Preparing Your Tomatoes for Juicing

Blanching Before Peeling : One to two at a time, put the tomatoes into a 3-quart saucepan of boiling water. Bring quickly back to a boil, and boil only for 10 seconds. Remove at once with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl of cold water.

Peeling : Cut out the stem with a small knife, cut a 1/2-inch cross in the skin at the bottom end, and strip off the peel. (You may want to save the peels for a tomato sauce, since the peel intensifies the red color as well as improving a little flavor.)

Seeding and Juicing : You may cut a peeled tomato in half crosswise and, holding one half, cut side down, gently squeeze out the juice and seeds, poking out the remaining seeds from the interstices with your little finger.

Saucing the Remains : Save all the remains for sauce, except the stems. Freeze the remains if you are not making a sauce right away.

The best way to get the most flavor out of your tomatoes is to juice them by themselves. However, there are a lot of options if you would like to flavor your tomato juice. You can add spices, some pure vanilla extract or some stevia to your tomato juice to suit your tastes.

Pure vanilla extract really helps to smooth the flavor of tomato juice. If you're a vanilla lover, then you will definitely enjoy this little added extra! Of course, you can add any other extract that you like. Another suggestion is to use pure extracts rather than artificial ones.

Stevia is another great sweetener to use. It's a natural sweetener that has no sugar and doesn't affect insulin levels. Stevia tastes quite sweet, so it's important to not use too much as to overpower the flavor of the tomato juice.

Tomato juice is a healthy, tasty drink that can help rejuvenate your energy. Experiment with different spices and flavors to find your favorite flavor. You can also combine tomato juice with apples, but we recommend you do not mix with any other fruits.

Study Shows Tomatoes May Protect Against Cancer

New medical research suggests that having lycopene in your diet may help prevent cancer. Lycopene can be found in tomatoes, and is best in a concentrated form or as fresh juice. The study involved 30 men with localized prostate cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgical removal of the prostate. For three weeks before the surgery, the men were arbitrarily selected to receive either a 15-milligram capsule of lycopene as a pure tomato extract, twice a day, or no intervention. Following removal of the prostates, the glands were analyzed to decide whether there were any differences between the two groups studied.

The investigators established that the group treated with lycopene supplements had smaller tumors; the cancer was more frequently restricted to the prostate, meaning the cancer did not spread to nearby tissue and organs. Levels of serum PSA (prostate specific antigen, a universal marker used to identify prostate cancer) actually decreased during the 3-week period that the men took the lycopene supplement. In addition, the tumors in participants who consumed lycopene showed signs of regression and decreased tumor.

Another study has indicated that tomato juice contains a factor which inhibits platelets in blood from clumping together and forming blood clots. Although it has never been studied, it has been noted that this may be beneficial to diabetes sufferers. The study had found that tomato juice actually thinned the blood of people with type-two diabetes. The juice had reduced "Platelet aggregation", (the ability for the blood to clot.) The study included 14 men and 6 women, aged 43 to 82 with type-two diabetes, and without any history of blood clotting difficulties. Neither of the participants were taking aspirin. The participants were arbitrarily selected to consume 250 millilitters of tomato juice, or a placebo, tomato flavored beverage, every day for three weeks. They were told to maintain their normal diet. Blood samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the study, and then analyzed. Platelet aggregation had dramatically decreased by the end of the trial for those drinking the pure tomato juice. Those drinking the placebo juice had no relevant changes in their platelet aggregation.

Tomato juice has amazing health benefits, and makes a really tasty drink. It tastes great on it's own and combined with other juices, flavors and spices. Make sure you check out all of the great recipes you can use with your home juicer!