When I was growing up I have a very clear picture of me hovering around my mum in the kitchen while she sliced fresh tomatoes. She handed me a slice and I excitedly bit into it (I read too much about eating fresh tomatoes) only to spit it out and make a face.
It was sour!! 🙁
I’ve since gotten over it and now tomatoes are some of my favourite vegetables whether cooked or raw. Is it any wonder I love cooking and eating Italian food? 🙂 I particularly like plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes – they are tart yet sweet and absolutely delicious in salads.
Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants
I’m glad I love tomatoes because they are rich in antioxidants! Tomatoes contain lycopene which comes under the antioxidant carotenoids, and beta carotene. Its what gives tomatoes that lovely red colour and spagetti sauce the rich red that you pour over pasta. Carotenoids are said to have good health benefits such as reducing the risks of cancer, cardiovascular or heart disease, cataracts and muscular degeneration.
Cooked tomatoes may have better antioxidant properties
I have read that cooking tomatoes may be more beneficial than eating them raw – good news for those who do not like raw tomatoes 🙂 Men in particular benefit from eating cooked tomatoes as research has shown that it lowers the risk of prostate cancer.
Tomatoes helps your skin glow
Other than eating tomatoes, you can also put them on your face. The easiest home recipe I read was to pulp the tomato and slather it on your face, leaving it on for about 10 minutes then washing it off. Apparently it gives your skin a healthy glow. I have not yet tried it – I usually prefer to ingest my food rather than put them on my face – but I might and when I do, I’ll let you know how it goes.
I have seen Tomato being used in some skincare products too. The most recent was L’Occitane Olive and Tomato Shower Gel and in some product ranges of SkinFood.
So the next time you have pasta, opt for a tomato based sauce instead of the richer cream or cheese sauces and have raw tomato in a green garden salad. Your heart and skin will thank you for it!
Do you enjoy eating tomatoes? Do you have a good tomato sauce recipe? 🙂
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
prettybeautiful says
April 21, 2009 at 9:28 ami luuuvreee cherry tomatos! i eat it almost everyday 😀 i never thought of cooking it tho, coz eating it raw is simpler and easier. but putting tomato puree as mask sounds good, BUT, how to apply it ourselves without it dripping in all over?
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 10:01 amHi prettybeautiful
Everyday? Hehe… I love cherry tomatoes. I usually cook the bigger plum tomatoes or the round ones for pasta sauces or tossed into warm salads. As for a mask, I think getting messy is part of the deal haha…
JackieA says
April 21, 2009 at 9:43 amHaha! This reminds me of a teacher in primary school who told our class that eating tomatoes will make our cheeks rosy. I so totally believed her and began eating them like crazy……sadly I did not acquire rosy cheeks after one week. However, I still love tomatoes and must have them especially in salads.
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 10:01 amHey JackieA
That’s such a cute story! I love tomatoes in salads too. They are so tart and fresh.
Shay says
April 21, 2009 at 9:56 amEwwww…I only eat them if they are chopped into little cubes and without the gooey thing inside.
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 10:02 amHi Shay
Aww… they are really nice and I especially like the gooey bits 😉
Nikki says
April 21, 2009 at 11:20 amPB! I love tomatoes! I love the cooked and fresh! What’s a good recipe for tomatoes? LOL If you’re in a hurry just add tomatoes to your scrambled eggs! YUM
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:38 pmHey Nikki
Ooh i love tomatoes in egg – awesome! 😀 Thanks for reminding me of it. That’s going on the menu tomorrow!
Natalie says
April 21, 2009 at 11:23 amyes, i do enjoy eating raw tomatoes -be it big or small sized. 🙂 always have to fight for it with my bro. and my mum ‘d scold us for taking away her ingredients! 🙂
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:38 pmHey Natalie
Thanks for sharing your story. Thats so cute that you’d eat your mum’s ingredients! LOL
Sylvia says
April 21, 2009 at 12:02 pmHi ParisB,
Do let us know after you tried the home recipe for tomato mask, I’d like to try it out. Please share the recipe if you find it effective. I used Skinlite firming sheet masks with tomato as main ingredient. Tomato also firm up the skin! I had cheekbone the next morning after using that mask.
I do like to eat tomatoes of all kind be it cooked or raw, cherry or big. I love decorating my dishes with tomatoes to give more colours to the dishes.
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:39 pmHi Sylvia
If I can stop myself from eating them first I will try when I have some time. I’m quite intrigued at the thought of slathering tomato on my face!
Sylvia says
April 22, 2009 at 11:05 amHi ParisB,
*If I can stop myself from eating them first*
I was laughing when saw this reply. I had to read twice before I laughed though.
eliza says
April 21, 2009 at 2:36 pmmom been giving me tomatoes since small, so its been a habit for me to eat tomato every 3 days….but i still have pimples @@, looks like tomato can’t cure hormone changes XD
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:42 pmHey Eliza
My mom tried too but I always rejected them until I realised that tomatoes CAN be sweet! Look at it this way – it might have been worse if you didn’t eat your veggies! 😉
Ms. Blacklace says
April 21, 2009 at 3:07 pmOh… I absolutely love tomato based sauces!
