Simple & beautiful tomato salad

Had this last night with some herb roast chicken and roasted cauliflower sprinkled with sumac.  Fab.  the recipe is courtesy of Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly’s Ketogenic Kitchen.   If you are doing ketogenic diet and want to track carbs, protein etc, get the fatsecret app – even the free version is great.

For 4
4 large ripe beef tomatoes (1200g) 0r equivalent weight of vine tomatoes
Natural Himalayan/sea salt
Black pepper
1 medium red onion, finely diced
Small bunch of mint, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
80ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon or a splash of sherry vinegar
Macronutrients per serving: Net carbs 12.2g, protein 2.8g, fat 25.9g, fibre 4.1g

1. Slice tomatoes into rounds, lay the slices out on a platter and sprinkle with salt.
2. Leave for 20 minutes or more.  This makes the tomatoes release their juices.
3. Drain off juices and whisk together with the other ingredients.
4. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste, and pour the dressing over the tomatoes.  Serve.

Why this is good for you
Did you know that every vegetable, herb, spice and fruit contains a range of polyphenols (sorry, potatoes and bananas don’t contain many!).  Polyphenols defend plants against threats e.g. viruses, fungi, bacteria, predators and UV rays.  When you eat polyphenols they help strengthen all your body tissues and protect you against all chronic health conditions .  Organic plants have more polyphenols because they are exposed to attack.  They are not cocooned by pesticides and herbicides (herbicides kill soil bacteria).  Attack stimulates plants to upregulate their defences – polyphenols.   It’s a bit like when you train at the gym – you tear muscle fibres and the damage stimulates muscle to grow back bigger and stronger.

We absolutely need to be eating a wide range of plants including herbs and spices, over the course of every week.  Tomatoes, mint, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic all contain a big range of polyphenols.  Tomatoes alone contain hydroxycinnamic acids, flavanones, flavonols, and anthocyanins, rutin and kaempferol-3-rutinoside and a lot of naringenin chalcone.

Raw extra virgin olive oil is a fantastic source of vitamin E.  Vitamin E is anti-viral because it helps vitamin C work longer in your body.  It also moisturises all your surfaces, outside and in.  It is essential for the health of your heart, your skin, your brain, everything.  Only VERY expensive vitamin E supplements contain the full range of vitamin E compounds.  But if you eat many plants, a variety of raw nuts and seeds, lots of extra virgin olive oil and your digestive system is working perfectly you will be getting more vitamin E than most.