Metabolism-Boosting Dinners
Flavor-packed low-calorie dinners made with chiles. Boost your metabolism with these zesty healthy chile recipes. From mild to fiery, research shows that a compound in chiles (capsaicin) helps trigger the body's natural cooling system and revs up your metabolism. Watch Video
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Chipotle Beef Tacos with Tomato-Avocado Pico de Gallo
These spicy chipotle tacos are the perfect choice for your next taco night. You can substitute ground turkey for the beef if you'd like, but either way, you'll want to make sure each bite includes a bit of the homemade pico de gallo.
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Crunchy Chicken & Mango Salad
This Asian-inspired dinner salad has terrific crunch, thanks to sugar snap peas and napa cabbage. Give the dressing a kick of heat by adding a bit of sambal oelek, an Indonesian hot sauce that you can find in most large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores.
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Chicken & Kale Taco Salad with Jalapeño-Avocado Ranch
This healthy, super-fast salad recipe swaps out romaine for kale, giving you more than 10 times the vitamin C. Easy flavor hacks like store-bought ranch and pickled jalapeños help make a creamy, tangy and spicy dressing you'll want to drizzle on everything from salad to sliced veggies and shredded poached chicken.
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Paprika & Red Pepper Soup with Pistachio Puree
Richly satisfying, this luscious-looking soup made with red bell peppers gets a touch of heat from Thai chiles. For an extra-nutty flavor, puree an additional 1/4 cup shelled pistachios with 1/4 cup water and serve the soup with a dollop of this pistachio puree on top.
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Quick Shrimp Enchilada Bake
Shrimp enchiladas offer a taste of coastal Mexican cuisine but some versions contain so much cheese, butter and sour cream that they can pack a whopping 50 grams of fat per serving. Our version has vibrant flavor and only half the calories and 6 grams of fat per serving, plus we use precooked peeled shrimp so you can get the dish on your table fast enough for a weeknight supper. The addition of refried beans helps makes these enchiladas an excellent source of fiber as well.
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Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
"Tortilla soup has a place, I feel, in practically every collection of Mexican recipes," says Rick Bayless. This is a vegetarian version of the classic soup, usually made with chicken. Earthy dark pasilla chile flavors the soul-satisfying broth. (Recipe adapted from Rick Bayless.)
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Bean & Butternut Tacos with Green Salsa
Beans and roasted butternut squash make an outstanding vegetarian taco filling. For the best flavor, use fresh, good-quality chili powder and Mexican oregano. Look for both at Latin markets or in the bulk spice section at well-stocked natural-foods stores.
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Zucchini Chile-Cheddar Mash
This recipe for mashed zucchini with chiles and Cheddar embraces zucchini's tendency to become very soft when cooked.
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Singapore-Style Chicken & Noodle Soup
In this healthy curry laksa, a popular Southeast Asian noodle soup, chicken, coconut milk, tomatoes and tons of warm spices make this a flavorful favorite. While there are a lot of ingredients, the leftover soup is even better the next day for lunch.
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Thai Chicken Stir-Fry with Basil & Cashews
This quick chicken stir-fry recipe is flavored with classic Thai ingredients: savory fish sauce balanced with tangy lime juice and plenty of fresh basil. Have all the ingredients prepared and ready to add to the wok before you turn on the heat. Serve with brown rice.
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Beef & Bean Chile Verde
Chile Verde, usually a slow-cooked stew of pork, jalapeños and tomatillos, becomes an easy weeknight meal with quick-cooking ground beef and store-bought green salsa. Make it a Meal: Serve with fresh cilantro, red onion and Monterey Jack. Add cornbread on the side and your favorite hot sauce.
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Chicken Tacos with Tangerine-Lime Crema
This spicy chicken taco recipe gets fresh orange flavor from both the crema and crunchy slaw toppings. Serve with tortilla chips and ice-cold beer.
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Baked Eggs, Tomatoes & Chiles (Shakshuka)
This popular Israeli breakfast or brunch skillet recipe features eggs cooked on a bed of roasted tomato sauce. Serve with warm crusty bread and hot sauce.