Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

10 Tomato Recipes To Make Today

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Tomato recipes. Can you ever have too many? Nope, me neither. Especially right now.

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Summer is in full swing even where I am, way up north, which means I’ve been on the hunt for good tomato recipes. Just this week I’ve picked the first cherry tomatoes from my own garden: 4 perfectly ripe, juicy, red tomatoes – sun-ripened, wind blown – perfect. I dusted them off on a clean corner of my garden shirt and popped them in my mouth, one by one, enjoying the explosion of flavor as I stood in the heat of the morning sun, soft breeze whispering through the leaves of the plants around me, and watching with amusement as our little bird friend tried desperately to peck through the net we’d placed over the strawberries.

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Tomatoes. You wait and wait and wait…and with good luck and sunshine, all of a sudden the garden begins to explode with them and you’re searching for ways to make good use of and to save your bounty. The same is true if you’re visiting your local farmer’s market: suddenly there are tomatoes in abundance at good prices. These luscious beauties are nice to have around year round, offering their vibrant colors, deep tangy flavors and serious health benefits to your daily meals.

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I’ve rounded up 10 tomato recipes to help you enjoy your tomatoes – either for meals to eat today or recipes to preserve them now and eat them later, when the cold Winter winds are howling around you. Right now, they are so abundant – you’ll find yourself eating them fresh; freezing; canning; jamming – which ever way you use them, start now! There’s never been a better time.

  1. Canning Tomatoes: It’s Easier Than You Think  – Eat Simply Eat Well
  2. Grilled Tomatoes – Simply Recipes
  3. How to make basic tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes – The Kitchn
  4. Preserving Tomatoes: Roast & Freeze – Eat Simply Eat Well
  5. Tomato Eggplant Zucchini Bake – Well Plated
  6. Tomato Avocado Cucumber Salad – Eat Simply Eat Well
  7. Roasted Tomato, Goat Cheese and Carmelized Onion Tart – Eat Simply Eat Well
  8. Freezing Fresh Tomatoes – Mamal Diane
  9. Fermented Pickled Green Tomatoes – Avocado A Day Nutrition
  10. Tomato Jam – Eat Simply Eat Well

Go ahead – roll up your sleeves, grab your tomatoes, and get ready for some delicious meals ahead.

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Eat Simply, Eat Well,

Ann

What are your favorite tomato recipes for summer tomatoes? Do you can/freeze/preserve them? Let us know in the comments below!

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Healthy Fried Rice

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The word Fried Rice doesn’t always conjure up images of health food – but there’s no reason it can’t be a delicious and healthy dinner choice.

The first thing is to change white rice to brown if you haven’t already made the shift. White rice has very little nutritional value since the bran is removed, so basically our bodies process it quickly as a sugar source, causing an insulin spike, and that’s just no good for anyone.

If you eat a lot of fried rice, then switching to brown rice will do your body a big nutritional favor by adding a nice dose of healthy fiber along with along with significant amounts of magnesium and vitamin B6, and small dose of iron. Pretty great, hey?

This fried rice recipe is also loaded with cooked, steamed and raw veggies for to add flavor, texture and nutrients, as well as eggs for protein.

Even better – this fried rice recipe is super fast if you have cooked rice ready to go. Here’s a tip: whenever you make brown rice, make a big batch and freeze it in 1 cup /2.5 dl portions so that you can thaw it quickly and add it to dishes like this one, soups, or serve it up with some simple stir-fried vegetables. It’s away to make fast food at home in little time and still control the ingredients that go into your food.

We enjoyed this dish on a sleepy Sunday afternoon after a morning spent outside, and it literally took 15 minutes to make the entire thing – which means you can fit this into your schedule any day of the week and ensure a healthy dinner that everyone will love. 

And summer is coming!

Which means pretty soon there will be a bounty of fresh veggies coming out of gardens and farmers markets. Here’s the perfect way to use them up.

