Do you know that canned tomatoes have a number of well being advantages? Sure, these antioxidant-rich plant meals may also help combat illness and promote optimum well being. Plus canned tomatoes are straightforward, budget-friendly and scrumptious. Take a look at these Prime 9 Ideas for Having fun with Canned Tomatoes plus my favourite canned tomatoes recipe assortment.

Do you know that each time you chunk right into a crunchy taco lined with salsa, a pile of pasta smothered in marinara, or steaming bowl of tomato soup, you might be gaining well being advantages linked with consuming tomato merchandise? Sure, canned tomato merchandise, together with canned diced, crushed or entire tomatoes, marinara sauce, pizza sauce, tomato paste, salsa, and tomato soup, are wealthy in quite a few health-protective vitamins, together with fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and lycopene—the antioxidant compound that provides tomatoes their stunning scarlet hue. And when tomatoes are cooked—as they’re in canned tomatoes—the lycopene is much more obtainable to your physique, as a result of the cooking opens up cell partitions within the tomato plant to permit the lycopene to be absorbed into your physique. That’s why consuming just a few servings of tomato merchandise per week is linked with well being advantages, resembling diminished dangers of prostate most cancers, coronary heart illness, hypertension, osteoporosis, sun-related pores and skin harm, and extra.

I requested high dietitians to dish up their favourite suggestions for having fun with extra canned tomato merchandise in your day. Take a look at these fabulous concepts and canned tomato recipe solutions, and luxuriate in a serving of tomato merchandise at this time!

Prime 9 Ideas for Having fun with Canned Tomatoes

1. Go For Canned Tomatoes Over Recent Extra Usually

Whereas nothing beats a recent tomato on the vine through the highpoint of summer season, there’s loads to like about having fun with extra canned tomatoes through the yr, particularly when recent is out of season. Out of season recent tomatoes can lack taste and texture, plus have a better environmental footprint from transportation or cultivation in a heated greenhouse. And keep in mind, these canned tomatoes are simply as (if no more) nutritious as recent. “Lycopene, an essential plant nutrient, discovered to be protecting in opposition to most cancers in laboratory work, is extra simply absorbed in processed tomatoes,” says Jean Lamantia, RDN. So, attempt to get pleasure from extra processed tomatoes over recent—you possibly can even use canned tomatoes in dishes like bruschetta, sandwich fillings, and hummus.

2. Get Inventive with Tomatoes

There may be simply a lot you are able to do with a single can of tomatoes, from stews and casseroles to curry and rice dishes. “Processed tomatoes are very versatile and can be utilized in lots of dishes, like chili, pasta or pizza sauce, and soups. Tomatoes are an awesome supply of lycopene, an essential antioxidant recognized to guard in opposition to most cancers, they usually’re good for blood strain and coronary heart well being. They’re additionally a superb supply of vitamin C,” says Janet Brancato, MS, RDN of My Nutopia.

3. Load Up on Potassium

Another excuse to like tomatoes is that they’re good at reducing blood strain, because of their stash of potassium. “Tomatoes are a very good supply of potassium, a nutrient wanted to assist decrease blood strain. They’re additionally a part of a heart-healthy Mediterranean eating regimen,” Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LD, proprietor of Sound Bites Diet. So, load up on extra potassium-rich tomato merchandise in recipes, resembling soups, stews, and rice dishes, like this recipe above.

4. Select Low Sodium Tomato Merchandise

Together with potassium, it’s a good suggestion to restrict your sodium consumption for wholesome blood strain ranges. “I like to recommend utilizing low sodium canned tomatoes. Potassium helps to offset excessive sodium consumption, a notable downside in at this time’s extremely processed meals eating regimen. Excessive sodium consumption is blamed for the growing incidence of hypertension,” says Wendy Rice, RDN. So, go for decrease sodium tomato merchandise, resembling diminished sodium tomato juice, marinara sauce, and salsa. And make your personal home-made tomato soup (pictured above) to get pleasure from decrease sodium meals.

5. Combat Free Radicals with Lycopene

One of many advantages of tomato’s antioxidant compounds is that it fights oxidative stress, which protects you in opposition to power illnesses. “Tomatoes are full of nutritional vitamins C, A, and Ok. Tomatoes additionally include the antioxidant lycopene, which helps your physique combat damaging free radicals. In some research lycopene has demonstrated anti-cancer exercise. Processing tomatoes makes the lycopene extra simply absorbed, so tomato sauce, salsa, and soups are nice methods to eat them,” says Wendy Kaplan, MS, RDN, CDN of Meals 4 Well being RD.

6. Improve Your Produce Consumption with Processed Tomatoes

Each time you feast on tomato merchandise in a recipe, you might be powering up your all-important vegetable consumption. “The time period ‘processed meals’ is charged with so many feelings, sadly worry normally tops the record. I encourage my purchasers to take a step again and have a look at the larger image. We all know fruit and veggies shield our our bodies in opposition to illness and we all know Individuals don’t eat sufficient fruit and veggies; canned tomatoes supply an inexpensive and handy approach for us all to extend our produce consumption and enhance the nutrient density of our diets. Decide up a can or two subsequent time you’re on the grocery retailer, you possibly can even discover “No Salt Added” varieties which might be excellent for mixing into your favourite dinner recipes,” says Lindsey McCoy, RD, CSSD. Discover her on Instagram @cravenutritionrd.

7. Inventory Your Pantry with Canned Tomatoes

Make sure that to at all times have just a few cans of tomato merchandise—particularly diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and marinara sauce—rolling round in your pantry, for simple, immediate meal options, resembling sloppy joes, lentil stew, or sofritas tacos. “For dwelling kitchens, ‘preserved’ tomatoes are shelf secure, inexpensive, an awesome ingredient as a part of a fast meal, a good looking pink shade, depend as a vegetable, and are nutritious AND scrumptious. So along with vitamin, don’t neglect what number of fantastic dishes include preserved tomatoes!” says Cathy Foreman, MS, RDN, LD.

8. Cooking Tomatoes Actually Counts for Diet!

The ability of cooked tomatoes, as in canned tomato merchandise, is actual. “You want to break the cell wall down to raised entry the lycopene. Cooking and crushing tomatoes makes it accessible. Watermelon can be very excessive in lycopene, however we don’t take up it as effectively as a result of we usually don’t prepare dinner watermelon. You’ll get extra lycopene from the ketchup in your veggie-burger, than the piece of watermelon at a barbecue,” says Tina Marinaccio, RDN. So, go forward and pile on these tomato merchandise in your subsequent pasta dish or chili bowl.

9. Increase Fertility with Lycopene

Extra analysis hyperlinks plant-based vitamin with elevated fertility, particularly sure plant meals. “I like to recommend tomatoes, whether or not they’re processed or recent, to my male purchasers fighting infertility. Lycopene consumption is said to improved male fertility parameters, so relying on the precise situation, I’ll encourage consumption of lycopene-rich meals like tomato merchandise,” says Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD. It’s an ideal time to get pleasure from extra recipes that includes tomatoes, resembling a yummy pizza, chile rellenos casserole, or eggplant parmesan.

For a few of my favourite plant-based recipes that includes canned tomatoes, take a look at the next:

Summer time Vegetarian Chili
Instantaneous Pot Chickpea Curry
Vegan Tortilla Soup
Ratatouille with White Beans
Vegan Pasta Amatriciana
Swiss Chard Pecan Vegan Lasagna
Vegan Jambalaya with Crimson Beans and Okra