Is tomato or fruit or vegetable?

Tomato is a fruit, although it is usually used as a vegetable in salads and hot dishes. It is a widely used ingredient in weight loss diets because each tomato has only 25 calories, and has diuretic properties, plus plenty of water and vitamin C that improves the immune system and iron absorption in meals.

Tomato has the main health benefit of helping to prevent cancer, especially prostate cancer because it is rich in lycopene with 2573 mcg of lycopene, which is much more bioavailable when the tomato is cooked or consumed in the form of a sauce.

Other of the main benefits of tomato are:

• It fights cardiovascular diseases because it has antioxidants that help keep blood vessels healthy;
• Helps prevent cataracts as it is rich in vitamin A that is key to eye health;
• It decreases fluid retention because it has diuretic properties.

The tomato can be eaten fresh or dry and is very used in sauteed and to make sauces. The cherry tomatoes for being more sweet is generally more suitable for eating in the natural salads or appetizers.

Besides tomatoes, other vegetables known as vegetables, but actually fruits are cucumber, eggplant, zucchini and peppers.

Nutritional information

Tomato is a fruit because it has biological characteristics of growth and development similar to fruits, but its nutritional characteristics are closer to vegetables, for example, the amount of carbohydrates present in tomatoes are closer to other vegetables than to other fruits.

Tomato is not fattening because it has few calories and almost no fat, so it is an excellent food to include in diets for weight loss.

How To Make Tomatoes Dry

Dry tomatoes are a delicious way to eat more tomatoes and even add it to pizzas and other dishes without losing the nutrients and benefits of fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of fresh tomatoes;
• Salt and herbs to taste.

Method of preparation:

Preheat the oven to 95º C. Then, wash the tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from the tomato halves and place them in a baking tray, lined with buttered paper, with the cut side facing up.

Finally sprinkle herbs and salt to taste over top and bring the pan into the oven for about 6 to 7 hours, until the tomato looks like dried tomato, but not burned. Usually, larger tomatoes will need more time to get ready. A good tip to save energy and time, is to use tomatoes of similar sizes and make 2 trays at one time, for example.

Homemade tomato sauce recipe

Tomato sauce can be used in pasta and preparations with meat and chicken, making the meal richer in antioxidants that prevent diseases such as prostate cancer and cataracts.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 kg tomato very ripe
• 1 onion in large pieces
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 2 ramos basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 100 ml of water

Method of preparation:

Beat all the ingredients in the blender by adding the tomatoes gradually to facilitate mixing. Dump the sauce into a saucepan and bring to medium heat for about 20 minutes to get more consistent. This sauce can also be stored in small portions in the freezer, to be used more easily at the time needed.

Stuffed Tomato Recipe

This stuffed tomato recipe gives color to meat or fish meals and is simple to make, being an excellent option to facilitate the consumption of vegetables by children.

Ingredients:

• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 hands full of bread crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 handful of chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• Salt and pepper
• Butter, spreads

Method of preparation:

Carefully dig the inside of the tomatoes. Season inside and place to drain facing down. Mix all other ingredients. Return the tomatoes up and put in a baking dish greased with butter. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and put in the oven heated to 200ºC for 15 minutes and it is ready.

This recipe is also an alternative for vegetarians who eat eggs.

See an excellent juice with tomato in: Tomato juice to prevent high cholesterol.