Garden-Fresh ‘Maters

As a child I am not sure that I realized you could purchase fresh tomatoes in a store, because all the ones I ate were homegrown and garden-fresh.

My family lived with my grandmother from the time I was six, and every year she grew the most delicious tomatoes. She did not have a huge garden, but instead, she planted tomatoes (and sometimes other vegetables) in the spaces between her beloved rosebushes. I remember that she saved our coffee grounds to amend the soil. Even though the concept of organic gardening was not well known in the 1970s, she instinctively knew that the flavor of the tomatoes would be enhanced by improving the soil. Nano kept gardening well into her 90s, and I still remember the taste of those sweet and juicy tomatoes.

For most of my adult life I have not had a garden, but I still love garden-fresh tomatoes. You can’t buy these in the grocery store because commercial tomatoes have to be picked a bit green to be shipped without bruising. They are then exposed to ethylene gas to turn them red. Yuck!

The most flavorful tomatoes are homegrown or purchased at a farmers market.

It is important to know that conventional tomatoes are number 10 on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list (EWG.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php). This means that you should purchase organic tomatoes in order to reduce your exposure to toxins. Since store bought tomatoes, even organic ones, don’t taste great, this is one food you definitely should obtain from a trusted source such as your local farmers market.

While most vendors at local farmers markets are honest, there are always a few who misrepresent conventional produce for organic, so make sure and check out each vendor.

Tomatoes are very nutrient-rich.

They are ranked equal to kale, with a nutrient richness of 34, by George Mateljan (WHFoods.org) in The World’s Healthiest Foods. And, unlike kale, most people enjoy tomatoes. Tomatoes are actually a fruit by botanical classification, although they are eaten as a vegetable. They are excellent sources of vitamins C, A, K, B1, and B6. They are also good sources of the minerals molybdenum, potassium, manganese, chromium, folate, and copper, as well as a number of the carotenoids including lycopene. Lycopene has been found to protect cells, DNA, and LDL cholesterol from oxidation. But the synergy from the nutrients in tomatoes as a whole are even better than lycopene alone and are protective against cancer and heart disease. Interestingly, many of the nutrients in tomatoes are actually released in greater quantities when tomatoes are cooked rather than eaten raw, so enjoy them both cooked and raw.

Tomatoes also have the best taste when they are stored at room temperature.

You should not refrigerate them unless they are in danger of over-ripening. To avoid additional chemical exposures when buying canned tomatoes, try to purchase them either in glass or in BPA-free cans, because the acidity in tomatoes can cause the chemicals in the linings of the cans to leach out.

Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family of plants.

This family includes potatoes, chili peppers, green and red peppers, paprika, and eggplant in addition to tomatoes. Nightshade sensitivity is a problem for some people, particularly those with joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. If you have regular joint or muscle pain, you might want to consider eliminating all nightshade vegetables, including tomatoes, for a period to see whether it helps your condition. Many people are sensitive to some but not all nightshades. I am personally sensitive to most nightshades, but raw tomatoes are fine for me.

Whether you enjoy your tomatoes in salads, as part of a BLT, or in spaghetti sauce, I hope you eat plenty of fresh tomatoes this summer. One of our favorite recipes using tomatoes is below.

Cucumber-Tomato Dill Salad

Salad ingredients:

  • 2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
  • 2 regular tomatoes, or 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut up
  • 1/2 Vidalia (or other sweet) onion, chopped

Dressing ingredients:

  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • 2 tbsp coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in a large bowl. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss. Let stand for an hour or two for the flavors to combine before serving if possible.

Makes 4–6 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

Picture of Ginger Hudock

Ginger Hudock

Ginger Hudock’s eclectic background includes degrees in vocal performance, finance and nutrition. She worked as the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance at USC Aiken for 25 years before beginning her nutrition career. Her writing has appeared online at TheMighty.com, in addition to a monthly nutrition column for Aiken’s Bella Magazine. You can read more of Ginger’s articles about food, nutrition, faith and personal finance at her blog www.GingerHudock.com.
Picture of Ginger Hudock

Ginger Hudock

Ginger Hudock’s eclectic background includes degrees in vocal performance, finance and nutrition. She worked as the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance at USC Aiken for 25 years before beginning her nutrition career. Her writing has appeared online at TheMighty.com, in addition to a monthly nutrition column for Aiken’s Bella Magazine. You can read more of Ginger’s articles about food, nutrition, faith and personal finance at her blog www.GingerHudock.com.

In the know

Related Stories

Healing Water for My Soul | Palmetto Bella

Healing Water for My Soul

My love for healing water is the whole point for so many of the stories I tell and that I’ve told on the pages of Bella Magazine this year. The drops of healing water in my life are the moments of loving connection with others where I get the opportunity to share life with them, and they with me, with no strings attached. Some of these encounters this year have been a brief passing moment as I exchanged glances and a smile with someone, and other encounters have been for long chapters of my life that continue. There are so many times in this chaotic year when I have felt

Read More »
Gearing Up Your Health in the New Year | Palmetto Bella

Gearing Up Your Health in the New Year

2020 isn’t going to win any awards for the difficult and unpredictable year it’s been, with its controversial presidential election, pandemic, economic hardships, racial tensions, and widespread fear and uncertainty about health and quality of life going forward. Thousands have succumbed to a newfound virus called SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) that continues to elude medical doctors and scientists. Many of us found out that we aren’t as healthy as we thought and that we should have been taking better care of ourselves. Looking to the new year, what can we do to help our bodies become stronger and perhaps more resistant to the many pathogens out there? Perhaps

Read More »
A CAUSE FOR Celebration | Palmetto Bella

A CAUSE FOR Celebration

Appalachians tend to be very independent and content with their lives. They live close to nature and have a deeply held belief in God. They are friendly, kind, and helpful to one another, and they take care of the needs of others. Appalachians also have a strong sense of what is right, and of what ought to be. When I was still working as a nurse, we lived in a small town in western North Carolina. The population was mostly poor and set in their ways. Because they did not take kindly to people from “outside,” it took a long time for me to make friends with our neighbors, who

Read More »
HOW TO Celebrate the Holidays WITH SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS | Palmetto Bella

HOW TO Celebrate the Holidays WITH SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS

In 2008 I finally figured out that the health problems I had been experiencing for over a year were due to food allergies and sensitivities. There were a number of foods that caused my symptoms, the primary ones being gluten grains (wheat, rye, barley), corn, soy, and milk. I began to feel much better during the summer after I eliminated these foods. During the fall I began thinking about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals that would be coming up. I could not eat the traditional turkey dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, or my mom’s pecan pie. Even the canned cranberry sauce was off-limits for me because it

Read More »