mama jess vegetable (fruit) of the month blog: tomatoes

Posted by on Nov 7, 2012 in blog, recipes, Veggie of the Month

November Featured Vegetable of the Month – Tomatoes

 

Fall is one of my favorite seasons for many reasons.  The changing weather, beautiful color changes, school is in full swing and football season are just a few reason I love fall.  But as a food lover, one of my most favorite things about fall is making homemade soup.  Although there are plenty of good cold soups for summer, I have never really embraced them.  Part of my love of soup is the warmth you get from eating a steaming bowl of it on a chilly day.  It is also very versatile.  You can make so many different kinds of soup. The options are endless!

 

I recently came upon my recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup and I was instantly craving it!  The soup is loaded with good for you vegetables including Mama Jess’s Bien Good Enchilada Sauce.  The recipe calls for chicken but the soup could just as easily be made meat free.  Even without the chicken, it would contain all the protein you need.  The combination of beans and corn will provide the all the necessary amino acids you need for a complete protein, but I’ll save my protein talk for another blog!

 

This recipe contains not only diced tomatoes, but also the tomato puree in Mama Jess Bien Good Sauce.  So in this blog I will focus on the many health benefits of tomatoes.  I am guessing that if you are reading this blog, you are already a fan of tomatoes and tomato sauces.  This is a good thing as you get lots of nutrition from this vegetable and it’s available in lots of forms: fresh, heirloom varieties, sweet cherry, sun-dried, tomato sauces, tomato pastes, pureed, fire-roasted, etc.

 

Tomatoes are part of the nightshade vegetable group and come in a variety of colors, ranging from yellow to purple. Nightshade vegetables also include eggplant, bell peppers and potatoes.  Botanically, tomatoes are technically a fruit, but most of us consider it a vegetable and I will too for the purposes of this blog.  As far as phytonutrients go, they are chock full of them.  In addition to being a good source of vitamins C and K, betacarotene, and lycopene they are also good sources of vitamin E, folate, potassium and the mineral manganese.

 

All of these phytonutrients support cardiovascular health by keeping the blood vessels clear, regulating fats in the blood and decreasing bad cholesterol.  A new area of research also shows that lycopene is beneficial to bone health.  Lastly, tomatoes have immune-boosting anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits, specifically on the prostrate, breast, pancreas and lung.  The antioxidants A and C fight the free radicals that cause cell damage which can lead to cancer.

 

One fact that Mama Jess is particularly proud of is that cooked tomatoes (found in jarred sauces) actually make the nutrients of tomatoes 2 times as more bioavailable to our bodies! And in combination with olive oil, it helps our body absorb those nutrients too. There are several studies on prostrate cancer and jarred tomato sauces that found they can cut the risk by 22%.  One of Mama Jess’ great recipes for tomato-power is a Triple Tomato Topped Pizza (simply top your pizza crust with Mama Jess Bean Good, sliced sun-dried tomatoes and fresh sliced tomatoes!)

 

After reading all of that, I’m sure that you are convinced, like I am to eat way more tomatoes!  So here is my recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup :

 

chicken enchilada soup
Serves 8
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Total Time
6 hr
Total Time
6 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (I have found a local free range chicken that is just delicious)
  2. 30 oz diced tomatoes (I like to use canned fire roasted tomatoes. They give the soup an extra kick)
  3. 10 oz Mama Jess Bien Good Enchilada Sauce
  4. 4 oz chopped mild green chiles
  5. 1 quart chicken broth
  6. 2 15-oz cans of black or pinto beans (look for beans with no added salt and sugar)
  7. 10 oz frozen corn
  8. ½ medium onion, chopped
  9. 1 tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
  10. 1 tsp. cumin, chili powder and salt
  11. ½ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
  1. if you prefer a slow cooker, place all ingredients into a 6 qt. slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  2. i like making my soups on the stovetop and let it simmer for a few hours.
  3. whichever method you prefer, check that the chicken is thoroughly cooked, remove it, shred it and return it to the pot until you are ready to serve.
  4. finish the soup off with chopped fresh avocado, lime wedges, fresh cilantro and shredded cheese and tortilla chips if you like. if you like sour cream, try adding a dollop of plain greek yogurt. you won’t notice the difference.
enjoy!
Notes
  1. as much as possible, I recommend organic ingredients to reduce exposure to pesticides, preservatives and additives. with Mama Jess Sauces, you do not have to worry about these. also, we don’t buy a ton of meat at our house, so when I do purchase meat, it is a high quality, minimally processed, additive free meat. it is more expensive, but our health is worth it!
  2. remember too that you can make this meat free by omitting the chicken and substituting the chicken broth for a vegetable broth. it still has all the protein you need and the phytonutrients from all those vegetables and beans.
  3. it can also be frozen!
mama jess http://mamajess.com/

I hope that you and your family enjoy this soup as much as I have!  Enjoy your fall.  Until next time!

 

Kelly

kelly@mamajess.com

Mama Jess Contributor

 

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