Jewels of late summer

So I’m back from my two-week vacation, and I have to admit, the re-entry to reality has hit me like a ton of bricks. One day I was laying on the beach without a care in the world, the next I was catching up on laundry, fighting traffic and crowds while shopping for the work week ahead, and feeling tired because I was staying up late getting things done.

Summer is my favorite time of the year. I love the heat, the fun in the sun, the feeling of celebration. I admit I’m feeling a little sad right now thinking that with the conclusion of my vacation, it’s all about to come to an end.

It’s so easy to feel like summer is over. Or is it?

Yes, the days are starting to get shorter again. Where I live, attention is focused on back-to-school for the kids, a sure sign of fall. We had a brief respite from the heat and it almost felt like early September in the mornings. People are coming back from vacation and getting back down to business.

But there is one very important aspect of summer that’s still going strong. The food!

My mother always used to say that summer is the best time to eat, and she was so right. The bounty of fresh fruits – berries and melons – makes my mouth water just thinking about it, whether it’s the beginning of summer or the dog days of August.

One food that really comes into its stride in August is tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes!

Since tomatoes are often eaten in salads, people mistakenly think they’re a vegetable. Because they have seeds, they’re actually a fruit. It’s an age-old debate, but whether or not you refer to them as a fruit or a vegetable, tomatoes are an amazing treasure trove of nutrition that we all should be eating more of

Tomatoes are loaded with nutrients and vitamins. They have significant amounts of Vitamins A, C and K, and thiamin, potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosperous and copper.

For fertility, tomatoes are a great source of Vitamin B6 and folate. If you’ve been reading B-Method, you already know that these are essential nutrients for fertility. They help regulate your hormones and ovulation, which is often the first step in managing fertility-related concerns or women.

In addition, tomatoes are packed full of essential antioxidants, which are important for protecting the quality of our cells (including the all-important egg cells) and heart health, which is important for both men and women.

Tomatoes also contain lycopene, an antioxidant found to improve the quantity and quality of sperm so it’s a great food for male fertility as well. A recent study of men with unexplained infertility who were given lycopene supplements for three months found a direct correlation between lycopene and fertility improvement – 67% of the men had improvements with the condition of their sperm in all three areas – quantity, motility and morphology.

Some ideas for eating tomatoes:

Soups, sauces and condiments – who doesn’t love ketchup? – are all common ways to eat tomatoes. Throwing tomatoes into a green salad is common too. But tomatoes also make a great snack. And the best tomato snacks are simple because juicy tomatoes need little embellishment to shine!

• One late summer snack that I love is very simple: slice up fresh a fresh tomato off the vine, drizzle it with a little olive oil, sprinkle a dash of sea salt and pepper, and OMG, it’s like eating candy.   Sometimes I also add crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese atop the tomatoes. I can’t get enough of it!

• Another of my favorite summer snacks is chopped up tomatoes and avocados tossed together. The flavor is so amazing. All you need is a little salt to punch it up and maybe a little olive oil. During late summer, I eat this one at least once a week! (avocados are also a real fertility power house food)

• Grape tomatoes are an easy and delicious snack. You don’t have to do any chopping or slicing. I keep a baggie with grape tomatoes in my purse so I can have them when I’m on the go. Why have a bag of M&Ms when you can have a bag of delicious, healthy and just-as-sweet grape tomatoes!

How do you like to eat your tomatoes? I’m always looking for new ways to make yummy tomatoes, so share your favorite recipes below!

Lots of love,

Stephanie