If you live in the US, chances are you have a jar of salsa in your pantry or fridge right now. This wasn’t always the case, but salsa has grown immensely in popularity in the last few decades. Salsa is the Spanish term for “sauce” and has come to denote a light, tomato based sauce that many of us meet with a corn chip while watching televised sporting events.
Salsa is usually comprised of a combination of tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, and spices.
Salsa is wonderful. Besides being a tasty addition to multiple meal configurations, it boasts significant nutrition benefits:
- Low in calories – a serving of salsa has just 10 calories for 2 tablespoons of heaven. You could double up or even triple your portion size without having to fret over the calories.
- Rich in Lycopenes – these are a type of antioxidant found in tomatoes, and even more so in cooked tomatoes. Although homemade salsa recipes are usually made with fresh tomatoes, the jarred stuff you buy in the supermarket is always cooked. Although the main intention is to increase shelf life, in this case, the extra processing is actually a nutritional benefit too. Woot!
- No unhealthy fats – in fact, no fats at all!
- Healthy spices – depending on the salsa you buy, you may encounter chilis, cumin, cilantro, and other herbs and spices. Each boasts various health benefits
There you go.
How spicy do you like your salsa?
What surprising foods do you add it to?
