The secret to healthy and glowing skin are tomatoes. These succulent, red juicy berry is a kitchen favorite in most Kenyan homes because of its nutritional value that is essential for not only your skin but overall body wellbeing. Tomato juice is a particularly good way to consume them.
Rich in vitamin B1, B2,C and K, beta-carotene, proteins, iron, potassium and many more essential minerals. These minerals have oxidative properties that help regulate the digestive and circulatory systems.
Tomatoes are best known for lycopene – a nutrient in tomatoes has been linked to improvement in bone strengthening and heart health. Lycopene lowers cholesterol levels allowing free flow of blood to the heart, lowering heart risks and blood pressure.
How to wash your tomatoes
Whether cooked or raw, tomatoes are great accompaniments in vegetable salads, juices, sauté tomato soups and sauces. If you are worried about pesticides and lead content, you can simply remove toxic residue by washing your tomatoes carefully in 2% salt water.
Also soaking your tomatoes for 20 minutes in water containing 10% vinegar or lemon juice gets rid of about 80% of pesticide residue. This is a good way of getting rid of residues that the salt water may have missed. You can use these methods with other fruits and vegetables too. It may seem tedious but when you look at the effects of chemicals and pesticides in our systems and also consider the recent damning report that lots of fruits and vegetables are highly contaminated with these, then it is well worth your while.
Making tomato juice
This is one of the best ways of taking up tomato nutrients. When picking out tomatoes at the store for juice, go for big firm tomatoes with a rich red color. They should not be wrinkled, with black spots or soft spots. Get as many ripe tomatoes as you can. But not to worry a little sugar flavor will churn out the acidic taste if the tomatoes are not too ripe. Our recipe below makes up to 5 glasses of thick tomato juice.
Ingredients
- 10 ripe chopped tomatoes
- A ¼ cup chopped celery
- 1 large chopped onion
- 2 Tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- A Pinch of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
- ¼ cup Lemon juice/vinegar
Method
-Mix all ingredients in a sufuria and simmer with 1 cup of water for about 25 minutes. Stir regularly until all tomatoes are pulp and the mixture is soupy and thick.
– Sieve the mixture through a sieve or food mill. Then leave to cool.
-Put in a jug and chill in the refrigerator for a while before serving. This one can last for 3 three days when refrigerated. Enjoy!
