FitSugar

Healthy Dinner Idea: Tomato, Black Bean, and Tofu Quesadillas

FitSugar — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:30:09 -0700

Right about now, gardens across the country are overflowing with tomatoes, so here's a quick recipe you can whip up before they go bad.

To see the easy recipe read more.

Recipe: Tomato, Black Bean, and Tofu Quesadilla
from my kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 block of firm tofu, cubed
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 cups diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can black beans, rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
4 whole wheat tortillas
Shredded cheese

Directions

In a pan, sauté the onions in one teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat.
In a separate pan, sauté tofu in one teaspoon oil. Season with some salt and pepper, stirring every so often until lightly browned.
Add the peppers to the pan with the onions, and sauté for five minutes.
Add the tomatoes, the cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper, and cook on low for 10 minutes, or until it's thickened up. Mix in the black beans and cook for another few minutes.
Stir in the tofu and remove from heat. Place in a storage container for now.
Wash the pan and place it back on the stove on medium heat with one teaspoon olive oil. Place a tortilla in the pan and spin it around to distribute the oil.
On one half, sprinkle a little shredded cheese. Add half a cup or so of the tomato and bean mixture, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle on a little more cheese and fold the tortilla in half. Cook on both sides for a couple minutes, then serve.
Cook up the rest of the quesadillas or place the tomato mixture in the fridge for later.

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Want more healthy meal ideas or have a recipe of your own to share? Then check out Fit's Health Recipe Group.

Healthy Lunch Idea: Chickpea, Tomato, and Feta Salad

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0800

Last week you guys all gave some great ideas for healthy, easy lunches and since we're still on the topic (well I am, at least) I wanted to share a recipe for Chickpea, Tomato, and Feta Salad that user wren posted in the Healthy Recipes Group. Not only is this recipe healthy, but it's also super easy because it requires no cooking.

For the recipe just read more.

This refreshing recipe is so simple to make and fills me up. I love to have it for lunch.
From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.

1/4 cup canned chickpeas
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
ground pepper

Rinse and drain chickpeas.
In a bowl, combine chickpeas with tomatoes, feta, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, and a pinch of pepper.

Serves 1

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Change It up With Polenta

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:15:00 -0700

I know you've seen it in the grocery store, sitting on the shelf in a tube. It's yellow and a little squishy. It intrigued you, but probably not enough to buy it. I never would have even considered the stuff if I hadn't run into a friend at the store. She reached for a tube and explained all the wonderful things you could do with it, so I gave it a shot.

This pre-made polenta, made from corn meal and water, comes in a firm tube that you can slice up and grill, cook like pancakes, or bake. It makes a great alternative to pasta when making vegetable primavera or lasagna.

If you prefer creamy style polenta that has a similar consistency to mashed potatoes, you can mix this polenta with some water (milk or broth), heat it up and you're done. It makes a delicious side dish on its own, or you can mix it with cooked veggies. You can also use it in place of tofu when you stir-fry.

So is it healthy? To check out the nutritional info and see a picture of my favorite way to make polenta read more

I love to sauté sliced polenta in a little olive oil. Then I place it in a pan and baked it with some mozzarella until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Then I top it with a raw slice of tomato, bake it for another five minutes and that's it. Quick, easy, delicious and good for you.

Serving Size	2 half inch slices
Calories	70
Total Fat	0g
Saturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	310mg
Carbs	15g
Fiber	1g
Sugar	1g
Protein	2g

This pre-made polenta has salt added to it, so you don't need to add any when you cook it. This is one healthy and different alternative to your old pasta, bread, and rice standbys. Let me know if you have any other great ways to incorporate polenta into your life. Here's what I do:

Just slice it.
Sauté it.
Bake it with some cheese. Top it with fresh slices of tomato and enjoy.

