Hot and spicy foods are stimulants. They stimulate the circulation and raise body temperature. If you eat spicy food in a hot climate, it actually cools your body down – it reduces the difference between your body temperature and the surrounding air and it makes you sweat, which cools the body when the perspiration evaporates. Spicy foods are also believed to stimulate the appetite by setting off the production of saliva and gastric juices, a nutritionally important effect for people in tropical areas where the high temperatures act to reduce the appetite. Chili peppers can help you lose weight by boosting your metabolism and curbing your cravings for fatty and sugary foods.
Hot and Spicy Foods Fun Facts
- The heat produced by spices or foods is measured in Scoville Heat Units.
- Ghost chili peppers are the hottest pepper around.
- Cayenne is a very hot powdered spice, adds kick to any dish.
- There are 140 varieties of chili peppers grown in Mexico.
- Chili peppers are good for you. They are high in vitamins, a good source of beta carotene, calcium, and potassium, and may help reduce cholesterol.
Spicy Food Recipes:
- Charif Recipe – Charif is the Hebrew word for sharp−and boy, does this recipe have a kick! It’s not for the faint of heart. But that’s the beauty of preparing a dish like this from scratch. You can make it mild or burning hot.
- Spicy Thai Beef Salad– This crunchy salad is nice light way to use leftover beef. Cut down on your chopping prep time by using shredded cabbage and carrots.
- Chili-Roasted Carrots– If you’ve never roasted carrots, you are in for a revelation. Zesty Southwest flavors of chili, lime and cilantro add zing.
- Chili-Rubbed Steaks & Pan Salsa– Any cut of steak will work for this recipe, but we especially like the flavor and texture of rib-eye with these seasonings; look for steak that has been thinly cut. A cold ale, sweet potato fries and vinegary coleslaw can round out the meal.
- Szechuan Braised Meatballs – Rich in vitamins, this spicy Szechuan Meatball recipe gets its zing from a five-spice powder.
For more Spicy Food Recipes click here.
Nutritional Information for one order of General Tso’s Chicken from your local Chinese food place:
Calories: 1578
Fat: 87.5 g
Saturated Fat:15.5 g
Carbohydates: 128 g
Protein: 69 g
Sodium: 2327 g
Fiber: 5 g
Hi Rita
I have found kosher tamarind paste in Aaron’s in Queens and in Pomegranate in Brooklyn, if Evergreen does not have it, I would ask them for it. Usually it is found in areas with a lot of Syrians in the community. Chinese Five Spice should be easier to find, most companies sell it kosher, even Mccormick, but if you have trouble you can find it online. KosherGourmetMart.com is a good resource for hard to find things, check it out http://www.koshergourmetmart.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2936
Hi I live in Monsey, NY and I am trying to find two unusual ingredients that I found in a cookbook- need it with a hechsher. The first one is tamarind paste tried many local kosher stores in Monsey and the second is chinese five spice powder. Any idea?