Tomatoes are very versatile. You can eat them both raw and cooked and you can process tomatoes in many different ways, such as in salads, soups and sauces. In addition, tomatoes bring a lot of health benefits and are therefore good to use in your daily recipe with 7M. In this recipe blog we list important health benefits of tomatoes and tomato juice for you and we tell you how you can best take 7M in combination with this healthy red rascal.

Tomato juice is rich in lycopene

Simply put, lycopene gives the beautiful, red color to tomatoes. Lycopene also has an antioxidant effect. We have explained more about this in the lemon juice blog. Lycopene is best absorbed into the body through fatty foods and when the food is heated. So take a look at our delicious, hot recipes with 7M.

Tomato juice is rich in vitamin C

Another great health benefit of tomato juice is that it contains a lot of vitamin C. This helps to keep your arterial walls strong and flexibel. In addition, tomato juice is very rich in potassium. Potassium, together with chloride and sodium, regulates the fluid balance and blood pressure in the body. Potassium lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.

Furthermore, organic tomato juice is also ideal for your muscles and bones. This is because organic tomato juice contains a lot of calcium. The main function of calcium is to give strength to bones and teeth. In addition, calcium is important for blood clotting and calcium plays a role in the functioning of muscles, nerves and hormones.

Organic tomato juice for less sugars

As many people know, tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables. Tomato juice is therefore not a vegetable juice, but a fruit juice. And while fruit juices are often rich in vitamins and minerals, they are also often rich in fructose (aka fruit sugars). Therefore, when purchasing your tomato juice, pay attention to which nutrients it contains. To illustrate this, look at two products that you can simply purchase at your supermarket.

Make or buy tomato juice yourself?

As described in the previous paragraph, it is important to pay close attention to the nutritional value in the tomato juice you choose. The healthiest choice is therefore to make tomato juice yourself. Pay attention to a number of things here. It is best to buy organic tomatoes. Pesticides have been used in the non-organic tomatoes. These pesticides can affect the taste of the tomato juice in a negative way. The type of tomato does not matter. You can choose these according to your own taste. What is important is how the tomatoes look. Try to avoid tomatoes with bad spots and go for a ripe, but not overripe tomato.

The preparation of tomato juice

• Step 1. Wash your tomatoes well. You can simply rinse organic tomatoes and that will be enough to remove bacteria and dirt. If you have non-organic tomatoes, clean them a little better.
• Step 2. Then cut it into four pieces and remove the seeds.
• Step 3. Then crush the tomatoes in a pan and cook the pressed tomatoes.
• Step 4. Stir continuously and let it cook for about 20 minutes. You will see that the juice is ready once the tomatoes have softened and it resembles a tomato soup.
• Step 5. Add a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Add herbs that you like, such as basil or parsley
• Step 6. Remove the tomatoes from the heat and let everything cool down.
• Step 7. When it has completely cooled off, pass the tomatoes through a sieve. This way you only keep the juice of the tomatoes. After that, you can pour the juice into a bottle and store it in the refrigerator. You can keep this for about a week. But do smell the juice before you consume it.
  
  No time to make the tomato juice yourself? Choose to purchase an organic tomato juice. It contains fewer sugars and nitrates than regular tomato juices. Organic tomatoes are fertilized less and no sugars are added to the juice.

Mixing 7M with tomato juice - a weapon against constipation

Tomatoes are a useful aid to keep your bowel movements healthy and prevent constipation. This is because tomatoes contain a lot of moisture and fiber. The combination of these two ensures that your stool gets more volume and remains flexible. If you also mix the tomato juice with your daily dose of 7M, you always start your day well. Not a fan of tomatoes? Or maybe you are allergic? Then take a look at our other recipes with 7M!