Fresh Tomato Day

April 6^th every year celebrate Fresh Tomato Day! Tomatoes are chosen as one of the best foods! They contain a lot of great vitamins and minerals that we all need. Tomatoes are known to help prevent diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure. Lycopene and vitamins present in tomatoes are also known to be antioxidants that help prevent many types of cancer. What a wonderful healthy dish!! Celebrate the day with tomatoes in salads and sandwiches, or make your favorite salsa or ketchup!

History of Fresh Tomato Day

The earliest print mentions an April "Fresh Tomato Day" that Cooks Info has seen since 2005 in Indiana.

Liking lycopene for Fresh Tomato Day

I love my tomatoes: grape, cherry, on the vine, fresh from the vine a little warm with a dusty coating on it a little sweet with a hint of satisfaction something I can't identify.

I find that tomatoes are one of those vegetables (technically a fruit) that almost everyone enjoys. Perfect as a snack, sliced ​​on a salad, diced or sliced ​​on pizza or mashed into a sauce - tomatoes are high in water, low in calories and have some amazing health benefits.

While an average tomato has only 25 calories, 1.5 g of fiber and almost 300 mg of potassium 9 (a good thing), there are other added benefits. Phytochemicals!

Phytochemicals or “phytonutrients” are chemical substances found in plants (hence the “phyto”) that have health benefits. These are good things.

Lycopene is one of these substances. Years ago, I remember that research looked at lycopene as a potent antioxidant with a potential role in prostate cancer. Most notably, it helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer. No offense to the men in my life, but I've always thought that was a bit discriminatory, and it's certain that lycopene will eventually be associated with a reduced risk of other cancers, other than prostate cancer.

I need to start charging to predict the future, because for sure, lycopene has been linked to a reduction in colorectal, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers in addition to prostate cancer. In fact, eating more fruits and vegetables has been linked to a lower overall risk of cancer.

Lycopene is known to be in tomatoes, however, there are likely dozens of undiscovered phytonutrients in tomatoes (and many fruits and vegetables). While you can buy lycopene for supplements, why bother? Food is a lot cheaper.

But what's new is that the lycopene in tomatoes is best absorbed along with some fat. So ketchup, tomato soup, or my favorite, Caprese anything is the best way to get lycopene. Who doesn't love bright red tomatoes, FRESH buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil (and a little balsamic too)?

I love the Caprese Salad, the Caprese sandwich from “Which Wich” and I also enjoy an omelette with Caprese at Miss Shirley's in Baltimore. That's a big deal, since I'm a french roast chicken.

However, if you like your tomatoes fresh, that's okay, you'll still get a lot of benefits out of them. Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. These are powerful antioxidants.

Here's the bottom line: tomatoes are good for you, have a lot of health benefits, and if tomatoes aren't so great after all (very unlikely) there's no harm in eating them either.

Therefore, let enjoy this beautiful red, white and green Caprese Salad this day together in honor of beloved fresh tomatoes.

Why should I eat this?

Tomatoes are full of the antioxidant lycopene, which protects from damage to our cells and may help reduce the risk of some forms of cancer. Tomatoes are also high in Vitamin C which boosts our immune system and Vitamin A which promotes good vision, strengthens our immune system and promotes cell growth.