We're going to work on eliminating cooked tomatoes as much as possible from your diet. This means canned tomatoes, canned chili, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, bottled tomato based pasta sauces, tomato based barbecue sauces, jars of dried tomatoes ...
This week's Step focuses on providing you with recipes and substitutions to help you with many dishes that traditionally call for cooked tomatoes. Next week's issue will show you how to balance your meal to minimize the damage when you just gotta' have a bowl (or two) of down home Texas chili - which is where I learned to cook the real thing, but that's an entirely different story.
There are three basic premises at the base of each UnDiet guideline. The first (and these are not in the order of importance) is the digestive cycle of your body (this is why you eat nothing but Fruit until noon and try not to eat late at night), the second is the enzymes available to your body, the third is the acid/alkaline balance of your body. Upsetting any of these systems will generate toxic waste, clog up your system, slow down the digestive/elimination process, all of which force your body to leave food behind as waste and fat instead of moving it quickly and efficiently through your body.
Let me say again - reducing your caloric intake is only one tool in the weight loss toolbox, but it isn't the only one and it certainly isn't the most effective one. It shouldn't be ignored, but being aware of the Weight Loss Trinity (digestive cycle, live enzymes, acid/alkaline balance) and unleashing their power in your favor is one of the most powerful and freeing ways to lose weight and gain health. That said, here's why you don't want to eat cooked tomatoes.
When tomatoes are cooked they become very acidic. Acidic foods upset the alkaline base of your body. That said, the truth is that if I'm eating out I don't worry about eating a dish that contains cooked tomatoes, I just try to balance it with lots of live enzymes, like a big salad. When I'm cooking at home though I find that it's very easy to make substitutions in my favorite dishes and completely avoid cooked tomatoes.
If your garden is prolific with tomatoes you can preserve them by drying. Use a commercial dehydrator or place halves or wedges on an oiled foil-lined baking sheet in a 115 degree oven. Dry for 6-12 hours until the tomatoes are anywhere from chewy to crunchy dry. Let cool completely before storing in airtight bag or container. If you put even slightly warm tomatoes in airtight storage condensation will give you moisture on the tomatoes which will spoil them.
One advantage to making your own dried tomatoes is that you can sprinkle them with herbs and/or Parmesan cheese. Use these spiced dried tomatoes in salads, on pasta, as soup garnishes, or just to snack on.
If you're buying dried tomatoes from the supermarket look for sulfur-free tomatoes.
Another way to preserve a proliferation of garden tomatoes is to freeze them. Just pop them whole into freezer bags and freeze them until you're ready to use them. They'll be kind of mushy so they don't work well in salads, but they're' wonderful stirred into pasta, chili, and soups as the mushy texture slightly mimics cooked tomatoes. They also make great gazpacho and some types of salsa. Another bonus to frozen tomatoes is that the skin peels off easily when they're thawed.
Soak overnight
Puree using soaking water. If there's any soaking water left over save it to add to soups or dressings.
Add
until sauce is the desired consistency Stir in
Taste and adjust seasoning. If you can, let the sauce sit for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Heat only until warm, don't allow to boil or simmer.
Heat together until warm, but don't cook
(Garnish with:)
Add to Dried Tomato Soup
Canned or bottled tomato juice should be avoided because the canning/bottling process cooks the juice. When a recipe calls for tomato juice, puree enough tomatoes to make an equivalent amount, plus a little extra to allow for the skin and seeds which will be strained out. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon press the pureed tomatoes through a strainer set over a bowl, preferably one with a pouring spout. When the seeds and skin are separated from the pulp and the juice, discard the mess in the strainer and use the liquid in the bowl in place of tomato juice, or strain it further by pouring it into a coffee filter set over a coffee pot. Don't toss the pulp; it can be used in a variety of dishes.
Because catsup is time consuming to make for very little extra benefit I don't usually bother. I buy my catsup at a health food store and don't worry about the fact that it's cooked since I use so little. But if you have the time and want some really good catsup you might as well make it without cooking the tomatoes.
There are several ways you can make this catsup. If you're into canning you can make the entire batch up to the point you add the Dried Tomato Paste and can it. Then as you open each jar, stir in the Dried Tomato Paste. Or you can make the entire batch with the Dried Tomato Paste and freeze it. I don't have the equipment to can and I don't use enough catsup to justify freezing lots of catsup so I make the quarter batch (in parenthesis) and freeze the extra. This catsup will keep in the refrigerator for up to an month.
Process in batches in a blender
Dump into large nonreactive pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often for 1 hour. Stir in
Tie up in a square of cheesecloth (don't use a twist tie as it has a metal core)
Continue boiling and stirring until reduced by half. Discard the spice bag. Can immediately and 24 hours before you're ready to use your canned catsup stir in the Dried Tomato Paste. Or let cool and stir in
Wait 24 hours before using, tasting to decide if you'll add more Dried Tomato Paste. Okay here's the part where I don't know the exact amount. I experimented so much that I lost track of exactly how much to add. If any of you come up with the exact measurement please let me know.
Make your favorite lasagna recipe substituting steamed until al dente (soft but not mushy, a test slice should still have a little resistance when you stick a fork in it) eggplant or zucchini slices for the pasta and eliminating the red pasta sauce. Make a batch of Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce and spoon a pool of it on each plate. Top the sauce with a serving of lasagna.
The other option is to puree roasted red bell peppers. Cook them with your choice of Italian spices until the sauce thickens some. Then use this sauce in place of your regular tomato sauce when layering your lasagna.
Stir together
Fresh tomatoes added to a vegetable, rice, bean, or pasta salad, and allowed to rest for at least thirty minutes will release their juices and become part of the dressing, allowing you to add less oil. Try this trick next time you make a salad. Prepare the tomatoes and place them in the salad bowl or in a separate small bowl. Season them with salt and pepper and let them rest for 30-60 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices to the finished salad, using as much less oil as the amount of juice you've added to the salad. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Another way to use this method is to make a simple mayonnaise dressing, using the tomato juice to thin the mayo. Stir the juice and mayo together, season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. You can stop there or go on to add fresh or dry, basil, oregano, thyme, cumin & coriander, or curry. I would recommend using just one of these spices except for the cumin and coriander which are great together.
When a recipe calls for stewed or fresh tomatoes and they don't need to be cooked into a sauce either stir them in after the dish is through cooking or eliminate them.
When a recipe calls for tomato paste stir in an equivalent amount of Dried Tomato Paste at the end of the cooking time.
When a recipe calls for stewed or fresh tomatoes to be cooked into a sauce I either add an equivalent amount of broth thickened with Dried Tomato Paste after the dish is cooked or use roasted red bell peppers in an equivalent amount. Red bell peppers are a wonderfully spicy substitute for tomatoes. Many of my recipes have been transformed, or rescued! by this method of substitution which I will go into more in next week's issue.
Yellow tomatoes are less acidic than red tomatoes and can be used in place of red tomatoes in any cooked tomato dish. They will of course affect the color of the finished dish, but the flavor will be the same.
Turn off the lights and get out the candles. Candlelight is calming and relaxing. You'll slow down and savor your meal instead of rushing through.
When dried tomatoes are on sale buy LOTS. They keep for a very long time in your pantry.
When fresh tomatoes are on sale buy LOTS and freeze them.
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