Taste Buds Exercises. I am not kidding!

Processed foods are not only really unhealthy but are packaged with little or no regard for the environment. We need to stop relying on them and strive to use whole ingredients. I realize that it may be hard to get your family to change, but it is possible.  If you wean you and your family off of processed foods, you will be so much healthier and our planet will too.  Try to go cold turkey. Eat no processed foods for 1 month. I promise you, your taste buds will adjust and your cravings for sodium-rich processed food will go away. As you work to change your diet to eliminate any and all processed food and add more and more , yes, and more veggies, your taste buds will change! After a month of healthy eating, processed food tastes unbearably salty, soda tastes too sweet and chemically, and fast food make you feel awful afterward. So there is hope --your body will help you stay on a healthy course!

As taste buds become retrained to detect and appreciate the clean, healthy food, learn how to create savory dishes so you are satisfied and content with your new eating plan.

Now that you are really trying to cook healthier meals, how do you get a flavor in the dishes where vegetables are the main attraction? How do you create taste and dimension in recipes modified to be meatless or at least with less meat? The answer lies in fresh herbs and vegetable ingredients as well as preparation and cooking techniques. For our purposes today, we will concentrate only on how to prepare to cook or use peppers.

Many family recipes rely upon a meat ingredient to contribute to flavor. But vegetables are more than able to contribute fresh, deep flavor. To ensure rich, full taste in your vegetable-rich dishes, it is important to learn techniques to get the most flavor from the veggies.

During this post,  I will concentrate on helping you get the essense of peppers. Peppers are foundational to many of my soups, sandwiches and all of my chili recipes.

I select 5-7 different types of peppers knowing that the combination of the individual flavors contributes to a unique chili. It is really fun to experiment with your selection. Look at all the varieties, and pick out what is interesting and different. I selected  the prettiest, glossiest peppers available. I  selected a both a red and yellow pepper, a jalapeno and serrano chili pepper and a cubanelle pepper. The peppers need to be firm and shiny without brown spots of decay. I also avoid irregular shaped peppers as they are hard to cut in a uniform way.  Wash the peppers carefully and then core them, removing the entire core and all the seeds. (Be careful with the chili peppers. The juice stays on your hands even after washing and it is painful if you put your hand in your eye) . I chop off the bottom of the pepper to make my cutting job easier. I place these extra pieces in a container to use on sandwiches or in an egg- white omelet, a salad or just to munch on. I get great delight out of this step because it is so satisfying to feel the texture of the peppers, gaze upon the vibrant colors and know that you are preparing such a healthy set of ingredient for you and maybe, your family. It inspires me to use whole ingredients as I finish the dish and to not use processed foods as short cuts. The dish becomes a creation, a work of art and love.

The waxy inside of a pepper is flavorless, so I remove it. It has two benefits, the peppers lay flat for easy handling and you remove the part that may keep you from getting the most pungent flavor from your pepper. Using a paring knife, trim what you can from the inside of the pepper and then, using a chef's knife, or santoku knife, slice off  the very top layer  of the inside ofthe pepper. Be very careful to place the hand  which is holding  the pepper on the opposite of the cutting edge of the knife. Very important. For the smaller peppers, just use a paring knife. Recipe.com has a terrific Knife 101 article. Consider your knife inventory as you make the switch to healthy eating. I believe that you will cook more if you have the proper tools. Stay on the look-out for knives at discount stores like TJ Maxx or Home Goods. Never put your good knives in the dishwasher, by the way. Wash and dry after each use and keep them sharpened. It makes your job in the kitchen not only easier but much more enjoyable. The pictures below show a couple of examples of the waxy layer I am speaking about ,as well as the finished product. I normally do this step in the morning and then put the peppers in the refridgerator for later in the day when I am ready to start the chili. Peppers in this way can also be used in  a salad, or they are simply delicious in a vegetable panini. By the way, I am a huge fan of Panini Happy and get alot of inspirations  from this blog. I may also save a couple of pepper slices for tomorrow's egg white omelet.  Let me know what you think after you try this. Thank you for reading this thru!  I would love to hear about your ideas. Visit me thebelist