I know your thinking, carrots…that’s not a very interesting ingredient! And I have to be honest with you, I’m not a huge carrot fan myself. I definitely don’t reach for carrots when I’m looking for a healthy snack. But I really want to like carrots, because they’re SOOOO cheap and they keep forever! So I went on a quest to find a few easy and healthy ways to use carrots that are a little more appetizing than just biting into a huge chunk of raw carrot. But first…some nutritional facts about carrots!
Health benefits of carrots:
- 1 cup of carrots = 52 calories That’s a lot of carrots!
- Good source of dietary fiber (that’s the digestible kind!)
- Great source of beta carotene…it boosts the immune system, promotes eye health and hair/skin/nail health
- Good source of vitamins A, C, K, and Potassium
How to incorporate carrots into your diet this week:
- Use carrots to dip in your guacamole or humus instead of crackers or chips. Much healthier!
-
Moroccan Carrot Salad: (This recipe sounds kind of weird, but I promise it’s REALLY good! And really easy!)
- 4 cups carrots, coarsely grated (I get the pre-done carrots!)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 12 carrots
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut carrots into ½ inch thick slices. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay carrots on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 20 minutes. Toss with dill/parsley and enjoy!
Have a happy healthy Day!
Caitlin
- Moroccan Carrot Salad for lunch today! Yum yum! And it took me literally 1 minute to make last night!
TheHealthyWife.com 
Lyssa said,
April 19, 2011 at 5:32 pm
I actually love carrots, but find myself not patient enough to cook them. Here is the one recipe that I absolutely cannot live without. (it won’t be as good for you as yours, but it actually might not be that bad, I’ve never looked.) Also should note, I don’t measure, my mom taught me to eyeball, so sorry, but no exact measurements! I also use the smallest pot I have (it’s tiny, i think it only holds a cup of water).
~Somewhere around a cup of baby carrots (or whatever you feel is needed for dish, this is usually made for four people)
~Table spoon of butter (or so, estimate with how many carrots you use)
~I throw in a little bit of water, to help steam the carrots and keep anything from burning. Keep on medium heat for a few minutes, until the carrots start to get tender (START, that is important, we want the sauce to thicken)
~Now is when the fun (and not so healthy part starts)
~Drizzle 1/4 cup maple syrup over carrots (what I put in looks like about a 1/4 cup, cover the bottom of the pan just barely, remember my pan is tiny).
~Add a few pinches of brown sugar, to help thicken.
~A good amount of cinnamon. (optional:nutmeg and ginger. I personally think the three were made for each other.)
That’s it! Let it cook until the carrots are tender. If you feeling outlandish, and want to take it one more step, I would recommend topping it with an herb, like basil ’cause it’s sweet, but I’m more of a rosemary kinda girl. Either way, this is a fun side to add a little pizzaz to any dish. (just be warned, might not be that great for you, but you can take wherever you would like, I keep it healthy by going supper light on the sauce. AKA: not drizzling extra over the top. BUT we all have to have a little fun once in a while.) Hope this sheds a little fun onto your lack of love for carrots. ; ) ENJOY
thehealthywife said,
April 19, 2011 at 6:09 pm
YUM! Sounds delish! and not too bad for you as long as you dont use too much sauce, like you said! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to try this with the remainder of my bag of carrots this week!!!!
thestubbiechef said,
April 20, 2011 at 4:00 am
I love to snack on baby carrots. When I got to the bottom, your salad looked like a plate of cheese fries and I was momentarily confused. Then I read your caption and had to laugh. Thanks for sharing!
Mel said,
May 10, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Mmm, excited to try the oven roasted carrots! Carrots are one of my favorite raw veggies to eat, especially dipped in hummus.
thehealthywife said,
May 10, 2011 at 4:41 pm
mmm yes, LOVE hummus!