Anaheim chilies have a mild and sweet flavor that works well in many foods. Being a larger pepper, they can be used in the same dishes for which poblanos are traditionally used, like the popular chile rellenos. And like other chilies, they are very good for you. Let’s break down Anaheim pepper nutrition to see just what makes them so healthy.

Anaheim chilies are mostly water, with small amounts of fat and carbohydrates. The result is that they do not add a significant amount of calories to your diet. They are perfect if your goal is to lower your calorie intake for weight loss.

Vitamins

Anaheim peppers contain high levels of various vitamins, but they are particularly rich in vitamin C and vitamin A. each 75 g serving provides 219 percent of your vitamin C requirement and 111 percent of your daily vitamin A requirement. Anaheim peppers are also good sources of vitamin K and vitamin B6. You get 16 percent of your vitamin B6 and 10 percent of your vitamin K from 75 grams.

Along with being necessary for most of your organs to function properly, vitamin A is also necessary for vision and is one of the components of the pigment in your retina. Vitamin B6 is crucial for the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis. Collagen is needed for bone, skin and tendon health along with the health of other tissues.

Minerals

Anaheim chilies contain significant levels of a variety of minerals. From 75 grams you get 7 percent of your iron and 5 percent of your potassium.

Iron’s most important role is in the production of hemoglobin, which is what the body uses to transport oxygen to the tissues. Potassium is important for regulating the body’s waste and for normalizing heart rhythms.

Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber is a carbohydrate with an important characteristic—it is not easily digestible in the small intestine. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber can be digested in the large intestine while insoluble fiber passes through the digestive tract without being broken down at all. Soluble fiber hinders the body’s absorption of cholesterol and carbohydrates. A 75-gram serving of Anaheim pepper provides 1.1 grams of fiber.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin is the phytochemical responsible for the Anaheim pepper’s heat as well as the heat of all chili peppers. While Anaheim peppers have a reputation for being very mild, they do contain some capsaicin. These peppers are rated between 500 and 2,500 on the Scoville scale, which is a measure of heat and thus also a measure of capsaicin concentration. Studies have shown diets rich in capsaicin can reduce blood pressure. Capsaicin also improves the post-meal release of insulin and stabilizes low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

The nutrients in Anaheim peppers make it beneficial for treating health conditions that include:

• Heart disease: Anaheim peppers have a number of compounds that can help to reduce your risk of heart disease. Those compounds include their dietary fiber content and vitamins A and C, which are both antioxidants. Antioxidants help to fight free radicals that oxidize LDL and cause atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the main factor in heart disease.
• Diabetes: Both capsaicin and dietary fiber are considered beneficial for controlling blood sugar. Studies have shown that capsaicin decreases blood sugar, thus helping to prevent the insulin resistance that typically precedes diabetes.
• Cancer: There is a significant amount of evidence that the capsaicin in Anaheim peppers is an effective tool for fighting different cancers. It is believed to trigger apoptosis, which is the cancer cells’ self-destruct mechanism.
  

Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper, is one of the most commonly employed chili peppers in the Capsicum annuum family. Sweet peppers are fruit pods on the capsicum plant grown for their subtle hotness yet sweet, the delicate peppery flavor they extend to the recipes. Botanically, it is a small perennial shrub in the nightshade or Solanaceae family, of the genus, Capsicum.

Scientific name: Capsicum annuum L.

Sweet peppers, unlike their fellow capsicum members, characteristically have a bell-shape, and crunchy, thick fleshy textured pods. In comparison with fellow chili-pepper members, bell (sweet) peppers feature dramatically far less pungency that ranges from zero to very minimal on the hotness scale. For the same reasons, they are treated much like any other day-to-day vegetables instead of spices in the cuisine.Peppers are native to Mexico and other Central American regions, from where they spread to the rest of the world through the Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, they are grown widely in many parts of the world as an important commercial crop.

As in other chili pepper varieties, bell peppers also have several cultivar types. However, their plant type and fruit pod (bell shape and 3-5 lobed) are common hallmarks in almost all cultivars.

In structure, sweet pepper features blocky, cube-like outer flesh enveloping around many tiny, cream-colored, round, and flat seeds. The seeds are clinging to the central core (placenta).

For harvesting, peppers are handpicked at different stages of maturity depending on the preferences of local markets. All varieties of young, immature peppers feature green color pods, irrespective of their final destined color. As the fruit matures, it gradually acquires its true genetic color; orange, red, purple, yellow, and green.

The hotness of peppers is measured in Scoville heat units(SHU). On the Scoville scale, a sweet bell pepper scores 0, while a jalapeno pepper around 2,500-4,000, and a Mexican habanero- 200,000 to 500,000 units.

Health benefits of Bell pepper

• Bell pepper contains an impressive list of plant nutrients that are found to have disease-preventing and health-promoting properties. Unlike other fellow chili peppers, it has very fewer calories and fats. 100 grams provides just 31 calories.
• Sweet (bell) pepper contains small levels of capsaicin, a health benefiting alkaloid compound. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic, and anti-diabetic properties. When used judiciously, it also found to reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.
• Fresh bell peppers, red or green, are a rich source of vitamin-C. This vitamin is particularly concentrated in red peppers at the highest levels. 100 g red pepper provides about 127.7 µg or about 213% of RDA of vitamin-C.
• Vitamin-C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. Inside the human body, it is required for collagen synthesis. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in this vitamin helps the human body protect from scurvy, develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity) and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
• It also contains healthy levels of vitamin-A. 100 g of sweet pepper has 3,131 IU or 101% of vitamin A. Additionally, antioxidant flavonoids such as alpha and beta carotenes, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin are also found in them. Together, these antioxidant substances in sweet peppers help protect the body from the injurious effects of free radicals generated during stress and disease conditions.
• Bell pepper has adequate levels of essential minerals. Some of the main minerals in it are iron, copper, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Selenium is an antioxidant trace element that acts as a co-factor for enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• Further, capsicum (sweet pepper) is also good in the B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that the body requires them from external sources to replenish. B-complex vitamins facilitate cellular metabolism through various enzymatic functions.

