3 Great Tomato Recipes

Oh joy! It’s midsummer and tomatoes are in season. Real, juicy, red, luscious, sweet tomatoes that burst with flavor in your mouth–not those mushy, pallid ones from a hothouse. What to do with this bounty of nature?

Oh joy! It’s midsummer and tomatoes are in season.

Real, juicy, red, luscious, sweet tomatoes that burst with flavor in your mouth–not those mushy, pallid ones from a hothouse.

If you are lucky, you may be able to pick your own fresh tomatoes red and ripe, from your backyard, or have a friend or neighbor supplying you with those warm, juicy red globes. If not, head to your local farmer’s market or look for “locally grown” in your favorite supermarket.

Tomatoes ripen in the sun, but if picked a bit early, they will continue to ripen if you leave them out on your counter top or windowsill. Refrigerating tomatoes not only stops their ripening process, but it also lessens their sweet and tangy flavor.

What to do with this bounty of nature? If you’re tiring of just sliced tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil, sea salt and pepper, here are some other delicious ways to enjoy these antioxidant rich, cancer fighting, heart health enriching phytonutrients.

Tomatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. And they contain powerful bioflavinoids, which counteract inflammation, allergic reactions, fight cancer and protect your heart. Eating tomatoes will substantially reduce your risk of:

  • ovarian cancer
  • digestive tract cancers (mouth, throat, esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum)
  • heart disease
  • asthma and COPD
  • prostate cancer

American men who ate tomatoes (in one study),  had a 40 percent reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. Studies of men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer found that increasing consumption of tomato products was associated with a marked decrease in cancer progression.

And it isn’t just the red color that makes tomatoes so healthy for you. Tomatoes of any color: red, green, orange, yellow or purple are all spectacular for your health.

Easy Baked Tomatoes Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 4 medium sized tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, basil or thyme in any combination
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450° F.
Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Top with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and bake until the tomatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.

 

Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 or 4 small to medium tomatoes, in assorted colors, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
  • 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 2 cups 3/4-inch-cubed yellow or red seedless watermelon flesh
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs, in any combination: basil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, and herbs.
In a spice grinder, grind the coriander seeds to a fine powder. Add the ground coriander to the tomato mixture and toss gently. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine dressing with vegetable/watermelon mixture and refrigerate, allowing flavors to mix for an hour or so.

My Favorite Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

  • 4-6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, depending on size, chopped in small pieces
  • ½ red onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 or more jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, and minced finely
  • 1 organic or locally grown green or red bell pepper, chopped in small pieces
  • 2-4 tomatillos, chopped
  • 1 big bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
  • Juice of one lemon or lime
  • Sea salt
  • Teaspoon of sugar

Directions

There are two ways to make this salsa. One method is the chunky version. Just chop all the ingredients by hand with a sharp knife, and mix together with lemon or lime juice and sea salt. You can make it extra chunky or use a finer chop.

For a smoother, more pureed version, coarsely chop the veggies and place in a food processor to mix. Process just enough so mixture is smooth, with no large chunks and serve. This will produce a slightly juicier version, so drain off some of the excess juice with a colander. Add lemon, lime and salt after draining liquid.

Either way, you will enjoy it immensely!  Serve with chicken, fish, chips, tacos or on your scrambled eggs. Serves 4 or more.

Enjoy tomatoes while you can, because soon enough tomato season will be over.

Now, what to do with all that zucchini? Stay tuned… 🙂

Till next time,

Stay Healthy and Lean!

cat e1335982521218 Stop Muscle Cramps With This Common Ingredient

DSC 6815 e1335982388100 Stop Muscle Cramps With This Common IngredientCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

My Favorite Superfood, Kale

Kale is part of the cruciferous vegetable family with broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and collard greens. These vegetables contain powerful compounds that prevent or reverse many cancers…

Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.”

Eating healthy foods not only helps to prevent many of the most prevalent diseases of our modern world, but some superfoods are actually almost medicinal in their ability to reverse and heal many diseases, without the unpleasant and dangerous side effects of certain drugs.

Superfoods can help you easily lose weight, fight cancer, improve your digestive function, counteract osteoporosis, reverse heart disease, improve your mental outlook and help your brain function, stop the aging process, and give you boundless energy and wellbeing.

Here is one of my all time favorite superfoods:

Kale, Superfood Extraordinaire

Often used as a garnish in salad bars, this super-powered dark green leafy cruciferous vegetable contains more powerful nutrition than the whole salad bar combined!

Kale is part of the cruciferous vegetable family much like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and collard greens. These vegetables contain powerful organosulphur compounds that have been scientifically proven effective at preventing or reversing many cancers, including stomach cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Scientific studies have shown that these compounds can actually shrink tumors or stop their growth.

Eating kale is like popping a multivitamin and mineral supplement in your mouth—except way better, since it’s a whole food!

Kale has large amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, B6, manganese, calcium, copper, and potassium!

A serving of kale provides almost 200% of the daily value of vitamin A, and 100% of your recommended amount of vitamin C.

The manganese in kale is an important trace mineral that works with fatty acids in the body to produce sex hormones, maintain the nervous system, and metabolize and utilize energy from protein and carbohydrates, making it the perfect fat-burning food.

Kale’s minerals are great for bones and far better than milk or dairy products. When combined with the vitamins A and K, it is easily utilized in the body, and works to strengthen and maintain the calcium in bones and teeth.

Kale also protects your eyes with the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. These phytochemicals work to prevent cataracts, and age-related blindness.

And kale maintains your brain health as well!

Kale and other green leafy vegetables can slow age-related mental decline in Alzheimer’s by a whopping 40%!

Kale contains a unique phytochemical called indole-3-carbinol that not only protects against estrogen-related cancers (like breast and ovarian cancer), it also counteracts unhealthy chemical forms of estrogens (xenoestrogens) in our environment that contribute to cancer, infertility, impotence, (undesirable female characteristics like ‘man boobs’), weight gain and belly fat.

Kale is a dark, blue-green leafy plant with curly-edged leaves. Select kale with smaller leaves or the more tender dinosaur kale for the best taste.

Try kale chopped up and added raw to salads or smoothies (you can’t taste it, just throw in a handful), or cooked lightly with a little water, olive oil, grass fed butter, and a squeeze of lemon and garlic.

[Just a note:  frozen kale has far less vitamin K than fresh kale does.]

Here is one of my favorite ways to enjoy kale: Lightly saute`chopped kale with a little olive oil and with chopped green apples. Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar and serve with walnuts or almonds sprinkled on top.

Be sure to include this superstar on your plate on a regular basis!

Stay tuned for more superstar superfoods and recipes…

 

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!


Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.