for 4 servings and 6 servings respectively

Fellow chart lovers, this one’s for you!