Eggplant or Brinjal is a very low-calorie vegetable. Nonetheless, it is packed with a healthy nutrition profile; good news for weight watchers! The veggie is popularly known as aubergine in the western world.

Botanically, aubergine belongs to the Solanaceae family of vegetables. It is a perennial plant native to the Indian subcontinent and grown in many tropical and semitropical regions as a popular vegetable all around the year.

Scientific name: Solanum melongena.

Okra, also known as "lady's finger," or "bamia pod" is one of the favorite nutritious vegetables of North-East African origin. The pods usually are gathered while they are green, tender, and at the immature stage.

Botanically, okra is a perennial flowering plant in the Malvaceae (mallows) family, and named scientifically as Abelmoschus esculentus.

It is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions around the world for its phytonutrients rich pods. It grows best in well-drained and manure-rich soil.

Spearmint herb (garden mint or common mint) has long been reputed for its characteristic aroma it imparts to the recipes. The least pungent and subtle among the species of the mint family, this unique herb is one of the chef’s favorite culinary ingredients all over the world.

Garden Mint herb botanically belongs to the family of Lamiaceae, in the Genus: Mentha. Scientific name: Mentha spicata.

Spearmint is a branching perennial herb of Mediterranean origin. It is widely used across Europe and in large parts of Asia and Africa in flavored drinks, salads, confectionary, and as a garnish to recipes.

The herb grows easily in fertile, moist and loose soil conditions. It spreads through a wide network of underground runners. Generally, small stems (divisions) are planted to propagate. It reaches about 75 cm in height and bears oppositely arranged leaves all along its thick square stem. Spearmint leaves are deep green, deeply-veined, oval in shape with pointed ends and serrated margins. Slim pointed spikes of mauve flowers appear during late summer.

There are at least 20 species of spearmint, and their hybrids exist. However, it is diificult to classify them because of their variability and readiness to hybridize with each other. Here are some mint herbs apart from the popular peppermint and watermint;

• Pineapple mint (M.suaveolens),
• Ginger mint (M. x gentilis),
• Japanese mint M. arvensis var.piperascens),
• Corn mint (M. arvensis),
• Bergamot or horsemint (M. Piperita var.citrata).

Health benefits of Spearmint

• Spearmint is pleasantly aromatic herb, packed with numerous health benefiting vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
• Its leaves and herb parts carry essential oil, menthol. Unlike in peppermint, spearmint leaves compose only small amounts of menthol, 0.5% compared to that 40% in peppermint. Less menthol content would make this herb least pungent and subtly fragrant herb in the mint family.
• The herb has low calories (about 43 calories per 100 g) and contains zero cholesterol.
• The chief essential oil in spearmint is menthol. Other important chemical components of spearmint are alpha-pinene, ß-pinene, carvone, cineole, linalool, limonene, myrcene and caryophyllene. These compounds in mint help relieve fatigue and stress.
• The herb parts are also very good in minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron (148% of RDA), and magnesium. Iron is essential for enzymes in cellular metabolism and synthesis of hemoglobin. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. The human body utilizes manganese as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• Further, the herb is also rich in many antioxidant vitamins, including vitamin-A (provides 4054 IU or 135% of RDA), β-carotene, vitamin-C, folates (26% of RDA), vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), riboflavin and thiamin.

Naturally sugary, delicious, and crunchy, carrots are healthy additions you can make to the vegetable list of your diet. Indeed, these root vegetables come with wholesome health benefiting compounds such as beta-carotenes, falcarinol, vitamin-A, minerals, and anti-oxidants in ample amounts.

Botanically they are the taproots belong to the Apiaceae or umbelliferous family in the genus; Daucus. Scientific name: Daucus carota. The other close Apiaceae members include parsnips, parsley, dill, cumin, etc.

Health benefits of Carrots

1. Sweet and crunchy carrots are notably rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and dietary fiber. They provide only 41 calories per 100 g, a negligible amount of fat, and no cholesterol.

2. They are an exceptionally rich source of carotenes and vitamin-A. 100 g fresh carrot contains 8,285 µg of beta-carotene and 16,706 IU of vitamin-A. Studies have found that flavonoid compounds in carrots may offer protection against skin, lung, and oral cavity cancers.

3. In humans, carotenes convert into vitamin-A in the liver cells. Beta-carotene is the important carotene type present in these roots. Beta-carotene is one of the powerful natural antioxidants that protect the human body from harmful oxygen-derived free radicals. Also, it also carries out all the functions of vitamin-A such as maintaining good eye health, reproduction (sperm production), maintenance of epithelial integrity, growth, and development.

4. Carrots are rich in polyacetylene antioxidant, falcarinol. A research study conducted by scientists at the University of Newcastle on laboratory animals has found that falcarinol in carrots may help fight against cancers by destroying pre-cancerous cells in the tumors.

5. Fresh roots are also good in vitamin-C; provide about 9% of RDA. Vitamin-C is a water-soluble antioxidant. It helps the body maintain healthy connective tissue, teeth, and gum. Its anti-oxidant property helps the human body protect from diseases and cancers by scavenging action on harmful free radicals.

6. Also, they are exceptionally rich in many B-complex groups of vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc., that acts as co-factors to enzymes during substrate metabolism in the body.

7. Further, They also compose healthy levels of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering the effects of sodium. The human body utilizes manganese as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.