Monday Special - Bell Peppers (Sweet peppers)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, we love bell peppers at my house. We put them in everything! And we are sad that they are on the way out. Maybe because I am in a hotter part of the country I might get them through fall at the market, but bell peppers are typically a summer/early autumn treat.

Some cool facts about bell peppers that you may not know:

• Red (and orange and yellow, etc) bell peppers are vine-ripened green bell peppers. (and my favorite!); although, some green bell peppers are green when ripe.
• In addition to red, orange, yellow, and green, peppers can also be purple or brown or ivory. The red, orange and yellow however tend to be sweeter than the green, purple.
• Non-green bell peppers also cost more because of the extra time to ripen!
• Green bell peppers have twice the vitamin C of oranges; red/yellow have four times as much.
• Paprika is made from either bell pepper and/or chili peppers.

Bell pepper is another very versatile food, which again, is why it is so adored at our house. We often add to salads or raw meal mixes (corn, okra, tomato, etc); we layer in hummus wraps or just cut into strips to dip into hummus. Some people grill bell peppers (whole or k-bobs), saute into dishes (yummy in omelettes!), or bake stuffed with rice or meat in the oven. While these are all delicious ideas, cooking reduces the nutrients in the peppers, so try to eat them raw as much as possible. Sometimes we just scramble our eggs and add in the veggies after or quickly at the end. Or, make your rice/beans/meat before hand and mix with veggies to stuff into a raw pepper. Be creative!

Bell pepper are a low-calorie food. One 3.5 ounce, raw serving contains between 20 and 30 calories, with negligible carbs, fat and protein. All sweet peppers are a great source of Vitamin C, but red peppers have substantially more than green and yellow peppers having quite a bit more than red. Green and red peppers provide some Vitamin B6 and only red peppers (versus green and yellow) provide a substantial amount of Vitamin A, and about 11% folate.

In addition to these nutrients, bell peppers are an excellent source of antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. To get the most of these benefits, look for ripe peppers that have deep coloring. The stems should be green and not dried out. The vegetable and its skin should be firm. Store them in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. If you want to freeze them for use when no longer in season (as I fully plan on doing), dice the peppers and freeze on a cookie sheet like fruit before putting into a freezer container. This is to make sure they freeze individually and don't stick together. Try to use the peppers within 6 months of freezing. Peppers thaw quickly and while they will have lost their crispness, they can still be used when cooking.

Bell peppers are good for containers if you would like to grow them next year and have limited garden space.

So, if you like bell peppers like me, take advantage and get your crisp, shiny peppers while you still can!