I bet many of you don’t know this… tomatoes are good for your heart! My grandmother had heart disease and my family lost her because of it. My grandmother didn’t take care of her heart. At the time, it just wasn’t something that people did. Now, with all the medical knowledge available to us, there is no excuse. Because of my grandma though, we all take care of our hearts to make sure we live long and healthy lives. With each year of age, I worry more and more of my heart health and am making changes in our diets to ensure our heart health.
ConAgra Foods, the makers of Hunt’s Tomatoes, have released some information shedding light on the benefits of tomatoes to heart health. One such finding is “two servings of canned tomato products daily experienced a significant decrease in blood pressure”. As a sufferer of borderline high blood pressure, this finding is especially interesting to me. Here are a few more facts from ConAgra:
- Tomatoes not only contain high levels of carotenoid antioxidants such as lycopene, but also serve as a significant source of vitamin C, fiber and potassium in the American diet.
- Calorie for calorie, tomatoes contain more than twice the potassium of other common sources such as bananas, potatoes, milk and orange juice.
- Tomatoes are America’s favorite non-starchy vegetable and account for 85 percent of the lycopene consumed in the U.S.
- Lycopene absorption is two to three times greater in canned tomato products than raw tomatoes.
With this much information known to us, wouldn’t it be such an easy undertaking to add canned tomatoes to our diets and those of our families. Little changes can make big differences. I know that we will be using canned tomatoes for our recipes. Because, after all, I want to keep my family healthy and doing it in a way that they will accept readily makes it that much easier.
I wanted to share a recipe that we love that uses canned tomatoes. Hopefully this will give you an idea for using tomatoes to keep your heart healthy!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cooked and diced
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can Hunt’s diced tomatoes
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 16 ounces processed cheese spread
- 10 (6 inch) corn tortillas
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a 5 quart pot combine the chicken, cream of celery soup, cream of chicken soup, enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes and green chiles, onion, garlic, chicken broth, chili powder and cheese. Heat over medium high until the cheese is melted and all of the ingredients are mixed together well.
- In a 9×13 inch baking dish, layer the mixture and the tortillas like you would lasagna. Make sure to put a thin layer of the mixture on the bottom of the baking dish to prevent sticking. After layering, place dish in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cheese starts to brown and bubble. Let stand and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving!
This is delicious so be sure to give it a try. You can even prepare it the night before and bake it the next day!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post through The Motherhood. Factual information shared from Hunt’s and ConAgra. All opinions are my own.
Stefani says
Sounds yummy to me!
ConnieFoggles says
Sounds yummy and easy to make too! I learned that diced green chiles are not spicy and add some extra flavor to my meals.