Good! You should eat them if that’s what you want. The problem with the post (which I went into much greater detail in in a later post which still seems to get lost on some thick people and for which I still get some hate mail now and then), is the use of “vs” on each of those picture pairs and the repeated use of the phrase “giving up” to describe a false choice that the post presents. If you really want to eat that whole plate of peppers (I actually think they are miniature bell peppers and not banana peppers but nutritionally similar enough), go right ahead, although I caution you that that’s going to be a big wallop of fiber. The average american diet is actually low in fiber so doing this might be a good thing for you, but then there are certain conditions which may require having a low-fiber diet. Also it would be a really stupid idea to eat that many peppers raw like they are in that picture. Peppers are very high in cellulose, which is undigestible and can cause significant stomach discomfort if eaten in large doses. Break down that cellulose by steaming or, preferably, frying up those peppers. They’d be amazing in a stir fry. But that means adding oil, and that means it’s going to be more than 200 calories. 

Which brings me back to my original point. The picture set and the caption that was put on it when it was posted to tumblr gave the impression that the things on the left are “bad foods” and the things on the right are “good foods”, and every time you eat something on the left instead of something on the right you are doing something bad. This, dear readers, is horeseshit. Among the things on the left were a scoop of peanut butter, chock full of vitamin E, heart-cleaning low density lipoproteins, and a good dose of magnesium. Then there was a couple of chocolate kisses, and all the antioxidants they contain. Even that hot dog and a half serves up more protein than the approximately 2.5 million undernourished children in the US receive in an average day. If you are on a calorie restricted diet you get to look at your whole day and mix and match whichever things you like to get to that total, including some oils in your cooking, some snacks you got from a vending machine because you were rushed at work, a little dessert to treat yourself for getting through the day. You aren’t “giving up” something irreplaceable or inherently more good for you by having a little bit of food that makes you feel good. So go, eat those peppers. Do what makes you feel good, and never let someone else guilt you for the food choices you make.