One of the most underrated superfoods has to be the humble tomato. Mixed into salsa, thrown into salad, or poured into pasta sauce, tomatoes tend to fly under the radar when used in different meals. However, this superfood holds incredible health properties you won’t want to miss out on.
While most people think of it as a vegetable, tomatoes are actually categorized as fruits. These fruits contain high levels of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that supports the immune system and helps maintain healthy skin and tissue lining. One medium-size tomato contains 50% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C and no saturated fats!
The pigment that gives them their deep red color is called lycopene. This antioxidant attacks radicals which, if allowed to build up, can cause cell damage and trigger cancer. The amount of lycopene in a tomato varies according to the variety, but the deep red tomatoes are the best- they contain 50 mg of lycopene per kilogram. Cooking the tomatoes can help concentrate the lycopene.
Tomatoes also contribute to a healthy heart. The high vitamin C levels enable oxygen to be transported around the body and to the heart more efficiently. The highest concentration of vitamin C is found in the jelly-like coating around the seeds so shy away from scrapping them out when cooking.
Tomatoes are one of the easiest and most rewarding fruit to grow in your garden. However, if you’re like most people who grow tomatoes, you know the struggle of having waaayyyyyy too many tomatoes on your hands. Not to worry, here are 28 things to do with too many tomatoes: