Hi everyone, welcome to this episode of “Live Better Feel Better”. Today I am going to talk about Tomatoes. Tomatoes come in many varieties like cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, some bigger varieties of tomatoes, and so on. Here I am going to show you some cherry tomatoes, and some other varieties. These are some half ripe cherry tomatoes on these plants here. As you can see, they are pretty small, and as no pesticides have been put, these are organic cherry tomatoes. These are some bigger varieties here – these are round varieties and those ones are a little longish varieties. Tomatoes can be bought when they are available cheap during their seasons (this is what I do), and then they can be frozen in your home refrigerator, so that you can have them during off-seasons when they are expensive to buy in the market. Tomatoes can be used instead of tamarind as tomatoes have a little bit of sourness in them. Tomatoes have plenty of vitamins A and C, and therefore they act as antioxidants by helping to prevent free radical damage in our body. Tomatoes also contain vitamins B1, B2 and B5. Eating one whole tomato when you are hungry can be filling as well as nourishing. This can be helpful for diabetics as well. A handful of cherry tomatoes can be taken as a breakfast item too. Tomatoes can be taken in several ways. When added to salads, they provide a special taste to them. They can be simply cut and eaten too. They can be added on to gravies, and pickles can be made out of them. What I do sometimes is to cut some tomatoes and add a little salt, a little bit of green chilly and a few drops of olive oil, and then add this (mix it) with cooked rice and eat. This is a simple yet delicious meal. Additionally, tomatoes can be made into jams and sauces. Tomatoes can be made into a juice, much the same way you would make any other fruit juice, and taken in a glass. Or if you wish you can take tomatoes by making a soup of them. Chutneys can be made out of tomatoes. Tomatoes can be added on to other vegetable while stir-frying them. For instance, if tomatoes are added on to bitter gourds and stir-fried, they serve to take some bitterness out of the gourds and make them tastier. While stir frying spinach, a few tomatoes can be added, and this not only makes the dish tastier, but the vitamin C in tomatoes also makes it easy for us to absorb the iron content in the spinach. In south India, tomatoes are also called as the poor man’s apple (as apples are much more expensive there than tomatoes). Tomatoes practically have all the nourishment that an apple can provide. If you want to develop and maintain vibrant looks, and healthy skin, tomatoes can be very helpful. By adding tomatoes to your regular food intake, and by making them a part of your everyday meals, you can enjoy all the health benefits of tomatoes. If you would like to know how to make a delicious dish called tomato thokku (tomato chutney), click here>>. you may visit http://www.rajathifamilykitchen.com/#!hot-and-spicy-tomato-thokku/c1bce .

Until we meet again in our next episode of “Live Better Feel Better” I wish you goodbye and thank you for your interest.

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