Tomato is an ideal vegetable to garnish any dish.
“This is a refreshing summer salad. Perfect for a picnic or barbeque.Vegetable salads were usually served with main dishes with a spicy flank steak and potatoes.”
Did you know that tomatoes do not have to be a deep red color to be an outstanding source of lycopene? Lycopene is a carotenoid pigment that has long been associated with the deep red color of many tomatoes. A small preliminary study on healthy men and women has shown that the lycopene from orange- and tangerine-colored tomatoes may actually be better absorbed than the lycopene from red tomatoes.
Tomatoes are widely known for their outstanding antioxidant content, including, of course, their oftentimes-rich concentration of lycopene. Researchers have recently found an important connection between lycopene, its antioxidant properties, and bone health. A study was designed in which tomato and other dietary sources of lycopene were removed from the diets of postmenopausal women for a period of 4 weeks, to see what effect lycopene restriction would have on bone health. At the end of 4 weeks, women in the study started to show increased signs of oxidative stress in their bones and unwanted changes in their bone tissue. The study investigators concluded that removal of lycopene-containing foods (including tomatoes) from the diet was likely to put women at increased risk of osteoporosis. They also argued for the importance of tomatoes and other lycopene-containing foods in the diet.
Ingredients for preparing Tomatoes With Mint:
Mint imparts special taste to tomatoes.
- 200 g radish
- 2 ea tomatoes
- 4 ea mint leaves
- 4 tb olive oil
- 3 ts lemon juice
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Method:
- Peel radish and slice finely, slice tomatoes, chop finely onion and mint.
- Combine all the ingredients and dress with oil, lemon juice.
- Season to taste.
