Picadillo de Chayote

This is a near-zero-effort way to eat a lot of vegetables. Chayote, corn, and peppers are mostly water and fiber, which fills you up without many calories, and there's no added oil — the vegetables cook in their own liquid. It comes from Nicoya, Costa Rica, one of the world's longevity hot spots.

Ingredients

• 1 large chayote squash, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 3 ears corn, kernels removed (or 1 cup frozen sweet corn)
• 3 sweet red or yellow peppers, seeded and diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, minced
• 4 teaspoons chopped culantro or cilantro
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon achiote paste (or paprika with a squeeze of lime)

Steps

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot or sauté pan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are tender and a thick "gravy" forms at the bottom of the pan, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on its own, over rice, or tucked into warm tortillas.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)