Welcome to Diet and Fitness Podcast, a free audio podcast sponsored by Diet.com. This is your fit, fun and fabulous host, Lady Diet, ready to give you the skinny on the latest diet fitness health tips and news.

No matter how you say it, you’ve got reason nowadays to re-think your tomato intake. You could risk salmonella poisoning, OR you could scope out your options for the next few weeks till this scare passes.

Don’t play Russian roulette with your Roma tomatoes – take a shot at some of these tasty substitutes.

1. Top tomatoes as a topping. Tomatoes are great on a burger, but let’s be real – they aren’t the ONLY thing you can top your summer-liciously grilled delight with. When it comes to toppings, you can totally top tomatoes. Try guacamole or light cream cheese. Jalapenos add a post-grill kick, as does taco seasoning when added to your beef before you pack it into patties! And if you’re a mushroom lover, grill up a Portobello and top your burger with that! Oh man, if I talk about these toppings anymore, I’m going to have to abandon this recording and go find a grill. Mmmm!!

2. B.L.S.E. BLTs are, like, soooo retro. Make your “Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato” a “Bacon, Lettuce and Somethin’ Else!” Again, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Here’s a few ideas to get your anti-tomato juices flowing: Bacon, lettuce, avocado. Bacon, lettuce, jalapeño. Bacon, lettuce, fried egg. I am getting very hungry…

3. Salsa smash. Get your taste buds dancing to a salsa beat. The typical tomato, chilies, onions, jalapeños combo may have been fine for your grandmother, but let’s dip into a tomato-less update, shall we?! Give your chips a new dip they’ll really dig -- a citrus salsa. Chop up some orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime, mix in with some red onion and freshly-squeezed citrus juices and olive oil, and you’ve got an outrageously juicy and titillating chip dip on your hands!

4. Re-fruit your salad. If you can’t imagine your salad without a few big chunks of ripe red tomato atop it, then it’s time to expand your imagination. There’s more fruit to life than tomatoes on a salad. Try juicy strawberries, crisp apple slices, or chewy dried cranberries for a refreshing change of pace and taste!

Tomatoes should be ashamed of themselves for suddenly becoming so potentially dangerous to eat. But don’t see red – try our terrific tomato alternatives for a bit and say “see ya” to salmonella!

If you have any comments or suggestions about today’s podcast or any fun health diet or fitness tip, please feel free to email me at ladydietpodcast@diet.com.

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