Stupid question- is tomato sauce a vegetable?

[Anonymous]

I'm watching this documentary about food and it talks about how tomato paste is/isn't a vegetable. So how about tomato sauce, specifically 28 oz boxes of Pomi tomatoes or san marzano that I use when I make my homemade sauce which has no added sugar.

[Anonymous]

Tomato is a fruit...not a vegetable....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tomato is a fruit...not a vegetable....

touché

Maybe I should be more clear... Is it too processed to count as a whole food?

[Anonymous]

I don't count it, but I don't know what the right answer is.

[Anonymous]

No, its a whole food. Check what it is made of, but most canned/boxed tomato products are just tomatoes. Tomato paste is way high in sugar because it is concentrated, I think, and many tomato sauces are loaded with junk, but a box of crushed tomatoes is just...tomatoes.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't count it as a vegetable. Now if I make my own tomato sauce from scratch (although use canned crushed tomatoes and tomato paste), and add in some peppers, onions, and garlic, I may round up my veggie consumption for the day by .5 or something.

[Anonymous]

So 14:28, if you had a sliced tomato for lunch would you count that as a veggie serving? I don't see the difference (aside from water content).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So 14:28, if you had a sliced tomato for lunch would you count that as a veggie serving? I don't see the difference (aside from water content).

To me, there isn't an equivalence. It's like eating canned peaches or apples or something. It's not the same thing as a fresh peach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, its a whole food. Check what it is made of, but most canned/boxed tomato products are just tomatoes. Tomato paste is way high in sugar because it is concentrated, I think, and many tomato sauces are loaded with junk, but a box of crushed tomatoes is just...tomatoes.

This is what I was hoping to hear. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Not a whole food. Counts as a starch on the 21 day fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a whole food. Counts as a starch on the 21 day fix.

How is this possible? What's the difference between a tomato and a box of tomatoes with no added salt or sugar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a whole food. Counts as a starch on the 21 day fix.

How is this possible? What's the difference between a tomato and a box of tomatoes with no added salt or sugar?

The added ingredients. If you make your own with zero sugar it counts as a veggie, but canned? All the sugar and what not completely counter any benefit from the tomato.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a whole food. Counts as a starch on the 21 day fix.

How is this possible? What's the difference between a tomato and a box of tomatoes with no added salt or sugar?

The added ingredients. If you make your own with zero sugar it counts as a veggie, but canned? All the sugar and what not completely counter any benefit from the tomato.

Huh? A jar of diced tomatoes may not have added ingredients.

Anyway, heat processing fruit and veggies eliminates a lot of vitamins. A fresh tomato will have a lot more vitamin C than one that been jarred, for example.

[Anonymous]

1 heaped tablespoon of tomato purée counts as one portion of fruit and veg according to the UK's national health service: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/documents/downloads/5aday_portion_guide.pdf

Cooked tomatoes (in sauce) are a better source of lycopene than raw too.

[Anonymous]

I count it. It just shouldn't be your only veggies source.