Enjoy!

 

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Healthy Fried Rice 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 1 cup/2 dl cubed fresh zucchini
  • 1 1/2/4 dl cup cooked brown rice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 eggs, beaten  + 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 2 large handfuls fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced

In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat, warm the oil and add in the onion and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and zucchini and cook 3 minutes more. Add the rice, eggs, salt and pepper and stir in well. Allow the mixture to cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes, then flip the mixture over in small portions and cook for 2 minutes more. Place the spinach on top of the mixture and put the lid on. Steam the spinach for 1-2 minutes until just wilted. Add the green onion, stir the onion through the mixture, and serve.

Serves 4.

Eat simply, eat well,

Ann

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5-Minute Berry Parfait

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5-Minute Berry Parfait

This beautiful dessert has got to be one of the easiest, fastest desserts you could ever hope for. Just four ingredients, this lovely parfait is the perfect afternoon snack, quick breakfast on the go or makes a great dessert. Any way you eat it, you’ve gotta love its simplicity.

The secret to the creaminess is the silken tofu – an ingredient available nearly everywhere.

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Tofu is made by first soaking dried soybeans overnight and then grinding them to a pulp. The pulp is then pressed through a cheesecloth to remove the milk – producing soy milk. You could bring the soy milk to a boil, pour it into jars and enjoy it fro there – it’s really delicious.

To make tofu, the soy milk is heated and then some kind of acid – vinegar, lemon juice – is added to make the milk coagulate and form curds. The process is much like making ricotta cheese, actually. the curd mass is spooned into a tofu mold and the excess liquid is drained away.

Silken tofu is simply tofu that has been drained in a mold, but hasn’t been pressed, so it contains higher levels of moisture than the firm tofu you might want to use in stir fries. It has a texture similar to a full fat Greek yogurt – but with a lot less fat and none of the dairy, making it a great option for people with lactose intolerance or who want to simply avoid dairy. It’s creamy texture lends well to desserts like this one – or to dips and spreads, such as a tofu mayonnaise.

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5-Minute Berry Parfait

Tofu can be a great, healthy addition to your diet:  

  • Per 100g it has: 55 calories, 2.5 g fat, 2.1 g carbohydrates, 6.0 g protein 
  • it is good source of calcium, manganese and copper
  • It’s real food and close to its whole food form and undergoes much less processing than most soy consumed in food products today.
  • Much of the soy grown in the world today is GMO soy and heavily sprayed with pesticides, so it’s really important to spend the money and buy organic soy products. Check your labels!
  • As this article by Bon Appetit says, there has been a lot of research done around soy and whether or not you should be eating it. As with so many products, it depends…and everything should be eaten in moderation. Most scientists agree that moderate amounts of soy from a good source offer multiple health benefits.

Personally, I love soy and eat it once a week or so. Desserts like this one are a wonderful way to include it in your diet, so get out your blender and let’s get rolling!

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5-Minute Berry Parfait

5-Minute Berry Parfait

  • 1-300g package silken Tofu (e.g. Pehmeä Jalotofu)
  • 2 cups / 5 dl mixed fresh or thawed frozen berries
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (depends on your test and the tartness of the berries)
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 teaspoons hemp hearts or Chia seeds

Combine the tofu, 1 1/2 cups/4 dl of the berries, maple syrup and lemon zest in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Taste; and add more maple syrup if you prefer it sweeter.

To make the parfaits:

  • pour a heaped spoonful of the remaining mixed berries into the bottom of four short, clear glasses.
  • add 2-3 heaped tablespoons of the soy-berry mixture to each glass
  • pour another spoonful of berries over to form another layer
  • divide the remaining soy-berry mixture between the four glasses and spoon the remaining berry mixture on the top
  • sprinkle each parfait with 1/2 teaspoon of hemp hearts or Chia seeds, or both.

Serves 4.

Eat simply, eat well,

Ann

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