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:43 pmHey Ms. Blacklace
Me too! They always feel lighter than cream based ones
jojoba says
April 21, 2009 at 3:38 pmyou are right on cooked tomatoes. i FORCE the males in my family to eat them all the time. 😛
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:44 pmHey Jojoba
Do you? LOL… I tried too but my brother still resists 😛
Lady_Heather says
April 21, 2009 at 5:31 pmI drink fresh tomato juice everyday. It’s my after dinner drink for the past few months
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:45 pmHi Lady_Heather
I can’t bring myself to drink tomato juice even though I eat them raw. I can’t imagine why but I suppose you are going it the healthy way!
Amanda says
April 21, 2009 at 5:34 pmI hated tomatoes when I was a kid. I just refused to eat them! I tried once but they were so sour and disgusting. I started to accept tomatoes when I went to school in Australia. I stayed in the dorm and food was provided. I couldn’t complain so I *forced* myself to eat tomatoes… they weren’t that bad at all. Since then, I never came home from the supermarkets without tomatoes 🙂
My most favourites are the small oval ones. They’re so sweet, juicy and yummy. Too bad they’re only available in summer here, sometimes you see them in winter at the supermarkets but they’re so expensive. What’s more fun is to plant your own! I do that every summer.
ParisB says
April 21, 2009 at 5:46 pmHi Amanda
I wish I had green thumbs to grow my own tomatoes but I have a lovely knack of killing most plants 😛 I love the small oval ones too – I think they are baby plum tomatoes – as lovely as the large plum tomatoes!
Jessica says
April 21, 2009 at 6:38 pmyippee to tomatoes! they do bring so much life to a simple dish and its so so so nutritious!
ParisB says
April 22, 2009 at 12:18 pmHey Jessica
Yippie indeed! Tomato lovers unite! Hehe…
Connie says
April 21, 2009 at 8:01 pmsince I cant eat apples, I bite into tomatoes 😀 Love em! they were my dieting staple -_- I just bought tomato juice… and I like tomato soup… you get the picture. I’ve tried doing the tomato scrub and it’s really not bad! my skin felt really soft.
I’m not very good at making tomato sauces though. cream is more my thing.
ParisB says
April 22, 2009 at 12:18 pmHey Connie
The tomato scrub sounds lovely! I’d probably still eat it all up though haha… Yeah I remember – you are good at CHEESE sauces! 😉
Connie says
April 23, 2009 at 1:19 pmI only use the bottom slice of the tomato and eat the rest 😀 I think my daily tomato juice works! I’m going to the toilet 😡 yep! cheese is more my thing! just made carbonara yesterday and it’s so jelak I feel like vomiting @.@
hmm… food and poo poo in the same comment
yuki` says
April 21, 2009 at 11:12 pmOoo.. I knew that tomatoes were good but I tried eating cherry tomatoes and they were *bleeccchhh*… No offense to those who like them… Just not my cuppa coffee… hehe… Does tomato sauce count?? I love ketchup soooo much!! I use at least 4 sauce plates of tomatoes for one burger alone =) *Slurrppps*
ParisB says
April 22, 2009 at 12:20 pmHey Yuki
No worries! And unless its a homemade tomato sauce I wouldn’t take too much of it – its very high in sodium i.e. salt which is bad for the skin – think water retention! And chemicals too.
jane says
April 22, 2009 at 12:30 amIf you love tomatoes.. you should consider growing your own. So easy, and the taste is 1000% better than anything you can buy at the grocery store.
Dont forget to support them as they grow.. I highly recommend The Tomato Stake.
Easier to use than metal cages or upside down planters, stronger than bamboo and won’t rot like wood stakes. The built-in twist-tie supports make tying your tomato plants easy!
ParisB says
April 22, 2009 at 12:20 pmHi Jane
Thanks for the tip!
June says
April 22, 2009 at 9:48 amhaha i only like tomato sauce.
hate tomato juice.
eating it is pretty no no to me.
but are you talking about tomato tomato or cherry tomato a?
ParisB says
April 22, 2009 at 12:20 pmHi June
I can’t take tomato juice too and I don’t think there’s a difference between tomato tomato and cherry tomatoes – its the same base fruit/vegetable.
charlieee says
April 22, 2009 at 2:20 pmi love tomatoes! i prefer raw tomatoes to boiled ones though. my favourite juice is actually carrot + tomato! 🙂
ParisB says
April 23, 2009 at 9:40 amHi Charlieee
I don’t work well with tomatoes in juices but I love them raw 🙂
Tine says
April 24, 2009 at 6:40 am‘Tis sad, but me really no likey raw tomatoes. Unless they’re grilled in the big breakfast (yumm) or all squashed in soup or stew, I don’t eat them 😛
emma k says
September 25, 2009 at 2:55 ami love tomatoes. i eat cherry ones by the carton full and bigger ones like apples. but i was breaking out like crazy. and i was sure why. my mom suggested that maybe it was all the tomatoes i was eating. so i researed and researched and i think i believe u when u say that the antioxidents are good not bad. ha maybe its my makeup:)
lily says
January 28, 2010 at 3:01 amI love tomatoes and eat them all the time, but no food or product will make your skin ‘glow’. 🙂