Today's muse is extracted from http://www.wengie.com

I think it is pretty interesting as this sounds very do-able especially for noobs like Da Rabbit. Moreover, as mentioned in my previous blog post, I believe that you will be convinced of the invincible wonderful health benefits of tomatoes in no time. Muahahahaha!

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To recap and add on to our previous pointers raised..

Here are 5 great health benefits of eating tomatoes:

1. Tomatoes are like nature's sunscreen

Tomatoes contain Beta-carotene, (which are also found in carrots and sweet potatoes). It makes your skin look amazing as it helps protect your skin against sun damage. Tomatoes’ also contain lycopene which makes skin less sensitive to UV light damage, a leading cause of fine lines and wrinkles. It also has anti-cancerous benefits and the lycopene are richer in processed and cooked tomatoes than raw ones.

2. Tomatoes help you stay youthful

Tomatoes contains around 40% of your daily vitamin C intake in just one medium size tomato! That's incredible. The Vitamin C & Vitamin A found in tomatoes are antioxidants which help you fight free radicals which means a red juicy tomato is natures anti-aging miracle, and promotes healthy cells.

3. Tomatos help you diet

Tomatoes contain chromium which helps keep your blood sugar levels regular. This will really help you stay on track with your diets as it can curb cravings and spikes in blood sugar which can lead to weight gain. Also eating tomatoes is very filling compared to it's calorie contents. One whole tomato can really beef up your salad or meal without adding too many extra calories.

4. Tomatoes can help treat your hair

The vitamin A in tomatoes can give you healthy shiny hair!

5. Tomatoes just help your body in general

Tomatoes contain a bunch of other vitamins that will help your bones, prevent various types of cancers as well as have anti-inflamitory benefits for those with chronic pain.

RECIPE: STUFFED TOMATOES SOUP

There are so many ways to eat tomatoes, you can juice them, add them to your salads, grill them for breakfast as well as add them in soups and of course with your pasta!

The following dish is inspired by the Vietnamese Style Stuffed Tomato Recipe.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients

1 medium to large tomato
1 small ball of minced turkey or pork (a bit more than 1 tablespoon)
1 small bunch of enoki mushrooms (or your fave mushroom)
1 small bunch of spring onion
1 bunch of mung bean or bean thread noodles

Seasoning

1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup of low sodium chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to Season

Note from Da Rabbit: Seasoning is based solely on preference. There isn't a hard and fast rule as to how much seasoning you should add. Perhaps you should just start from a minimal amount of seasoning and slowly build-up if you find it inadequate :)

Cooking Instructions

Start off by soaking the noodles in warm water to soften them.
Cut your tomatoes in half and scoop out the middle leaving a nice shell to stuff your mince meat in.
Save the bits you scooped out as you’ll add them to flavour your soup later.
Dice the mushrooms and chives into small pieces.
Chop your noodles into smaller pieces once they have started to soften.
Put all ingredients into a bowl and add some soya sauce and fish sauce to season as well as some salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to create the perfect minced meat and veggie filling
Now take the tomatoes that was emptied out earlier and replace the middle with the minced meat and veggie filling. Be sure to push the filling in firmly with a spoon and heap it up to slightly over the flat surface.
Grease / Oil the surface of your pan or hot pot bowl before placing the tomatoes facing downwards so that the fillings can be cooked in the oil. Leave them for a few minutes.
Once you can see your tomatoes and filling turning brown, add some water or chicken stock. Chicken stock is tastier but do pick one with a low sodium level as a healthy alternative.
Add the tomato bits you scraped out into the soup and cook for another 5 minutes until your tomato is soft. When it’s almost about time, add the rest of the mung bean noodles in to create a hearty filling noodle hot pot. The noodles will suck in the yummy stock and it’ll be really yummy! Not to mention these noodles are only about 50 calories per bunch!