Tomatoes: Getting Canned is Good!

By : Jodie Shield | 0 Comments | On : September 16, 2014 | Category : Adults, Kids, Seniors, Teens

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 By: Jodie Shield, RDN

When I find myself surrounded with lots of juicy, ripe tomatoes, I make my own tomato sauce. When in a pinch, I use canned tomatoes and don’t feel the least bit guilty! According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, canned foods are just as nutritious and versatile as their cooked fresh and frozen counterparts – sometimes more so. The heat from canning tomatoes boosts their lycopene content, which helps prevent certain types of cancer particularly prostrate cancer. Plus, canned tomatoes come in a variety of tasty and convenient forms – whole, diced, crushed, stewed – some with added herbs and spices; others without salt.

Last week, Red Gold Tomatoes sent me a shipment of their canned tomato products to try, along with some new fall/winter slow cooker recipes. They are having a Red Gold 2-a-day Crock-Pot Give-a-way promotion on their Facebook page that will run from September 17 through October 8, 2014. Everyday, two lucky people will win a Crock-Pot to help make easy, warm, and healthy meals. That’s 44 slow cookers in over 3 weeks! I used their tomatoes to make my Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce and was impressed! Stay tuned as I am going to test their Rustic Italian Chicken and Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili recipes.

For those of you looking for sauce recipes that use fresh tomatoes, Food and Nutrition Magazine recently featured two of my favorites: Fresh Tomato Sauce and Roasted Tomato Sauce. Also, for tips on how to cook pasta perfectly, check out my new app Time To Eat Healthy.

 

Note: Jodie Shield does not work for Red Gold.