Women's Fitness

September2016 | womensfitness.co.uk 109

FOR MORE HEALTHY FOOD IDEAS AND NUTRITION INFO VISITWOMENSFITNESS.CO.UK/HEALTHY-EATING

3 WAYS WITH

TOMATOES

WORDS: NICO

LA SH UBROOK PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK

Tomato and avocado on toast

Serves 2

Halvean avocado and scoop the

flesh into a bowl. Add asqueeze

of lemon season and mash.

Spread over toasted sourdough

and top with mozzarella sliced

beef tomato fresh basil balsamic

vinegar and olive oil.

Roast tomato and garlic lentils

Serves 2

Heat the oven to 180°C. Lay two

choppedmedium tomatoes half a

sliced red onion and four cloves of

garlic (skins on) on a baking tray

drizzle with oil and season; roast

for 20minutes. Cook 200g green

or Puy lentils. Mix with the roasted

tomatoes and onions. Remove the

garlic skins and mash with a fork

before adding to the lentils. Throw

in half a choppedred pepper mix

well and serve as a salad or

alongside chicken or fish.

Garlic and tomato prawns

Serves 2

Finely chop1 onion and fry in a

panwith a pinch of salt for five

minutes. Add two crushed garlic

cloves and six choppedvine

tomatoes. Sauté for five minutes

seasoning with salt and pepper

and mixed herbs such asoregano

or basil. Asthe sauce thickens

add apackof prawns and heat

through before serving with your

favouritegrainand fresh basil.

Tomatoes

Big small green yellow beef cherry... Whichever you

pick this ubiquitous ingredient is bursting with benefits

T

omatoes’ main health benefit is their high

antioxidant content which helps protect

our cells and organs from damage.

Whenitcomestoou rhealthno

othe rsystemneedsantioxidant

protection morethanthe

cardiovascularsystem.Ourheart

isresponsiblefortransportingthe

oxygenwebrea theinthroughour

lungsaround thebody. To keepthis

processincheck weneedlotsof

antioxidants tohe lpprotectourcell

membra nesfromdamagefrom

things likestresspollutionand

chem icals.Ifthesemembra nesget

damagedthenthistriggersalarm

bellsinourimmune andinflam matorysystems

whichiswhencondition ssuchasatherosclerosis

(theblocki ngofbloodvessels)andthrombosis

canstarttooccu r. Anyformofexercisewherethe

needfo roxygenisincreasedmeansthatwe

requireevenmoreantioxidants.

Lycopeneakeyphytonutrientth atgives

tomatoestheir redcolourhasreceived

increasin gattention overtheyearsandcan

nowevenbeboughtinsupp lementform.

Thispowerfulantioxidantmayhelpprevent

osteoporosisandal sohelplowertheriskof

certaincancers.Re searchdoes

suggestthatcookedtomatoes

maybeabetterwaytoget

thiskeynutrientintoou r

dietsthanbyeatingra w

tomatoesasitismorere adily

absorbedbythebody.

Tomatoesal socontain

vitaminsACandEaswell

asmanganesean diron.

Tomatopuréeinparticul ar

hasbeenfoundtoprotect

againstUVA/UVBdamage

fromthesunbothintheshorttermand

longterm. Sowh atevershapesizecolour

orvarietyoftomatoyouchoosethemore

themerrier wesay!

FOOD FOCUS

18 calories

0gfat

4gca rbohydrates

1g fibre

1g protein

SUPERFOOD

STATS

100G TOMATOES PROVIDES:

vinegar and olive oil.

Garlic and tomato prawns

Tomato and avocado on toast

NUTRITION

‘Researchdoes

suggest that

cookedtomatoes

–ratherthanraw–

maybeabett er

waytogetmore

lycopeneinto

ourdiets’