I don’t have a yard that is designed to grow a lot of things that require full sun, but I have a very sunny side porch that is suitable for pots of flowers and vegetables. Since I only have a little room there, I have chosen to grow two pots of tomatoes. Nothing tastes any better than a fresh tomato, still warm from the sun. I already have six little green tomatoes growing and soaking up that sun, and pretty soon, I should be able to sink my teeth into them. Not only are they delicious, though; they are very nutritionally healthy for us. I heard Dr. Oz on the Oprah show call tomato paste a miracle substance!

What I’ve read about tomatoes is that they are very high in vitamin C and E and in a substance called lycopene. From what I understand, it’s the lycopene that is the “miracle” substance in tomatoes. What lycopene does, besides giving the bright red color to tomatoes, it’s an antioxidant that may help prevent prostate cancer and some other forms of cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases. In the body, lycopene is deposited in the liver, lungs, prostate gland, colon and skin. Its concentration in body tissues tends to be higher than all other carotenoids. This is why it’s so valuable to us.

Dr. Oz says that while eating fresh tomatoes is good for us, eating the processed tomato juice, tomato sauce, and tomato paste is even better for us because the lycopene is concentrated. And if you add healthy olive oil to the mix, the body absorbs the lycopene even better and we have the beginnings of a miracle working in our bodies.

There are so many things that can be made from tomato sauce and tomato paste. Who doesn’t love a delicious bowl of chili or a fresh, steaming bowl of vegetable soup? How about a succulent tomato sauce over pasta? I even remember my mother making a spice cake when I was a little girl that had a can of tomato soup in it! You can probably think of hundreds of recipes that include tomatoes.

So, this summer, while I enjoy my fresh tomatoes, I’ll enjoy other vitamin rich vegetables and fruits. A diet full of vegetables and fruits is a diet that will improve our bodies and make us healthier than ever. And it’s so scrumptious, too!