Healthy lifestyle - Sweet pepper hot stepper

Heather Little-White, Contributor

For some food lovers, there is nothing more delightful than eating sweet peppers lavishly stuffed with ground beef, sautéed onions, tomatoes, wild rice and baked with a tasty home-made tomato sauce. This age-old culinary treat is a suitable lunch or dinner, and it's easy to make to show off your culinary skills.

Sweet peppers are also known as green peppers or bell peppers because of their plump, bell-shape with either three or four ear lobes. Pepper sizes usually range from two to five inches in diameter and the same dimensions in length. Bell peppers are classified as fruits but are used as vegetables in culinary preparations. It was an American botanist who made the first classification of the bell pepper in 1826, and as early as 1896, Fannie Farmer touted the stuffing of green peppers. (Saveur #45)

Christmas ornaments

Bell peppers are considered the Christmas ornaments of the vegetable world, as they are beautifully shaped, glossy in appearance and come in a variety of vivid colours such as green, red, yellow, orange, purple, brown and black.

Despite their varied palette, all are the same plant, known scientifically as Capsicum annuum, and are members of the nightshade family, which also includes potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant.

Sweet peppers are still a novelty today due to their range of vivid colours. As the green ones ripen, they change to red or yellow. Interestingly, yellow peppers turn red or orange and green. Coloured varieties can be bred to give interesting colour sequences like green turning orange, brown turning-red, or green turning purple.

The inside of the thick flesh of the sweet pepper is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core. The seed and the core should be removed during food preparation. Although calledpeppers, bell peppers are not 'hot', as they contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers. (www.whfoods.com)

Versatility

The versatility of the green pepper is unmatched, especially because of its delightful, slightly watery crunch. Green and purple peppers have a slightly bitter flavour, while the red, orange and yellow ones are sweeter and almost fruity. Pimento and paprika are both prepared from red bell peppers.

Bell peppers are usedfor soups, salads, casseroles and entrées.There is nothing more tantalising to the taste than caramelised bell peppers grilled or oven roasted to perfection.

Selection

Bell peppers, as warm-weather fruits, should be carefully selected. Peppers should have a deep, vibrant colours and firm skin with fresh-looking stems. They should not have soft spots, blemishes or darkened areas.

Healthy peppers should be heavy for their size and firm enough that they will gently yield to slight touch.

Health benefits

We know that colourful foods on a plate provide a good range of minerals and vitamins so important for maintaining health. Bell peppers ideally fill the bill for colour versatility and excellent health protection.

• Protect against free radicals

Bell peppers are rich in two powerful antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin A comes through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene.These antioxidants work together to effectively neutralise free radicals which can travel through the body causing radical damage to cells. The build-up of cholesterol in the arteries is due to free radicals.

As the build-up of cholesterol increases, it leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease; nerve and blood vessel damage in diabetics; the cloudy lenses of cataracts; the joint pain and damage associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; and the wheezing and airway tightening of asthma. Bell peppers provide two potent free-radical destroyers, reducing the risk of a range of diseases.

• Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease

Sweet peppers also contain vitamin B₆ and folic acid, two important B vitamins which reduce high levels of homocysteine, a substance produced during a biochemical process which forms part of the methylation cycle.The risk of stroke, atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease is increased by high homocysteine levels, which may cause damage to blood vessels. In addition to providing the vitamins that convert homocysteine into other beneficial molecules, bell peppers are also rich in fibre that can help chip away at high cholesterol levels, another risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

• Prevent cancers

With increases in the rates of prostate cancer, red peppers are one of few foods that contain lycopene, a carotenoid known to be effective in treating prostate cancer and cancers of the cervix, bladder and pancreas. Studies suggest that individuals whose diets are low in lycopene-rich foods are at greater risk for developing these types of cancers.

For people worried about colon cancer, the fibre found in peppers can help to reduce the amount of contact that colon cells have with cancer-causing toxins found in certain foods or produced by certain gut bacteria. In addition, consumption of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid, all found in bell peppers, is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of colon cancer. (www.whfoods.com)

• Promote lung health

The risk of lung cancer is lowered significantly by consuming foods rich in beta-cryptoxanthin, an orange-red carotenoid found in highest amounts in red bell peppers, pumpkin, corn, papaya, tangerines, oranges and peaches. A study reported in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention indicated that among adults in Shanghai, China, those eating the most crytpoxanthin-rich foods showed a 27 per cent reduction in lung-cancer risk.

Current smokers were evaluated and those who were also in the group consuming the most cryptoxanthin-rich foods were found to have a 37 per cent lower risk of lung cancer compared to smokers who ate the least of these health-protective foods.

Persons who smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke should consume bell peppers daily to benefit from their richness in vitamin A, according to recommendations in a research done by Kansas State University. While studying the relationship between vitamin A, lung inflammation and emphysema, Richard Baybutt, associate professor of nutrition at Kansas State, made a surprising discovery that a common carcinogen in cigarette smoke, benzo(a)pyrene, induces vitamin A deficiency. Baybutt believes vitamin A's protective effects from bell peppers may help explain why some smokers do not develop emphysema.

• Better eyesight

Persons suffering from cataracts may get protection from bell peppers, possibly because of their high vitamin C and beta-carotene content. Red bell peppers also supply the phytonutrients lutein and zeaxanthin, which have been found to protect against macular degeneration, the main cause of blindness in the elderly.

• Rheumatoid arthritis

Osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative arthritis that occurs with ageing, may get relief from vitamin C-rich foods, such as bell and chilli peppers, which can provide protection against inflammatory polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis involving two or more joints. (Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases)

• Healthy snack

Sliced green peppers are a healthy snack. They can be sliced and placed in the refrigerator and nibbled when hungry. It is a healthy alternative to junk-food snacking.A green sweet pepper only has 33 calories.

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Servings Update

4 large red bell peppers

2 tbsps olive oil

6 tbsps chopped fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3/4 cup cooked white rice, cooled

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 1/4 tsps salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground allspice

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 1/4 lb lean ground beef

1 large egg

Method

Cut off top 1/2 inch of peppers and reserve.Scoop seeds from cavities. Discard stems and chop pepper tops.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.Add onions, parsley, garlic and pepper pieces. Saute until onions soften, about 8 minutes.Transfer to large bowl.

Mix in rice, paprika, salt, pepper and allspice.Cool 10 minutes.

Mix in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, then beef and egg. Fill pepper cavities with beef mixture.Stand filled peppers in single layer in heavy large pot.

Pour remaining 2 cups tomato sauce around peppers. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Spoon some sauce over each pepper. Cover and cook until peppers are tender and filling is cooked through and firm, about 20 more minutes.