The Health Benefits of Tomatoes,
Summer's Shining Star

Lycopene is one of the tomato’s greatest health benefits; it’s an antioxidant that helps flush free radicals out of the body and can even fight against the formation of cancer calls and heart disease. While some vegetables lose some of their health benefits when cooked, tomatoes actually develop more lycopene when cooked, and even more when cooked with a fat (such as olive oil).

The health benefits of tomatoes include being packed full with vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, molybdenum, potassium, manganese, dietary fiber, and tons of other healthful nutrients.

A few hints on buying tomatoes…

• Choose organic whenever possible as tomatoes absorb tons of pesticides.
• Buy from local farmers. I’m always amazed to learn how many children are turned off to tomatoes at a young age, but I've decided it must be because they try the mealy, flavorless versions that many big grocery stores provide. The delicate but intense flavor of a fresh, ripe tomato straight from the farmers’ market is hard to deny, so do everyone a favor and buy local tomatoes in season (as they are right now).
• Look for firm tomatoes with no bruises.
• Don't be turned off by "ugly" tomatoes. Some of the best tasting ones are heirlooms, whose seeds have been passed down the generations for hundreds of years. Before gene mixing to make perfectly round and red hybrid tomatoes, there were thousands of types of red, pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, and even black tomatoes with intense and varying flavors. Try them all to find your favorites!
• When you get them home, remember never to store your tomatoes in the fridge. When cooled, tomatoes develop a mealy texture and tend to lose a lot of their flavor. Keep them on the counter out of direct sunlight so they retain their nutrition content and flavor.

You can make an amazing tomato juice by simply blending leftover tomatoes into a fine pulp. The seeds and skin provide health benefits as well, so I prefer an actual blender like a Vitamix for this task, rather than a juicer.

I also love slicing fresh tomatoes and topping them with salt and pepper and fresh basil. Nothing makes me feel like summer more than a plate full of gorgeous ripe and fragrant tomato salad.

• My favorite summer pasta recipe with fresh tomatoes
• Delicious tomato soup recipe

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