Do you know that canned tomatoes have a number of well being advantages? Sure, these antioxidant-rich plant meals may help struggle illness and promote optimum well being. Plus canned tomatoes are straightforward, budget-friendly and scrumptious. Take a look at these High 9 Suggestions 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’re 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 offers tomatoes their stunning scarlet hue. And when tomatoes are cooked—as they’re in canned tomatoes—the lycopene is much more out there 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 a number of servings of tomato merchandise every week is linked with well being advantages, equivalent to diminished dangers of prostate most cancers, coronary heart illness, hypertension, osteoporosis, sun-related pores and skin injury, and extra.

I requested prime dietitians to dish up their favourite ideas 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!

High 9 Suggestions for Having fun with Canned Tomatoes

1. Go For Canned Tomatoes Over Recent Extra Usually

Whereas nothing beats a recent tomato on the vine throughout the highpoint of summer time, there’s so much to like about having fun with extra canned tomatoes throughout 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 necessary 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 take pleasure in 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’s 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 ideal supply of lycopene, an necessary antioxidant identified to guard in opposition to most cancers, and so they’re good for blood strain and coronary heart well being. They’re additionally a wonderful 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, on account of their stash of potassium. “Tomatoes are an excellent supply of potassium, a nutrient wanted to assist decrease blood strain. They’re additionally a part of a heart-healthy Mediterranean weight loss plan,” Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LD, proprietor of Sound Bites Diet. So, load up on extra potassium-rich tomato merchandise in recipes, equivalent to 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 weight loss plan. Excessive sodium consumption is blamed for the rising incidence of hypertension,” says Wendy Rice, RDN. So, go for decrease sodium tomato merchandise, equivalent to diminished sodium tomato juice, marinara sauce, and salsa. And make your individual home-made tomato soup (pictured above) to take pleasure in decrease sodium meals.

5. Struggle 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 continual ailments. “Tomatoes are full of nutritional vitamins C, A, and Okay. Tomatoes additionally include the antioxidant lycopene, which helps your physique struggle 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 devour them,” says Wendy Kaplan, MS, RDN, CDN of Meals 4 Well being RD.

6. Enhance Your Produce Consumption with Processed Tomatoes

Each time you feast on tomato merchandise in a recipe, you’re powering up your all-important vegetable consumption. “The time period ‘processed meals’ is charged with so many feelings, sadly concern often tops the checklist. I encourage my shoppers to take a step again and take a look at the larger image. We all know vegetables and fruit defend our our bodies in opposition to illness and we all know Individuals don’t eat sufficient vegetables and fruit; canned tomatoes provide an reasonably priced and handy method for us all to extend our produce consumption and enhance the nutrient density of our diets. Choose up a can or two subsequent time you’re on the grocery retailer, you possibly can even discover “No Salt Added” varieties which are 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

Be sure that to at all times have a number of cans of tomato merchandise—particularly diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and marinara sauce—rolling round in your pantry, for simple, immediate meal options, equivalent to sloppy joes, lentil stew, or sofritas tacos. “For residence kitchens, ‘preserved’ tomatoes are shelf steady, reasonably priced, an ideal ingredient as a part of a fast meal, a ravishing pink colour, rely as a vegetable, and are nutritious AND scrumptious. So along with diet, 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 facility of cooked tomatoes, as in canned tomato merchandise, is actual. “That you must 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 in it as nicely as a result of we sometimes don’t cook 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 diet with elevated fertility, specifically sure plant meals. “I like to recommend tomatoes, whether or not they’re processed or recent, to my male shoppers fighting infertility. Lycopene consumption is expounded to improved male fertility parameters, so relying on the particular situation, I’ll encourage consumption of lycopene-rich meals like tomato merchandise,” says Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD. It’s an ideal time to take pleasure in extra recipes that includes tomatoes, equivalent to a yummy pizza, chile rellenos casserole, or eggplant parmesan.

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

Summer season Vegetarian Chili
Immediate Pot Chickpea Curry
Vegan Tortilla Soup
Ratatouille with White Beans
Vegan Pasta Amatriciana
Swiss Chard Pecan Vegan Lasagna
Vegan Jambalaya with Purple Beans and Okra