Do you need to get your feel-good endorphins going? Try adding some spice to your food! Foods that include chili, curry, or other hot peppers such as cayenne help trigger the release of this feel good hormone. Not only do endorphins boost your mood, they also ease pain. If you’ve had a hard weekend workout and need to ease some soreness to help feel reenergized, add hot spices to your next meal. Here’s a recipe for one of our favorite spicy dishes, Zaalouk, a Moroccan eggplant and tomato salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 large tomatoes, cubed
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Directions:

• Heat olive oil, garlic and eggplant in a sauté pan on medium heat until they begin to turn translucent, about 15 minutes. Once translucent, crush the eggplant with a wooden spatula.
• Add tomatoes and all of the spices. Continue to cook on medium heat. After about 5 minutes, crush the tomatoes until the tomatoes and eggplant are like a puree.
• Continue to cook until the vegetables are a uniform texture, about 5 more minutes.

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 200g; Servings: 5; Calories: 96; Calories from Fat: 54; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat; 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 100mg; Total Carbohydrate: 12g; Fiber: 6 g; Sugars: 4g; Protein 2g; Vitamin A: 24%; Vitamin C: 20%; Calcium: 6%; Iron: 12%

Do you add spicy spices to any of your recipes?