Roasted Tomatoes

Bright colors mean beaucoup phytonutrients. Phyto - plant. Nutrients - essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need to be well. Phytonutrients are actually the chemicals plants use to ward of disease, germs and bugs, so what helps them helps us. Tomatoes get their deep red color from an antioxidant called lycopene. The rich concentration of lycopene and other antioxidants plus Vitamin A, B6, C, E and K in tomatoes gives this fruit anti-cancer, bone-boosting, heart-healthy power.

Roasting mini tomatoes will take you all of 22 minutes make. That’s it. After a quick roasting these colorful, tiny, sweet flavor bombs are exploding with sweet, juicy, tangy tomato flavor. I make a big batch on Sunday and leave them in the fridge for the week. They make a great side dish for grilled proteins or you can eat them like a salad topped with a little crumbled blue cheese or chopped up basil. During roasting you’ll notice the tomatoes pop open filling the pan with sweet and tangy tomato juice – it’s liquid gold Jerry, liquid gold! (See Seinfeld.) I pour the juice in a bowl and sip it like soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 pints mini grape tomatoes (one small plastic container is a pint)

• 1 ½ T of oil

• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

• ¼ tsp kosher salt

• black pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 400.

• Place all the tomatoes in a roasting pan.

• Add the Italian seasoning, oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and few grinds of black pepper.

• Toss to coat the tomatoes.

• Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Italian seasoning works well here but there are a number of seasonings you can add to the tomatoes prior to roasting. A few options you can try are fresh basil, thyme sprigs, dried tarragon or garlic powder. To make them Mexican flavored add a little chili power and some canned chipotle liquid. Or to give them an Indian twist, add a little ground cumin, turmeric and coriander.

HEARTFUL RECIPE - One of our real food recipes that focuses on veggies, protein, healthy fats and/or healthy carbs and doesn't include gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar, corn or peanuts.