Spicy foods are not only delicious but also provide a lot of heat to your taste buds. They can also be quite nutritious. But what makes it healthy? If you’re a fan of spice, there are plenty of easy spicy healthy homemade dishes you can make on a busy weeknight. In this blog post, not only will I cover what makes spicy food so healthy, but I’ll also share four good examples of fiery recipes you can try in the comfort of your home.
What Makes a Spicy Dish Healthy?
There are various factors that make a spicy dish nutritional. You can focus on whole, nutrient-dense ingredients such as lean proteins, fresh vegetables, and whole grains and legumes. When adding more heat, you can use various spices in place of salt to reduce sodium in your food. Jalapenos, chili peppers, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes are common spices that could enliven a dish. Your dishes aren’t too boring when you add a little kick to them.
Potential Health Benefits of Spicy Foods
Spicy foods come with various health benefits such as support of metabolism, reduced reliance on sodium intake, encouragement of more vegetable consumption, and you’ll be getting more ingredients rich in antioxidants. Your metabolism starts to increase due to the capsaicin creating heat in the body. Some of the ingredients filled with antioxidants in spicy recipes include garlic, ginger, peppers, and turmeric. By adding strong spices to cooked veggies, you’ll be getting more vitamins and minerals you need to function each day.
4 Spicy Healthy Homemade Dishes to Try
So what are some good easy, starter spicy homemade dishes you can try? There are plenty you can find online. If you’re always a busy person and barely have any time to cook each night, here are some good dishes that you will surely spice up your kitchen.
Sweet & Spicy Hot Chili Chicken Noodles
These noodles are a cool combination of sweet and spicy on your taste buds. They are packed with plenty of protein and make a great weeknight filling meal. You can also customize it by adding more veggies such as cooked broccoli, green beans, snow peas, or mushrooms. Just cook your ground chicken and add in the seasonings of salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, and coconut sugar. Once your meat is cooked, you can stir in tomato paste, chopped basil, and hot chili paste. After cooking them, add your noodles to your seasoned chili chicken.
New Orleans-Style Spicy Shrimp
What do you think of when you think of New Orleans? You think of Cajun, spicy flavors. This recipe definitely captures all of those flavors. It only takes 20 minutes to cook and doesn’t come with a long list of ingredients. Just season the shrimp with a mixture of lemon, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, chili garlic sauce, butter, ketchup, Louisiana hot sauce, and Italian salad dressing mix. Bake it in an oven for 20-25 minutes until the shrimp turn pink.
Spicy Chili
There are so many variations of making chili. However, there are some good, spicy chili recipes you can try, such as Black Bean and Jalapeno Chili, Spicy White Chili, or this next recipe that contains kidney beans and jalapeños. It also has a touch of some hot pepper sauce to really add a kick. Just cook your ground beef and add in all the ingredients to a chili filled with all kinds of great flavor.
Low Carb Ground Turkey Cups
Here’s a pretty healthy dish that could work for lunchtime or as a snack. Filled with plenty of protein from the ground turkey simmered in a sweet and spicy sauce, Low-Carb Ground Turkey Cups leave a crunchy and tangy flavor right on your taste buds. There are plenty of lettuce cup recipes, and this one is packed with protein, veggies, and a savory kick to it.
Just start by cooking the red chili peppers, garlic, and ginger together in a skillet with some oil. Then add the ground turkey once those are fragrant. Add salt and pepper for seasoning and carrots and onions for more veggies. Start prepping your sweet and spicy sauce of chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar (or lime juice), and fish sauce. Simmer the sauce in the turkey, veggies, and peppers mixture. Cook it all until it is well mixed and scoop up the mixture into the lettuce cups.
Make Spicy Healthy Dishes Without the Stress
Spicy healthy dishes don’t have to take too long. As long as you have the basic spices, the right kind of peppers, and an array of veggies, you’ll be cooking quality, easy dishes for all of your spice lovers. Consider making your own healthy spice blends to reduce the amount of sodium you’re putting in your foods. Be sure to control the spice level by removing the seeds in the peppers. Try one new spicy recipe this week and discover how flavorful eating with a kick could be.
What are your favorite spicy healthy homemade recipes? Are you going to try one of these dishes just like I am? Feel free to share your thoughts, favorite recipes, and other things in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next person you know who loves spicy food.
