Bell peppers, also known as robot peppers - or by their respective colors ie. red peppers.
They are native to South America and like tomatoes and eggplant - they are also night shade plants.
Like tomatoes, bell peppers are also actually fruits. So named because explorers discovered them when trying to find black peppercorn plants but despite the similarity in names, they're not related at all. In Australia,they're known as capsicums.
Red Bell peppers are just green bell peppers that have been left on the vine to ripen. They are much sweeter than their green brothers, and contain double the amount of vitamin C. No wonder they're more expensive!
They're an excellent source of vitamin C, and a great source of Vitamin A too, with the following Vitamin values contained in a cup of cubed red bell peppers:
These minerals are also present in a cup of Red Bell Peppers:
Because of their high vitamin content, incorporating these especially during winter is an invaluable addition for an immune boosting meal. To get the maximum effect from it, rat them raw, or if you must, cook on low heat for a short period. Cooking for longer will destroy some of the vitamins - so think carefully!