February2017 Bell Pepper - Iowa Department of Public Health
February 2017 A Rainbow of Colors! Did you know bell peppers come in yellow, orange, red, green, white, brown and purple? Green peppers are unripe bell peppers. Red, yellow, and orange peppers are ripe peppers, and they taste sweeter than green peppers. No matter the color, bell peppers aren’t hot like chili peppers.
Use Bell Peppers to: • Dip into hummus or salsa • Top a pizza • Add flavor to quesadillas, sandwich wraps, omelets, or pasta • Add more color to a lettuce salad
Vegetable of the Month:
Bell Pepper Bell Pepper Snack Cups
A green bell pepper filled with dip and colorful veggies makes a fun, colorful snack for kids! Ingredients: • Green bell pepper • Red or yellow bell pepper • Other veggies for dipping (carrot, jicama, asparagus) • Ranch dip or hummus Instructions:
1 Wash the green pepper. Cut off the top
and remove the seeds.
hummus into the bottom of the pepper.
into strips longer than the height of the green pepper.
Repeat and fill as many green peppers as you’d like.
2 Place a small amount of ranch dip or
3 Wash and cut the remaining vegetables
4 Place the veggie strips in the green pepper. 5 Start dipping and snacking!
Source: Produce for Better Health Foundation. 2013.
Slice. Dip. How easy is that?
$ave Money: Look for the Best Deal • • • •
IDPH
Iowa Department of Public Health
Buy the color that is least expensive. Buy them when on sale. Compare the cost of a package of multi- colored peppers to the cost of buying them individually. Check the price of a bag of mini peppers. Sometimes these are cheaper, ounce for ounce, than the full size peppers.
Funded by USDA’s SNAP, an equal opportunity provider and employer, in collaboration with the Iowa Departments of Human Services and Public Health. Iowa’s Food Assistance Program provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet. Go to dhs.iowa.gov/food-assistance for more information. Created July 2016.
Use Bell Peppers to: • Dip into hummus or salsa • Top a pizza • Add flavor to quesadillas, sandwich wraps, omelets, or pasta • Add more color to a lettuce salad
Vegetable of the Month:
Bell Pepper Bell Pepper Snack Cups
A green bell pepper filled with dip and colorful veggies makes a fun, colorful snack for kids! Ingredients: • Green bell pepper • Red or yellow bell pepper • Other veggies for dipping (carrot, jicama, asparagus) • Ranch dip or hummus Instructions:
1 Wash the green pepper. Cut off the top
and remove the seeds.
hummus into the bottom of the pepper.
into strips longer than the height of the green pepper.
Repeat and fill as many green peppers as you’d like.
2 Place a small amount of ranch dip or
3 Wash and cut the remaining vegetables
4 Place the veggie strips in the green pepper. 5 Start dipping and snacking!
Source: Produce for Better Health Foundation. 2013.
Slice. Dip. How easy is that?
$ave Money: Look for the Best Deal • • • •
IDPH
Iowa Department of Public Health
Buy the color that is least expensive. Buy them when on sale. Compare the cost of a package of multi- colored peppers to the cost of buying them individually. Check the price of a bag of mini peppers. Sometimes these are cheaper, ounce for ounce, than the full size peppers.
Funded by USDA’s SNAP, an equal opportunity provider and employer, in collaboration with the Iowa Departments of Human Services and Public Health. Iowa’s Food Assistance Program provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet. Go to dhs.iowa.gov/food-assistance for more information. Created July 2016.
