Today’s dish is a result of me getting in the test kitchen sort of mood, as I decided to make lemon-aide from lemons you might say — or in this case, Fried Green Tomatoes from a “whoops” in the garden.
Five days ago, my husband and I were in the garden tending it and noticed that the Early Grow Tomato plant was very happy and becoming heavy-laden by four tomatoes it had produced on one vine. Our original support was just not doing the job and it needed something stronger to support the growing fruit. So, we tried adding a sturdier cage while gently lifting the vines. We were able to manipulate it in such a way that we felt confident the new structure was secure. He walked away satisfied, but no, I had to go give it one more little push into the ground. That’s when my ears heard a ***snnnnnap!!!*** and my heart dropped to my stomach. Sure enough, the stem that was heavy laden with four beautiful Early Grow Tomatoes had snapped at the base and was separated from the main plant. Ugh! I stared at my mishap. Double UGH! I thought.
So, I pulled the tomatoes off the broken vine and put the broken stem and leaf in my compost pile and hauled my four (very green) tomatoes up to the house sad that I had just spoiled my first crop in an aim to put that support in the ground perfectly. They sat on the counter all week as I didn’t have the heart to throw them out. No ripening, they just sat there, staring back at me and reminding me of my mishap. But then I got an idea… Remember that recipe that I used to coat chicken breast that my kids loved? What if we did a Southern thang’ and tried it on my green tomatoes?!
I sliced into those Early Grow (very green) tomatoes and they were beautiful. I gave them a bath in one whipped egg and coated them with my Gluten Free Breaded-but-without-bread Chicken Strips recipe. I backed off on the cayenne pepper by half and left out the turmeric (although it would be great in there as well.) And threw it in a hot pain sizzling with some bacon grease (my ghee wasn’t ready yet – ghee would be healthier, but the flavor was fantastic using the bacon grease.)
The first batch got a little burnt (see below pic), because I kept it on too high of heat (it was just above medium heat) for too long. The next batch turned out perf’ after I turned the heat to just below medium heat and then flipped the green tomato after about 40-seconds of grill time in my little sauce pan.
I only did a few at a time as they cook quickly.
Flip when the edges start turning light brown. I added a little bit of ranch on the side to balance out the spices in the Gluten Free Breaded-but-without-bread Chicken Strips recipe. My guys LOVED it! My picky 6-year-old and my sometimes picky 11 year-old both gave me two thumbs up! And their father came back for seconds! Whoop whoop!
Tomatoes have long been linked to heart health. Fresh tomatoes and tomato extracts have been shown to help lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Tomatoes help in the regulation of fats in the blood — numerous phytonutrients in tomatoes have been shown to help prevent excessive clumping of our platelet cells. (This ability is usually referred to as an “antiaggregatory effect.”)
Tomatoes also have outstanding antioxidant content, including, of course, their oftentimes-rich concentration of lycopene. Research has shown that there is an important connection between lycopene, its antioxidant properties, and bone health. In a 4-week study of post-menopausal women, it was shown that those who did not consume lycopene-containing foods (like tomatoes) experienced increased signs of oxidative stress in their bones and unwanted changes in their bone tissue.
They are also very low on the glycemic index which means you can enjoy without worrying about a spike in your insulin levels.
And lastly, there have been some studies that show that tomatoes have anti-cancer benefits. As you know, in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), there is a greater risk for Ovarian Cancer, so tomatoes may be beneficial.
One word to my PCOS Cysters — if you are experiencing severe joint pain and suffering from an arthritic condition, you may want to skip this snack/side dish idea. Joint pain can be caused by high uric acid in your body or because of arthritis. Night shades (which tomatoes are considered) are pro-inflammatory in some body types so you may want to check with your physician treating your arthritis before consuming this type of dish.
If you try making this recipe, I hope you share your pic and feedback in the comments below! Enjoy! (PS: Maybe even watch the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” while eating this! Ha!)
Gluten-free Fried Green Tomatoes
INGREDIENTS:
Gluten-Free Coating Mix:
• 1 cup Almond Flour
• ½ tsp Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp Onion Powder
• ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper, Ground
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP Organic Kelp Granules
• ½ tsp Thyme
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• Ghee or Bacon Grease for frying
Main Ingredient:
• Organic Green Tomatoes
Egg Bath:
• 1 Egg
TOOLS:
• Cutting Board and Knife
• Frying Pan
• Spatula for flipping fried green tomatoes
• small open bowl large enough to place tomato into for egg bath
• small open bowl large enough to place tomato into for coating mix
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat your frying pan at just below medium heat.
2. Slice green tomatoes to about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick.
3. Whip one egg in a small open bowl that is large enough to place a tomato into the egg bath coating both sides of the tomato with raw egg.
4. Move green tomato immediately into the gluten-free coating mix and coat both sides of the green tomato with gluten-free coating mix.
5. Add a ½ tsp of bacon grease to the hot pan (make sure the pan isn’t too hot or it will splatter). It should melt quickly. You want to move the pan so that the bacon grease coats the entire bottom of the pan.
6. Add your green tomato coated with the egg batter and gluten-free coating mix into the pan.
7. Allow your green tomato to cook in the pan for about a minute. The edges will turn a light-brown. Flip and cook for about the same time on the other side.
8. Remove from heat and serve with a little bit of ranch dressing (optional).
This recipe is refined-sugar free, gluten-free, corn-free, and lactose-free.
PCOSbites 