Tomatoes are a supernutrient that offers a whole host of benefits to humans. Its nutritional content supports healthy skin, weight loss and heart health.
Despite the popularity of tomatoes, only 200 years ago they were considered poisonous! This is probably because the plant belongs to the toxic botanical family.
Tomatoes are now the fourth most popular vegetable on the market, just behind potatoes, lettuce and onions.
Including tomatoes in your daily diet will help protect against cancer, maintain healthy blood pressure and lower blood glucose levels if you have diabetes. Tomatoes contain carotenoids such as lutein and lycopene. They can protect the eyes from damage caused by light.
Tomatoes are among the top ten fruits and vegetables for retaining certain levels of pesticides. Therefore, it is very important to wash the tomatoes well before eating or using them.
Tomatoes are an intensely nutritious fruit. The benefits of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables are impressive, but tomatoes are no different. As the proportion of plant foods in the diet increases, the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer decreases.
There are different types and sizes of tomatoes, and this vegetable can be prepared in different ways. These include cherry tomatoes, cooked tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato juice, and tomato puree or paste.
The health benefits of tomatoes vary depending on the type. For example, cherry tomatoes have a higher beta-carotene content than regular tomatoes.
A high intake of fruits and vegetables is also associated with healthy skin, hair, increased energy and lower weight. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption significantly reduces the risk of obesity and overall mortality.
Cancer prevention. Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and other antioxidants. With these components, tomatoes can help fight the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are known to cause cancer.
A recent study in a scientific journal linked the intake of high levels of beta-carotene with the prevention of tumor development in prostate cancer.
Tomatoes also contain lycopene. Lycopene is a polyphenol or plant compound that has been linked to one type of prostate cancer prevention. It also gives tomatoes their characteristic red color.
A study conducted on the Japanese population showed that beta-carotene consumption can reduce the risk of colon cancer. Fiber intake from fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.
A diet rich in beta-carotene may play a protective role against prostate cancer. Further research in humans is needed to find the possible roles of lycopene and beta-carotene in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Blood pressure. Keeping sodium intake low helps regulate healthy blood pressure. However, increasing potassium intake may be just as important because of its dilating effects on the arteries.
According to some studies, less than 2% of adults meet the recommended daily potassium intake of 4,700 mg.
High potassium and low sodium intake were also associated with a 20% reduced risk of dying from all causes.
Heart health. The content of fiber, potassium, vitamin C and choline in tomatoes supports heart health. Increasing potassium intake, along with decreasing sodium intake, is the single most important dietary change the average person can make to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Tomatoes also contain folate. This helps balance homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is an amino acid that results from the breakdown of proteins. It is said to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Managing homocysteine levels with folate reduces one of the risk factors for heart disease.
Not only is a high potassium intake linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, but it is also known to be good for protecting muscles from damage, preserving bone mineral density and reducing the production of kidney stones.
Diabetes. Studies have shown that people with type 1 diabetes who practice a high-fiber diet have lower blood glucose levels, while people with type 2 diabetes can improve blood sugar, lipids, and insulin levels. One glass of tomato (cherry) juice provides about 2 g of fiber.
Constipation (constipation). Eating foods high in water and fiber, such as tomatoes, can help hydrate and maintain normal bowel function. Tomatoes are often described as a laxative vegetable.
Fiber adds bulk to the stool and is helpful in reducing constipation.
Homemade boiled tomatoes – recipes
Boiled tomatoes without seeds and skin. For this homemade recipe, you will need ripe tomatoes, a bunch of fresh celery and parsley leaves, 2 large onions, salt to taste and some pepperoni.
You will carefully wash the tomatoes and clean the stems and any spots on the skin. Cut it in half if it is medium-sized, and if it is large, then feel free to cut it into quarters.
Place the tomatoes prepared in this way in a large cooking pot, then add pepperoni and parsley and celery leaves. Cook, stirring, until the skin starts to separate.
Then remove the tomatoes from the heat and pass them through a sieve and strainer, so that there are no seeds. Return the pureed contents to the pot, then add salt and continue cooking. You have to keep stirring so that the tomatoes cook well. You should get 2/3 of the liquid from the initial stage.
When you have finished cooking, pour the hot tomatoes into sterilized hot bottles and close them tightly. Then wrap all the bottles in a blanket until they cool down.
Minced tomatoes in a bottle. For this recipe, you need 10 kg of ground tomatoes, 5 spoons of salt, a bunch of parsley, hot pepper and 10 g of salicylic acid. You must first wash the tomatoes well and then peel them. Grind the tomatoes prepared in this way, and then add salicyl, salt and a bunch of finely chopped parsley. Finally, chop the pepper and add it to the pot. Let this whole mixture stand for 24 hours. The next day, pour it into glass, sterilized bottles, and let it stand for a few days (3). Only after that you close the bottles. You will receive 10 bottles of crushed tomatoes.
Boiled tomatoes with basil. For this homemade recipe, you need 5 kg of ripe tomatoes, 2 sprigs of basil from the garden, 100 g of sugar, 4 tablespoons of salt and 10 hot peppers.
Before starting, wash the tomatoes well. Heat the water in a large pot to a boil, then add the washed tomatoes to cook for about 5 minutes.
Take the tomatoes out of the pot, and then peel off the skin, which has started to separate after cooking.
Place the peeled boiled tomatoes in a blender and grind.
You put the juice you got by blending in a saucepan and cook it at a moderate temperature.
When the juice boils, then add basil, salt, sugar, stir, then remove from the stove.
While it is hot, pour the juice into sterilized glass bottles, close and cover with a blanket.
Let the bottles cool naturally under the blanket.
You should get 4 bottles of tomatoes from 5 kg of fruit.
Traditional boiled tomato juice from the south of Serbia. For this classic recipe, you need approximately 6 kg of whole tomatoes, 4 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of salt, hot peppers, onions and some celery.
Wash the tomatoes well, remove the stems and green parts, then cut them into medium-sized pieces. After that, it is ground in a tomato grinder and filtered.
Strained juice is poured into a pot, and then celery, sugar and salt are added to it. The tomatoes prepared in this way are cooked until they boil, then the temperature is reduced and cooked for another 15 minutes.
During this time, heat the clean bottles in the oven for about ten minutes at 90 degrees.
Pour the cooked hot tomatoes into hot bottles.
You close the bottles with cellophane dipped in alcohol and rubber bands, and then put the original cap on.
Wrap all the bottles in a mat and let them cool naturally.
Boiled tomato No. 1 (without spices, without preservatives and salicyl). This recipe is claimed to be excellent and tomatoes can last a long time. So if you don’t eat it in one winter, it will last and wait for the next one.
Prepare the tomato grinder, wash and cut the tomatoes and start grinding. The pulp you get from grinding tomatoes (the machine also removes the skin) is collected in a container under the machine.
Everything that is left as a surplus (skin, seeds, unpeeled parts) is returned to the machine and ground again, in order to get as much porridge as possible for cooking.
You put the resulting porridge in the pot and start cooking.
First, turn on the heat to the highest and stand next to the pot while it cooks. Mix gently. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat.
When one third of the contents evaporate from the pot, the juice is usually cooked. Its thickness should be like a sauce.
Using a funnel, pour hot tomato juice into dry, clean bottles. Before that, you should boil the caps (“crown”) and dry them.
When you fill the bottles with tomato juice, close them, then put them in the oven and pasteurize them at 70 degrees for about an hour.
Turn off the oven and let the bottles sit there until the next day.
