Tomatoes.

I am addicted to tomatoes. Like, seriously. I not only like them, I crave them every day. I have to include them in everything that makes sense (salads, soups, chopped on top of noodles, guac, etc.) and things that don’t (orange juice, most recently). If good ones weren’t so damn expensive, I’d mono-eat them every day.

I wish to consume you, my savory friend.

The cool part? Not only are they incredibly delicious, they’re super awesome nutrient-wise. Certain cancers have been proven to be held up by high amounts of lycopene. (Tomatoes have one of the highest lycopene levels in any fruit.) Need a boost in your daily vitamin C? (Tomatoes have 40% of the RDA.) Coumaric and chlorogenic acid have been found to help block some carcinogens in tobacco smoke. (Tomatoes have them.) High cholesterol? (Tomatoes can help with that, too.)

Aw, I love you, too. I’m going to eat you now.

Some fun facts about this lovely fruit:

• The origin of the word “tomato” comes from the Aztec “xitomati”, which means, literally, “plump thing with a navel”.
• Tomatoes are the fourth most popular unprocessed “vegetable” behind potatoes, lettuce, and onions.
• Not only are tomatoes fruits, but they’re also berries, since they originate from a single ovary.
• Americans spend more money on salsa than ketchup.
• An astonishing 93% of gardening households grow tomatoes.
• Depending on who you ask, there are 10,000-25,000 varieties of tomatoes out there.
• The tomato is the state fruit and vegetable of Arkansas, and the state beverage of Ohio.
• In Spain, there’s a village that holds an annual tomato fight. Count. Me. In.

I made this soup last night. It was pretty delicious! I added in a couple sun-dried tomatoes and didn’t use as much OJ, but it was still something worth making again. I highly recommend checking out her Youtube channel; she has a lot of good LFRV meal ideas. (I really want to try the first savory summer recipe, but I’ve recently gone off tahini. :( )

The recipe:

Makes enough for two semi-hungry people

2 1/2 cups of tomato

1 1/2 cups of thawed (or fresh) berries

1 cup of orange juice

squeeze of lemon juice

two leaves of basil

two leaves of sage