Meet Sammi Haber Brondo, MS, RD who is the Tomato Wellness Registered Dietitian of the month for March 2021! Sammi is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a private practice in NYC, Sammi Brondo Nutrition. Sammi graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master’s of Science in Clinical Nutrition from New York University. She’s the author of The Essential Vegetable Cookbook, a cookbook with 130 simple and delicious vegetable-focused recipes. Sammi practices an all foods fit approach to nutrition and believes that in order for a diet to be sustainable, it also has to be realistic and enjoyable. She shares more about this philosophy in her membership program, All Foods Fit, and on her Instagram account, @veggiesandchocolate.
Sammi says, “I love using canned tomato products because they’re easy to use, versatile and super shelf stable. I pretty much always keep canned tomatoes in my pantry so that I have them ready to go for any recipe. In a pinch, I like to use them to make a delicious tomato sauce for pasta, a hearty chili or even shakshuka. Crushed and diced canned tomatoes are some of my favorite staples to keep in my kitchen!”
This month, Sammi is sharing one of her favorite recipes featuring canned tomato products: Cheesy Cauliflower Gnocchi Bolognese Bake. According to Sammi, “this meal has everything you could ever want in a meal: cheese, cauliflower gnocchi, a hearty sauce… and did I say melted cheese?! You’re gonna love this surprisingly healthy recipe.” Get the recipe here!
We are so glad to have Sammi as our RD of the month. Be sure to follow along on her Instagram and Pinterest accounts, where she shares healthful and nutritious recipes!
Tired of the same old spaghetti and meatballs every week? Shake up your pasta routine with this quick and easy Puttanesca Pasta. Puttanesca is a classic Italian sauce consisting of anchovies, tomatoes, olives, and capers, creating the perfect balance of salty and savory. Canned tomatoes are the star of this dish, providing bright color and flavor, as well as being a nutrition powerhouse. Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, a cancer-fighting compound, as well as vitamin C, iron, and potassium. Plus, canned tomatoes actually have a higher lycopene content than fresh, as the cooking and canning process enhances the availability of the nutrient, making it easier for your body to absorb.
You can feel good about serving this delectable Mediterranean-inspired meal to your family, and they will delight in the complex flavors. To make this meal extra special, serve with a simple side salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Whether you’re enjoying Puttanesca Pasta for a Sunday family dinner or a simple weeknight meal for one, you’ll be satisfied.
For the full recipe, visit our friends at Pacific Coast Producers.
For other delicious recipes, check out some of our favorites:
Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit? Or could it really be both? Read on to see what history has to say about it!
This is always a fun bit of trivia, but while people might think they know the answer, they might not know technically why. It is all the more murky because in 1893 the supreme court ruled in the case of “NIX v. HEDDEN” tomatoes were to be considered vegetables. You can actually read the original court filings here for you history nuts: NIX v. HEDDEN, 149 U.S. 304 (1893).
So, why is a tomato a vegetable and not a fruit? The age-old question actually has an answer—it’s both! According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: Tomatoes are fruits that are considered vegetables by nutritionists. Botanically, a fruit is a ripened flower ovary and contains seeds. Tomatoes, plums, zucchinis, and melons are all edible fruits, but things like maple “helicopters” and floating dandelion puffs are fruits too. For some reason, people got hung up on tomatoes, but the “fruit or vegetable” question could also work for any vegetable with seeds.
Now, nutritionally, the term “fruit” is used to describe sweet and fleshy botanical fruits, and “vegetable” is used to indicate a wide variety of plant parts that are not so high in fructose. In many cultures, vegetables tend to be served as part of the main dish or side, whereas sweet fruits are typically snacks or desserts. Thus, roots, tubers, stems, flower buds, leaves, and certain botanical fruits, including green beans, pumpkins, and of course tomatoes, are all considered vegetables by nutritionists. There is no hard-and-fast rule that clearly designates a botanical fruit as a vegetable, but, given that tomatoes are generally not used in desserts and are closely related to other fruit-vegetables (e.g., eggplants and peppers), it is not too counterintuitive for tomatoes to be classified as vegetables.
Our general feeling is that no matter how you classify it, tomatoes are delicious, nutritious, and we should all be eating more!
How does tomato consumption affect prostate cancer in men? The most common type of cancer among Western men is prostate cancer, but some studies suggest that men who consume more tomato products can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In a recent Adventist Health Study, researchers wanted to determine the correlation between tomato intake and prostate cancer. The participants of the study included 27,934 Adventist men who did not have prostate cancer in the beginning of the study. After a 7.9 year follow-up, there were 1,226 men who ended up having prostate cancer and 355 of these men were greatly affected, as their cancer was aggressive. The results of the study showed that those who consumed 64-71 grams of canned and cooked tomato products per day had a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Though other factors need to be taken into consideration when making this assumption, there seems to be a significant inverse relationship between lycopene consumption and prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is a serious issue among men, so it’s important to spread awareness about this topic and discover preventive measures. More than 1.3 million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and numerous studies suggest that lycopene has cancer-fighting properties. Lycopene can be found in tomato products, which contain anti-carcinogenic compounds, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. With early detection and higher intake of fruits and vegetables, prostate cancer can be reduced. Thus, it’s important to ensure that you are eating healthy, well-balanced meals and staying active on a daily basis. With so many benefits surrounding canned tomatoes, go ahead and incorporate more tomato products into your daily diet to ensure maximum health!
Brrrr baby, it’s cold outside! Between the snow, ice, and wind, the winter season has got us feeling chilly (*chili?). But there’s no need to fear the cold when you have comforting recipes to warm you up! That’s why we are sharing this collection of 10 BEST Recipes to Stay Warm this Winter. From soups to casseroles to sheet pan dinners, we have something for everyone!
This collection features recipes from our own collection and several friends, including Toby Amidor (who is the Tomato Wellness Registered Dietitian of the month for February 2021). These recipes all tote health benefits thanks to canned tomatoes, vegetables, and whole grains, so you can feel good about serving these to friends and family.
So, without further adieu, here are the 10 BEST Recipes to Stay Warm this Winter!
This is an easy pasta dish that the whole family is going to devour! Thanks to your pressure cooker, you can have dinner ready in a few minutes and it couldn't be any easier to make. A one-pot meal that will be a new family favorite.
What's not to love about chili on a cold winter night? This version is filled with fiber-rich beans, canned diced tomatoes, and spicy jalapenos, plus it will be ready in under an hour!
Get dinner on the table in under an hour thanks to these delicious stuffed shells. Filled with fennel, artichoke hearts, and greek yogurt, this recipe teeming with flavor and health.
Dinner is made easy thanks to this slow cooker stuffed pepper soup! Throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker, set it on low, and enjoy 9 hours later.
Tomato products provide just the right amount of pizzazz to pasta recipes, such as this hearty, plant-based Lentil Walnut Bolognese with Spaghetti dish.
Based on the Italian flavors of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, olives, and herbs, this flavorful, plant-based recipe takes about 10 minutes to get into the oven.
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