Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone!  If you are celebrating, you probably having a spicy Mexican dish.  Mexican cooking traditionally uses many delicious, flavorful spices, along with a variety of hot peppers.   But what makes hot peppers hot?  It’s a little odorless, tasteless, colorless compound found in many varieties of peppers called capsaicin; the more capsaicin, the hotter the pepper.

Capsaicin is likely an adaptation by the peppers to keep animals from eating them, but unfortunately for them, humans didn’t follow those rules.  Actually, when eaten capsaicin actually causes a pain response when it comes in contact with the nerve cells of the tongue. Which then sends a message to the brain to release endorphins, a pleasure hormone.  It hurts so good!  I love spicy food…maybe this is the reason?

Along with capsaicin, peppers are also packed with beneficial antioxidants and phytochemicals, that can help decrease oxidative damage throughout the body and decrease chronic low-level inflammation.  Researchers are also studying the possible weight loss benefits of peppers and capsaicin.   It is possible that capsaicin helps curb your appetite and may also increase the thermo-effect of food (increase the amount of energy it takes to metabolize what you eat), leading to potential weight loss.

So, now we know that peppers pack a huge flavor and nutrient punch…try some in for food today!

I am a big “salsa-on-everything” gal and here is my favorite homemade salsa recipe.  I hope you enjoy it on the Cinco De Mayo!

Sally’s Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

–       1 whole yellow onion roughly chopped

–       4-6 garlic cloves (garlic preference)

–       ½ bunch cilantro (per preference, I love cilantro so I use at least 1cup )

–       6-8 Serrano peppers, halved and seeds removed (jalapenos can be substituted)

–       Juice of 1-2 limes (per preference, I like lime so…)

–       1Tbsp salt

–       ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

–       2 (20 oz) large cans of stewed tomatoes

Directions:

–       Sauté onions and peppers in a skillet with a little oil.  Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.  This helps bring out the flavor of the peppers and onions.

–       Combine the pepper/onions mixture in a blender add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you achieve the desired consistency.

–       Enjoy!