Weekend Well-Being: Make Your Own Garden Tortilla Pizza

FitSugar — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Hooray for the weekend! Not only do I love having two days off to spend with my family, but Saturdays are farmer's market days. I love strolling past all the baskets of crisp greens, brightly colored veggies, and the bunches of aromatic herbs. Our market even has fresh homemade cheeses, which of course taste so much better than what I buy at the store.

I'm always trying to figure out exciting ways to use all the yummy veggies I bring home. I can only make so many fresh salads and grilled veggies, ya know? So here's an idea - tortilla pizzas. All you need to buy are some whole wheat tortillas, and you can use them as a vehicle for all the tasty farmer's market produce.

Source

Want to know how I make them? Then read more

What you'll need:

1 large whole wheat tortilla
Olive oil as needed
I large tomato, sliced
Grilled zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, mushrooms, onions and peppers
Fresh basil
Fresh Mozzarella or goat cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Cut up all the veggies and grill them in a grill basket.
Brush some olive oil on the tortilla and top it any way you like with all the veggies and cheese. Add some basil leaves, sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and bake on a cookie sheet for 10 or so minutes.
Cut, serve, and enjoy!

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Tomato Paprika Salad Dressing

FitSugar — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Occasionally, I am prone to salad dressing ennui. I just can't take another balsamic vinaigrette. However, I recently found this antioxidant rich, tasty new tomato dressing that certainly cures my boredom.

It reminds me a bit of gazpacho, one of my favorite summer treats. I would use the dressing with a mild green, like butter lettuce, and it works well with avocado and goat cheese too. You can also use this dressing for dipping bread, but it is too thin for veggies.

So don't succumb to the salad dressing doldrums! To see the recipe, just read more

Tomato Paprika Salad Dressing
adapted from Body + Soul

Tomato-Paprika Salad Dressing

What You Need

¾ pound plum or heirloom tomatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 small garlic clove – pressed
½ teaspoon mild or smoked paprika
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

What You Do

Press garlic and set it aside to allow the healthy enzymes release.
Peel, core and seed tomatoes. If peeling tomatoes are new to you read Yum’s helpful tips on this culinary task.
Place tomatoes in blender along with vinegars, sugar, garlic and paprika. Puree until smooth.
Remove center cap of the blender lid and add oil in a steady stream, blending thoroughly.
Salt and pepper to taste.

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Flavonoid Alert!!!! Organic Tomatoes May Be Better For Your Heart

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:00:00 -0700

You all know I am all about increasing my intake of flavonoids. Since it is better to eat your antioxidants than to take supplements, I heartily suggest we all eat more organic tomatoes.

A new study published recently in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" found that organic tomatoes produce almost double the amount of flavonoids compared with conventionally grown tomatoes. Flavonoids are a type of antioxidant known to be beneficial for reducing high blood pressure, lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke.

There are a couple of theories as to why this is so. Most scientists think it has to do with the soil in which the tomatoes are grown. Organic tomatoes are grown without conventional nitrogen fertilizers and flavonoids are produced by the tomatoes as a defense mechanism triggered by nutrient deficiency, such as a lack of nitrogen in the soil.

So go for it. Spend a little extra dough and buy some organic tomatoes while they are in season. I have always found organic tomatoes to be tastier.

What is your favorite way to eat fresh tomatoes? Tell me in the comments section below.

Source

Homemade Fruit Salsa

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 02:30:00 -0700

I know buying salsa in a jar is so easy, but it doesn't have nearly as many vitamins as when you make it with fresh ingredients. Once you have all the ingredients, whipping up a batch of your own salsa is simple, delicious, and always a hit at a BBQ.

This salsa is made with tomato (a great source of the antioxidant lycopene) and all kinds of delicious fresh fruits. I love it because it's so juicy and refreshing on a summer's day. It's a much better alternative to downing a ton of greasy potato chips and fattening dip, and much tastier in my opinion.

