Imagining meals without tomatoes is hard for me to do. Sometimes I add them to my breakfast with a sliced cucumber and dollop of hummus. Other times I add them to my lunch sandwich — to make a tasty ELT. At dinner, tomatoes pop up in a side salad, sauce, soup, or just on my plate and ready-to-eat. I don’t think I’m alone in counting on tomatoes to be there for me. Maybe you can relate. I’ve had quite a few grocery store checkout line chats and/or farmer’s market chats with total strangers who share their ‘tomato love stories’ with me. See how many varieties you know here.
Fresh and Delicious Tomatoes
To keep tomatoes tasting fresh and delicious, it’s important to follow a few rules:
- Store them at room temperature. Yes, if you cut and use half a tomato, it’s OK to wrap the leftover and store in the fridge but other than that, keep your tomatoes on the kitchen counter.
- Use them within a few days. Use them up quickly and remember they are a great pop-in-your-mouth snack.
- Cook or freeze them as another option. When life gets overly busy and you can’t eat your tomatoes up, then cut them, cook them and freeze for later. Try this handy and healthy Marinara Sauce recipe when you can.
Convenient Tomatoes
To appreciate tomatoes, it’s important to open your eyes to their many uses:
- Eat them as-is to brighten up your meal. A sliced tomato or a small handful of cherry tomatoes is a super easy side dish for just about any meal. Red, yellow, purple-ish, striped, green are ripe tomato colors you’ll want to try.
- Toss them into a salad. Cut-up tomatoes make every salad taste better. Use them in green leafy salad, tuna salad, pasta salad, potato salad, or Greek salad. Mix and match tomato colors for a crazy and colorful presentation.
- Stuff them for a vegetarian meal. It’s easy to take the core out of a full-size tomato and the cut an ‘X’ from the cored end to about half way down. This gives a hollow area for stuffing. Get creative with quinoa and almond salad, black beans/rice/corn salad, or chunky avocado guacamole as your tomato stuffing. Chickpea hummus and olives make a tasty stuffing, too. Take a look at 7 Meatless Meal Ideas here.
Hop on Board with Tomatoes for Healthier Eating
If good health is as important to you as good taste, then tomatoes are your solution. In a cup of cherry tomatoes, there are about 25 calories along with 2 grams dietary fiber, 25% daily value of vitamin A, 32% daily value of vitamin C, and a very hydrating 95% water content. The fresh aspect, delicious taste, and amazing convenience of tomatoes makes them a staple for every kitchen, meal plan and snack attack. Be sure to hop on board with tomato shopping this week and begin eating healthier right away. My free Mediterranean Menus will get you going — now.
What will you make with a tomato this week?