I’m guessing this is an activity no one has ever suggested before. Sneak away to a very quiet place and sit still with a yellow, red or orange bell pepper for about sixty seconds. Soak up the color for a moment before biting in. Chew slowly, paying close attention to the texture and flavors. You’ll find this crisp nightshade veggie has a unique sugary nature. If you’re anything like me, you may have a momentary out- of- body appreciation for the world around you. You’ll be right here, right now. Just make sure no one is watching or you may find yourself in a padded room somewhere, your shoelaces removed.

I eat bell peppers like you eat apples because of my strange admiration for the sensory experience they provide. (I wonder how many readers I’m losing with this post.) Society’s rule suggests that we must slice them up. They’re shaped like apples, and have a similar bite, why can’t we just grab them and eat them like the animals we are? I digress.

Relax; I’m getting there.

The bell pepper is a nutritionally dense beast. If you’re looking for an alternative because you just hate greens, search no longer. Packed with vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory rich carotenoids, this veggie just might allow you to skip your kale or spinach from time to time. From whfoods.com:

Bell pepper is not only an excellent source of carotenoids, but also a source of over 30 different members of the carotenoid nutrient family. A recent study from Spain took a close look vitamin C, vitamin E, and six of these carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin) in all commonly eaten foods and found that only two vegetables contained at least two-thirds of all the listed nutrients. One of these foods was tomato, and the other was sweet bell pepper! Bell pepper alone provided 12% of the total zeaxanthin found in the participants’ diets. (Bell pepper also provided 7% of the participants’ total vitamin C intake.)

Cartenoids are an essential piece of our healthy puzzle due to their unique cancer and heart disease prevention properties. They boost our immune system, enabling us to stay healthy while colds and flus take down our sugar filled neighbors (evil laugh). From health/howstuffworks.com

Carotenes, like vitamin A, support immune function, but in a different way. They stimulate the production of special white blood cells that help determine overall immune status. They improve the communication between cells, too, which results in fewer cell mutations. White blood cells attack bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and yeast.

In order to derive the full benefit of the bell pepper mentioned above, you’ll want to grow them yourself or buy local organic peppers. We eat the skin of these veggies and can ingest traces of highly toxic organophosphate pesticides. We want our veggies, particularly the ones grown beneath the ground, to be cultivated in exceptional soil. The nutrients in the soil are what support the nutrients in our food.

I’ll understand if you decide to skip the “bell pepper getaway” mentioned in my open (sniffle). Just don’t sleep on the goodness and colorful pop of this beauty. Your system will thank you.

Be well,

Kap