Get Heart Healthy with Hunt's Tomatoes

We love tomatoes and eat them almost every day. It's good to know that tomatoes are not only delicious but also promote heart health! Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the U.S. The research community has been constantly searching for ways to prevent heart diseases.

ConAgra, the maker of Hunt's tomatoes, recently presented some inspiring research results at the American Dietetic Assocation's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo and I would love to share some with you. You may read the press release announcing the study findings here.

• Beyond the widely recognized benefits of lycopene, recent studies have suggested that the distinct combination of nutrients found in tomatoes may have a measurable impact on heart disease prevention.
• According to a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, lycopene absorption is 2-3 times greater in canned tomato products than raw tomatoes.
• Using Hunt's tomatoes is a great way to get a significant source of fiber, Vitamin C and the antioxidant lycopene into your diet.
• Hunt's tomatoes are flash-steamed to help them keep their backyard-garden-fresh taste, are 100 percent natural and contain no artificial preservatives or ingredients. More information about Hunt's tomatoes and the FlashSteam process can be found at www.hunts.com
  

I have been consciously following suggestions for a heart healthy diet, hoping to lower the risk of getting any heart disease for my entire family. My grandma, who was sent to ER three times due to a heart attack, really inspires me to take care of my heart. For the past eight years, she has been following her doctor's advice, watching what she eats, and taking her meds on time. Now in her early nineties, my grandma is happy to find her heart in better condition than it was 10 years ago. It's incredible and inspiring! I want to keep my heart young both figuratively and literally. Eating heart healthy food is one of the easiest things I can do to achieve my goal. Cooking healthy food makes me feel that I have been taking good care of my family.

We love tomatoes also because it is so easy to incorporate them into our daily diet. There are so many ways to cook tomatoes, a popular ingredient in soup, sauce, appetizers, sides and main dishes. Quite a few of my favorite recipes include tomatoes. Now let me share my favorite tomato recipe from Hunt's website, a great place for recipe inspiration.

Tuscan-Style Pasta with Arugula (concept developed by The Culinary Institute of America.)

Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 (about 1-3/4 cups each)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (1 cup = about 1 large)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can (28 oz each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, undrained
1 can (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pkg (16 oz each) dry whole wheat rotini, uncooked
2 bags (5 oz each) baby arugula or baby spinach
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until starting to brown, stirring occasionally. Add yellow pepper and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until pepper is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
Add undrained tomatoes, beans, vinegar, salt and red pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. About 1 minute before pasta is done, add arugula or spinach. Drain pasta and arugula and return to pasta pan.
Add tomato-bean mixture to pasta; toss together. Serve topped with cheese.

For more great recipes using Hunt's tomatoes, please visit Hunt's Circle on The Motherhood.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time by The Motherhood. Thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.