Carrots provide more health-promoting carotenoids than any other vegetable. Crunch your way to better vision, healthier kidneys, and a stronger liver with this sweet, bright root.
Ingredients
Preparation
HEALTH BENEFITS
Step 1
Carotenoids, the antioxidants that give carrots their yellow-orange pigment, may protect against certain types of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts. What’s more, beta-carotene is converted by the body into vitamin A, which is essential for healthy skin and for helping the eyes adjust from bright light to darkness. Vitamin A also nourishes the tissues of your respiratory and intestinal tracts, and helps to boost the immune system. Other perks include soluble fiber, vitamin C, and some calcium. Purple carrots also contain anthocyanin, a flavonoid with antioxidant properties that may help prevent heart disease and stroke.
HOW TO BUY
Step 2
Choose firm, bright orange carrots without splits or cracks. The deeper the orange color, the more beta-carotene is present. The leafy tops should be bright green.
HOW TO STORE
Step 3
If carrots come with greens, trim them down immediately to one inch; otherwise the carrots will go limp and lose their nutrients more quickly. Compost the greens, discard them, or keep them to integrate into salads. Carrots without their tops will stay fresh for about two weeks stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
PREPARATION TIP
Step 4
Since beta-carotene is fat-soluble, cook carrots with a bit of healthy fat, such as olive oil, or toss them into a salad with an oil-and-vinegar dressing to help your body absorb the beta-carotene more fully. Steaming carrots until crisp-tender makes their nutrients more available to the body; cook in a basket or colander, covered, over simmering water until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Watch the mush factor, though—overcooking can diminish the beta-carotene.
DID YOU KNOW?
Step 5
“Baby carrots” aren’t a different breed or shorter versions of regular carrots. Farmers plant these carrots closer together to keep them slim and easier to cut. Once picked, they’re peeled, cut to snack size, and packaged for the baby-cut market.
Recipes
Step 6
Greek Yogurt and Vegetable Sandwiches p.125
Step 7
Carrot Soup p.140
Step 8
Lentil, Carrot, and Lemon Soup with Fresh Dill p.152
Step 9
Miso Soup with Tofu, Spinach, and Carrots p.159
Step 10
Curry-Rubbed Salmon with Napa Slaw p.211
Step 11
Chicken Breasts with Fennel, Carrots, and Couscous p.260
Step 12
Glazed Carrots with Ginger p.281
Step 13
Carrot Latkes p.285
Step 14
Roasted Fall Vegetables p.294
