As a sign of allegiance during the French Revolution, revolutionaries ate pounds of tomatoes – because red was their symbolic color, and also in contempt of the monarchy, which was still quite wary of the newly discovered, possibly poisonous fruit. Ahhh, a coup d'etat with metaphorical deeds & a delicious edge of danger – I love the French!
Yet this luscious, red fruit was banned from the states until much later due to Puritans believing tomatoes were an aphrodisiac. Tomatoes didn’t catch on until 1812 via French-influenced New Orleans – once again, thank God for the French.
Tomatoes are really quite amazing - they are filled with lycopene (LIE-kuh-peen), an antioxidant that attaches to cancer-causing free-radicals and helps flush them out of the body before they can damage cells or chromosomes.
Health Benefits - Now don’t glaze over for this next part – it’s good stuff:
Several studies have shown that eating tomatoes may reduce the risk of the following:
•30-45% reduction in prostate cancer
•30-50% reduction in breast cancer
•Arterial aging
•Cholesterol
•Heart disease
•Osteoporosis in older women
Putting two & two together, researchers think it’s the lycopene that provide these health benefits; however, it could be something else – but whatever it is, it’s in tomatoes.
Here’s the skinny:
To get the weekly optimal amount of lycopene (400 mg), you could eat 164 raw tomatoes, 16 cooked ones, or 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce. Reason: cooking/reducing tomatoes concentrates the nutrients; also please note, lycopene is better absorbed if eaten with a little fat – like the olive oil in tomato sauce. Add a little garlic to the pot and you’ve got a lovely, antioxidant-rich sauce to spoon over anything. Now, that’s good, clean living.
7 Delicious Ways to Eat Tomato Sauce:
•Over poached egg on wheat toast w/dijon & muenster
•With fresh tarragon over grilled fish
•With roasted peppers, olives, capers & anchovy over wheat pasta
•On grilled eggplant & fresh mozzarella – you know, Eggplant Marinara
•Stewed with zucchini, white beans & fresh rosemary
•With fresh oregano over polenta
•With Indian spices & yogurt over grilled chicken
•Add a little water or broth & fresh basil – it becomes Rustic Tomato-Basil Soup
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