Yesterday I forgot to include the juice we have for breakfast.  We make our own juice and this year we have tomato and grape.  Usually we have apple but this year we did not squeeze any apples.  Hopefully next year we will have apples from our own trees and then we will have apple juice again.  The tomato juice comes from our own tomatoes, this year we planted 82 plants and next year we will make it an even 100.  We are increasing the size of the tomato bed because we had to buy 40 pounds of tomatoes to finish our canning.  When we can we peel the tomatoes, these peelings are put onto the blueberries to increase the acidity in the soil.  Then we take out all the seeds and strain them, the liquid is our tomato juice and the pulp we cook up as Marinara Speghetti Sauce.  Today I will give you that recipe and sing the praises of tomatoes.   In a large stew pot put the 20 pounds of peeled and deseeded chopped tomatoes, 3 large onions chopped fine, 9 garlic cloves minced, 4 Tbsp chopped parsley, 4 Tbsp chopped dried mustard leaves, 4 bay leaves, 2 Tbs dried basil leaves, 3 Tbsp dried oregano leaves, 1 Tbs dried marjoran, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened to sesired consistancy, at least 2 hours.  Put into hot serilized quart jars, seal  and process.   We put up between 85 and 95 jars each year.  We started this because it was almost impossible to find speghetti sauce with so little salt and we found the family all loved the home made so we make some for our daughter and her family.  We have it at least once a week all year.  We have it on speghetti, in chicken cacciatore and on pizza.  For pizza put the sauce into the food blender or chopper for a few seconds and it become the perfect pizza sauce.   Now why tomatoes,  they are a great source of vitamins A and C, folate, and potassium and a good source of lycopene, an antioxidant that pretects against some cancers. Harvard researchers found that men who consumed tomatoes or tomato-based foods -including pizza- at least four times a week had a 20 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than those who avoided tomatoes.  Men who ate tomatoes 10 times a week reduced their risk by almost half. It didn’t matter what form the tomatoes were in, although cooked tomatoes appeared to be more protective than fresh.  The researchers theorized that lycopenes- Bioflavonoids that are closely related to beta carotene- are the natural cancer-fighting agents in tomatoes. (Lycopenes are also found in pink grapefruits and watermelons)  They also speculate that cooking releases the fat-soluble lycopenes from the fruits’ cells, and that a small amount of oil, such as that in pizza or tomato sauce, intensifies the protective effect.   One medium-sized tomato contains only 25 calories, together with about 20mg of vitamin C and 1,400 I.U. of vitamin A, in the form of its precursor, beta carotene.  Most of the vitamin C is concentrated in the jellylike substance that encases the seeds. The seeds are what makes the bitter taste in some recipes when cooked so we remove as many of these as possible.  Ripe tomatoes contain up to 4 times as much vitamin A as green tomatoes but ripe or green tomatoes are otherwise nutritionally similar.  I also make my our tomato paste and catsup to that I can limit the amount of salt and us only olive oil as my fat source.   The figs are a good source of magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron as well as fiber.   The cherries are a good source of vitamin C and high in fiber that lowers cholesterol.  Raisins provide iron, potassium and a good source of fiber.   I have a quick rule of thumb for picking the fruits and vegetables each day.  I want some bright colored ones as that tells me  I am getting my antioxidants, the brighter the color the more antioxidants, these are the agents that take care of the free radicals your body releases as you process your food, free radicals are the agents that make you age.  The antioxidants are necessary for a healty heart and good eye sight.  Then I make sure I have at least one white vegetable each such as onion, mushroom, parsnip, etc .  These help to boost your immune system,  Then I like to include a green vegetable for the iron, and vitamins. Your should also include a root vegetable each day for the minerals that only the root vegetables can provide.  Keeping your colors varied each day assures you a good balanced diet.  Oats are high in soluble fiber, which can help lower blood cholesterol levels, thus possible reducing the risk of heart attacks.  I also helps the body utilize insulin more efficiently, an important asset in controling diabetes.  Have a great day and get it off to a good start.