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| Cherry Tomato eye's view of train going by Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, Atlanta |
Food’s got to taste good and look
good to win a cooking competition. Every contestant in a recipe contest or
chef’s cook-off knows that. First we eat with our eyes, as the saying goes. The
tomato cheesecake with an ice cream bun was so pretty and impressed the judges’
palates so much Donald Sargent of Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream was the big
winner at Georgia Organic’s Fourth Annual Attack of The Killer Tomato Festival.
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| Along with fellow Les Dames d'Escoffier member, Angie Mosier ( not pictured) I got to emcee the Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival Put that on your resume! |
For the field of Atlanta area chefs and mixologists the food focus was on
Georgia grown tomatoes of all colors, shapes and sizes yielding some crazy and
creative bites and beverages for food lovers gathered at JCT Kitchen and around
the west midtown complex. Tyler Williams of Abattoir whipped out the liquid
nitrogen to create a frozen tomato Greek salad - a serving of tiny frozen balls
that burst with flavor and ate like ‘dippin dots’ ice cream.
Linton Hopkins of
Restaurant Eugene poured tomato gravy on pulled pork sliders and Drew Beline of
NO. 246 presented elegant bites of roasted tomato and goat cheese tortellini in
tomato brodo with small tomatoes and basil.
Eat For Your Eyes
Foods are more appealing when they
look beautiful and nothing’s prettier than a summer tomato! But, looks like we should
be eating for our eyes too. Nutrition researchers are gazing into our eyes to illuminate
the link between nutrition and eye health.
Their important diet discoveries go beyond eating carrots to see better
in the dark. Carrots still rank high on the eye-sight- saving menu but other
heroes, perhaps even more important, are emerging from the farm.
Scientists
have set their sights on green leafy and deep orange or yellow vegetables such
as spinach, kale, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, carrots, collard greens, yellow squash and turnip
greens because they contain two natural carotenoid plant pigments called lutein
and zeaxanthin.
They are both potent antioxidants thought to protect the eyes
against damaging light waves and free radicals that may cause cataracts, glaucoma,
diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A 2011 study in the British Journal of
Nutrition reports that lutein can reduce risk of cataracts by up to forty
percent and a 2007 study in the Archives of Ophthalmology found that lutein may
cut risk of AMD by thirty five percent.
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| Pizza with arugula! Looking good for taste buds and eye health. |
Lutein is also found in eggs, especially the yolk. Take note of that and skip the egg white omelets.
Chef Carvel Gould
of Canoe chose to perch a tiny quail egg on top of a biscuit with slices of
fresh and preserved tomato for her
Tomato Fest entry. Talk about easy on the eyes!
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| Cage free egg at Ecco restaurant, Atlanta. |
Recipe note: since lutein is a
fat-soluble nutrient absorption is increased when consumed with a little oil. So
it’s good to know that olive oil drizzled on summer’s fresh salads is good for
your taste buds and your eyes.
Focus on Foods
Other powerful antioxidant nutrients
associated with maintaining overall eye health are zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E
and beta-carotene.
The two leading causes of visual loss and blindness are cataracts and AMD,
affecting more than 22 million Americans. Lutein is important for the
development of an infant’s eye sight (attention moms-to-be) and maintaining
children’s vision health (another reason to eat your vegetables kids!). So make lutein a routine for good eye health throughout the lifespan!
Happily,
many of the foods rich in nutrients good for our eyes are delicious additions
to any meal and are beautiful to look at too. How about those tomatoes?
Make Lutein a Routine!
Lutein/Zeaxanthin: kale, collard greens,
spinach, turnip greens, broccoli, avocado, zucchini, peas, corn, Brussels
sprouts, tangerines, dark leafy salad greens. Also, eggs.
Beta-carotene: carrots, mangos, sweet potato, greens, spinach,
tomatoes, broccoli, cantaloupe, kale, apricots.
Vitamin C: papaya,
citrus fruit, strawberries, tomato, mango, green peppers, berries.
Vitamin E: almonds,
wheat germ, whole grain breads, avocado, greens.
Zinc: oysters,
lobster, beef, poultry, pork, lentils, whole grain bread.