Source

If you want to see the recipe then read more

Fruit Salsa

You'll need:

1 tomato
1 mango, peeled
1 medium peach, peeled
6-8 strawberries
1/2 cup pineapple
1 red pepper
1 small jalepeno pepper, seeded
1 small yellow onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 lime
1/2 tsp salt

Here's what to do:

Dice the tomato, mango, peach, strawberries, pineapple, peppers, and onion and place in a bowl. Add the minced garlic.
Chop the cilantro and add it to the bowl.
Squeeze the lime juice all over the fruits and veggies, add the salt and mix well.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. Take out and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving (it tastes better when it's not so cold).
Serve with corn chips or crackers.

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Is a Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable?

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:30:00 -0700

I write about food all the time, about how important it is to eat your fruits and veggies. Recently I got into a culinary conundrum about what it takes to be a fruit. Is a tomato a fruit? Well, here goes a short explanation: true fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant (though cultivated forms may be seedless). Fruits can be fleshy such as blueberries, bananas, and oranges. They can also be dry like whole almonds and walnuts (in their shell).

Scientifically speaking then, anything containing seeds, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins, and bean pods are all considered fruits.

The reason there is so much confusion about whether or not a food is a fruit or a vegetable has to do with the way it's prepared. Vegetables tend to be used in savory dishes, while fruits tend to be used for the sweeter ones.

Vegetables tend to be root crops (potatoes, carrots, beets, and turnips), bulbs (onions and garlic), stems (asparagus), leaves (lettuce and spinach), flowers (broccoli and cabbage).

So to sum it up, there are two different meanings of the word "fruit." A botanist would call a tomato a fruit, but a chef would call it a vegetable.

Source

What Causes Heartburn?

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:45:00 -0700

I'm sure you've all experienced heartburn once in your life, some unfortunately more than others. Maybe you ate a spicy meal, a huge meal or a huge spicy meal and got that overwhelming burning sensation in your lower chest. But it doesn't stop there, it can start to creep up into your esophagus and into your throat.

You may know this already, but heartburn doesn't actually affect the heart at all. When you eat, food passes from your mouth down a tube called the esophagus. In order to enter the stomach to be digested, the food must pass through an opening between the esophagus and the stomach.

This opening is like a gate, and soon closes after food passes into your tummy. Sometimes it doesn't quite close, and stomach acid can get through that opening and move into your esophagus. This is called reflux and it's what causes that burning sensation.

Heartburn can be affected by being overweight, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee or other beverages that contain caffeine, alcohol, citrus fruits, tomatoes, onion, chocolate, mints, fatty or spicy foods, or taking aspirin or ibuprofen.

If you do get a sudden case of heartburn, try to keep yourself upright. If you are lying down, prop yourself up with some pillows since this will prevent more acid from seeping into your esophagus.

Taking an antacid can help (it neutralizes the acid in your stomach). Take ones that contain both magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide (one causes constipation while the other causes diarrhea so they counteract each other) like over-the-counter brands include Maalox and Mylanta.

Want to know how you can prevent it? Then read more

Don't overeat.
Stop eating 2-3 hours before lying down for bed.
Lose excess weight.
Don't wear belts or clothes that are tight fitting around your waist - this will squeeze your stomach and force food and acid back up towards the esophagus.
Eat high-protein, low-fat meals.
If you've eaten something in the past and it's given you heartburn - don't eat it again.

Broccoli and Tomato, A Good Combo

FitSugar — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 02:00:00 -0800

New research from the University of Illinois has found that, when eaten together, broccoli and tomato -- two vegetables known to help fight cancer -- are more effective against prostate cancer as part of a daily diet.

After 22 weeks, the researchers found that the combined tomato/broccoli diet was the most effective at prostate tumor reduction. Of the other treatments, castration was the only one that came close to being as effective.

To get the most out of these power foods, men should think about consuming 1.4 cups of raw broccoli and 2.5 cups of fresh tomato, or 1 cup of tomato sauce, or 1/2 cup of tomato paste (daily).

Fit's Tip: Looks like it is time to convince the man in your life to put a little broccoli on his (and most men's) staple food item of choice: Pizza.