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Tomatoes: Canned is king
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While many veggies pack a powerful nutrition punch in their raw form, some vegetables like bright red tomatoes may fare better when they are cooked. Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene which has been associated with repairing cellular damage and reducing the incidence of some cancers and heart disease. In fact, a Harvard University study found that when men ate more than 10 servings of cooked tomatoes each day, they had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who consumed lesser amounts.
When a tomato is cooked, its cell walls, which contain the lycopene, become broken down allowing for more lycopene to be released and then absorbed by your body. This translates into more disease-fighting protection for your health. Even though you can get lycopene in a supplement form, by consuming whole processed tomatoes you also get the fruit’s fiber and a hefty dose of Vitamin C, a few nutrients that a capsule leaves out.
While canned tomato sauce and tomato soup are inarguably convenient, they are often loaded with preservatives, hidden sugars and sport off-the-wall sodium contents. But by taking matters into your own hands and canning your own tomatoes, you have complete control into what is added or not added into your canned tomato sauce.
When we think of canning vegetables our minds immediately travel back to the days of log cabin-living when preserving food was necessary to survive crop-less winters. While we’ve come quite a long way since those days, science has proven to us that our forefathers were privy to a bit of nutritional wisdom in their efforts to can vegetables.
Any vegetable or fruit is fair game for canning and when it comes to canning tomatoes, the process is very simple, extremely satisfying and nutritious. Start by selecting red and yellow ripe tomatoes. Romas and beefsteak both work well. Next, gather your other ingredients and supplies. Tomatoes and basil are a divine pair so you might want to consider gathering some fresh basil leaves on your trip to the farmer’s market. Feel free to get creative with other spices as well like oregano, thyme or garlic.
Here are step-by-step directions for how to put all the pieces together and create your own pantry shelf full of homemade canned tomatoes.
Keep in mind that in addition to their strong nutrition profile, canned tomatoes are incredibly versatile. Add them to a stew or soup, let them simmer alongside a roasted chicken, place them atop a piece of poached white fish, use them in any recipe that calls for them or eat them right out of the jar for a super healthy snack.
