My healthy obsession with tomatoes

Fresh from the garden, roasted, chopped, canned or crushed what's not to be love.

The trusted store cupboard favourite

“Tomatoes bring vibrancy to any dish”

I love tomatoes in any form. Straight from the garden, sliced with a dash of balsamic vinegar, pinch of sea salt and some fresh basil leaves has to be one of the simplest yet devine salads possible. For me it's the versatility, they can bulk out a stew, be the basis of a

curry or pasta dish, whizz into a quick soup and so much more.

I've gone 'crushed' mad

My latest thing is Cirio Passata Rustica - unlike normal passata which is smooth, t

his stuff has a bit more texture and therefore thicker is just brilliant for pizza toppings,

adds a twist to my BBQ sauce and so much more. There have been days when I've just need a quick lunch, so a jar is emptied into a small saucepan, black pepper, a tiny pinch

of sea salt and 1/2 tsp mixed dried mixed herbs, heated through and voila - tomato soup for one. Not only quick but cheap too! If you live in South Norfolk you will know me as I'm the mad woman that can be found in our local Tesco buying up copious packs when they go on offer.

Tomatoes are more than just my best cooking friend they are also very good for us, in particular the men in your life. Tomatoes when cooked have a higher level of Lycopene

(a strong anitoxidant), which is known to help protect against heart disease and certain cancers - in particular testicular cancer. Eating cooked tomatoes 2-3 times per week may help protect against this awful disease. It's one of my things in our household,

even our dog Barney (bless him he passed away from old age last year) had a little cooked tomato in his kibble!

But lets not forget the fresh stuff- rich in vitamins A, B-6 and C, there's alot going for this amazing fruit. I'm sure you have seen in the press eating canned tomatoes is bad for you because of the sugars, but like everything, it's about dietry balance and checking

that no added sugar is included in the products we buy. Yes processing tomatoes will release extra sugars and certain health conditions may require you to monitor those

types of carbs, but if that's not you then a can of chopped tomatoes is most definetly better for you than an over processed cooking sauce with lots of additives and not much

flavour, well in my humble opinion anyway ;)

#food #tomato #basicfoods #storecupboard #healthyliving #wellbeing