Tomatoes

I was never a tomato fan. Whenever I found tomato in my food e.g Chicken Rice, I'd remove them or gave them to whoever's dining with me. I knew tomatoes contain anti-oxidant and what-nots but it was very difficult to get my taste bud accustomed to the sourish taste.
However, lately or was it after my confinement period I found myself not really in favor of having tamarind juice in my cooking. First, I replaced with Asam Keping but it didn't enhance the taste. Next, I tried adding slices of tomatoes in my sambal tumis and everybody loved it. Now I'm adding them in almost all of the dishes; curry, sambal udang, sambal ikan, gulai ikan, pasta sauce (of course! now I'm adding more). I'm sure I'll be improvising more recipes with tomatoes in the next few months.
After doing some readings, I also found out that tomatoes are good for the heart. For someone who used to have hypertension this is surely a good news.
So, my healthy eating progress this December: 1) Minimize meat in my dishes. 2) Eat more tomatoes.

Meat

I've been trying not to take too much meat since I started suffering from gastritis. According to the doctor, it was caused by poor digestion. I remember I always chewed my food quickly and swallowed them. I was always in a hurry during those days but I couldn't remember why.
The doctor prescribed the usual gastritis medication and advised me to changed my eating habit. It was a strict diet and I lost about 8kg after about 4 months. It was a no oil and no chilli diet. I was only allowed to have fish, chicken and vege. Meat was my biggest enemy back then.
When my health improved, I tried eating meat once in a while but my system took longer time to digest. I felt uneasy and sleepy after the meal. Eating meat during festive season usually would take a toll on my system. It also affected my bowel movement pattern. Finally, a few years ago I decided that I'd only survive with fish, chicken, seafood, vege and fruit.
If it's Hari Raya or entertaining friends, I'd limit myself to only a slice of meat.
There were times when I did consider becoming a vegetarian but realized I was not fully prepared. It's a huge step and a lot of things and habits need to be changed and I was just too lazy for them. Perhaps I might do it slowly. The first step is by omitting meat from my diet. That shouldn't be too difficult....