Tips from a tomato

1. Start with a veggie packed smoothie: Blend tomato juice, peeled cucumber, carrot juice and ice.

2. Take tomatoes out of the fridge and put them in your fruit bowl. Chilling ruins their flavor and texture.

3. Make pasta sauce without turnng on the stove: Mix 6 chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, oregano and salt.

4. Healthy snack: Spread cottage cheese on whole grain crackers; top with sliced grape tomatoes.

5. Zigzag a sharp knife around the top of a large firm tomato, scoop out the insides and fill with dip for a party.

6. Dry your tomatoes: Drizzle halved plum tomatoes with olive oil, season with salt and roast at 250 degrees for 4 hours.

7. Add tomato paste in a tube to your shopping list. It lasts for months in the fridge.

8. Make inside-out BLT's for dinner: Mix diced tomatoes, crumbled bacon, mayo and croutons: roll up in lettuce leaves.

9. Revive a bland tomato with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It helps bring out the tomato's sweetness and acidity.

10. For a less messy burger topping, slice tomatoes vertically. They hold their shape better.

11. Toss yellow and orange tomatoes into a fruit salad; they're sweeter than red ones.