Sweat It Out

Are you ready to sweat? If not get ready because after you eat some of this you will be.

Fresh Salsa
6 Roma tomatoes
3 fresh jalapeno chilies (stemmed and seeded)
2 Serrano chilies, stemmed (optional)
1 Medium red onion, rough chopped
1/4 chopped garlic
1 1/2c crushed tomatoes(canned)
1 bunch cilantro, rough chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot, put your tomatoes, chilies and about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it begins to boil lower heat to medium high and let cook for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat. Drain off and save the water for later. Add tomatoes and chilies to a blender and add your canned tomatoes, garlic and onion. (You could also do the same thing with a hand blender and just leave everything in the pot) Blend until uniform texture appears. Add a little of the reserved water if it is too thick to your liking. Add cilantro, salt and pepper and blend until everything is incorporated. That's it you're done. It is that easy.

Why is this good for you? Great question, and here is the answer. Chili peppers contain a chemical called capsaicin. It is what makes the pepper hot. The hotter your salsa the more capsaicin it contains. Capsaicin can speed up your metabolism and is an effective appetite suppressant.
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that capsaicin helps to prevent obesity by reducing the number of fat cells in the body and that it has been discovered to speed up the death of immature fat cells. Awesome, I know, but thats not all. Peppers contain high amounts of vitamin A and C and biofalvinoids which are antioxidants.(see Blog post about antioxidants for more info) Capsaicin also helps you to sweat which is one of the best ways to detoxify your body and cool off on a hot day.
On top of the many benefits of the peppers, the tomatoes are also there to lend a healthy hand. Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants as well. They get their rich red color from lycopene, an antioxidant. So when picking out tomatoes look for the ones with the deepest richest red color you can. Tomatoes are also high in vitamins A and C.
The cilantro packs quite a healthy punch as well. Cilantro can protect against the salmonella bacteria. It's a good source of iron and magnesium. Cilantro contains flavinoids, another antioxidant. It even helps settle the stomach and prevent flatulence.
So make up a double batch of this salsa and put it on everything! Eggs in the morning, a low carb turkey wrap at lunch, and maybe some fajitas for dinner.(see "Sore Muscles" entry for fajita recipe) Just be careful not to sit in front of the TV with a giant bag chips to enjoy with your salsa. A few chips and salsa is ok just don't go overboard. Enjoy!
Have a happy healthy day!!
Chef Matt