Recipe Analysis Final Project

My Family’s Vegetarian Chili Recipe:

1 can of black beans (120 calories)

1 can of chickpeas (120 calories)

1 can of black eyed peas (120 calories)

1 can corn (60 calories)

1 large can of diced tomatoes (25 calories)

2 onions (88 calories)

1 clove of garlic (4 calories)

2 zucchinis (66 calories)

Sautee the onions, garlic, and zucchini in a little bit of olive oil until caramelized.

Add the rest of the ingredients in and stir. Leave on a medium low temperature until finished cooking (about an hour).

Analysis

Processed vs. Whole Foods:

In this recipe, more than half of the ingredients are processed in some way. The whole foods include the onions, zucchini, and garlic because they are fresh produce. The rest of the ingredients, however, are canned and therefore highly processed. Canned foods are usually packed full of preservatives in order to keep the vegetables inside edible months later.

Health/Nutrition:

After looking at the nutrition facts on each can of vegetables, here are the estimations I have found:

The total calorie count for the recipe is around 603 calories. This breaks down to 120 calories per can of beans, 60 calories for the can of corn, 25 calories for the can of tomatoes, 44 calories per onion, 4 calories per clove of garlic, and 33 calories per zucchini.

The total sugar content of the recipe is about 25 grams of sugar. Much to my surprise, the canned vegetables actually have less sugar than the fresh vegetables. The vegetable with the greatest amount of sugar is the onions. Each onion has about 5 grams of sugar while each can of beans is only 1 gram of sugar.

Political/Economic:

Overall, this dish is a pretty inexpensive meal to make. It serves about 5 or 6 people, and only costs about $7.50 for the total recipe. Canned vegetables and fresh vegetables are generally inexpensive, which makes this meal very affordable and healthy. Part of the profits from the ingredients of this recipe benefit large corporations who produces canned foods, and part of the profits go to fresh farms or corporate farms.