CARROTS: Health Benefits & Delicious Recipes
We all know that carrots are healthy for us; the carrot is arguably the foremost popular vegetable within the times, and it absolutely does deserve an area in our daily cuisine.
The carrot is a root vegetable often claimed to be the perfect health food.
Orange carrots take their brilliant color from “beta carotene”, an antioxidant that your body converts into vitamin A.
In this article, we will explore some benefits of carrots and some delicious recipes with carrots.
Health benefits of carrots :
Weight loss :
Carrots may be a useful addition to an effective weight loss diet.
As a low-calorie food, carrots can increase fullness and decrease calorie intake in subsequent meals.
Bone health :
Carrots include vitamin K and tiny quantities of calcium and phosphorus. And as we know all of these contribute to bone health and may help prevent osteoporosis.
Eye health :
Carrots include vitamin A.
Individuals with low vitamin A levels are more likely to experience night blindness, a condition that may diminish by eating carrots or other foods rich in vitamin A or carotenoids.
Carrots also contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, and the combination of the two may help prevent age-related macular degeneration, a type of vision loss.
Digestive health :
Consuming more carotenoid-rich foods may lower the risk of colon cancer.
The findings of a study published the following year suggests that people who consume a high-fiber diet have a lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who consume little fiber.
A medium carrot contains 1.7 g of fiber, or between 5% and 7.6% of a person’s daily needs, depending on their age and sex. Meanwhile, 1 cup of chopped carrots provides 3.58 g of fiber.
Nutrition :
The table below shows the amount of each nutrient in a medium-sized, raw carrot that weighs around 61 g.
Delicious Recipes With Carrots :
1-Carrot casserole :
This “casserole” is actually a pastel, a casserole-like dish consisting of baked dough filled with vegetables. This is a delicious recipe with carrot that you’ll definitely enjoy. In order to make it, you’ll need:
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 cup of fine whole flour
1/4 cup of water
1 egg
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
FOR THE FILLING:
1 onion
1 leek
4 carrots
1 cup of pumpkin
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Eggplant
3 tablespoons of ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
Parsley
Cracker crumbs
Sesame seeds
PREPARATION:
Mix all of the ingredients necessary to prepare the dough. Knead it with your hands until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Peel the onion and cut it into fine pieces, and do the same with the leek, the carrots, and the pumpkin. Put them in a frying pan along with the olive oil and sea salt.
Fry them until they are cooked through and take them out of the frying pan. Mix them with both of the cheeses.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover a baking pan with baking paper.
Stretch the dough on a floured surface until it is very thin. Sprinkle a bit of the cracker crumbs over the dough, followed by the filling. Spread the filling out so that it is even over the dough.
Roll the dough up, taking care to not break or tear it. Sprinkle the rolled pastel with sesame seeds and bake until golden brown.
2-Cream of carrot and pumpkin soup :
This is a tasty soup of Spanish origin.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of pumpkin
4 carrots
Parmesan cheese
Water
Salt
PREPARATION
Peel the carrots and shred the pumpkin.
Put them both in a saucepan with the water and salt and boil.
Strain the carrots and pumpkin and mash them. Put the parmesan cheese on top and you’re done!
3-Carrot cake :
For this classic carrot recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
400 grams of Maria biscuits (you can find them in the Hispanic food section of your local grocery store. If you can’t find them, substitute Nilla wafers or other similar small cookies.)
1 can of condensed milk
1 glass of milk
2 carrots, grated
(optional) raisins and almonds
PREPARATION :
Preparation is very simple, and if you have children, it’s a great way to include them in the kitchen.
Break the Marie biscuits into crumbs and put them in a bowl. Mix in the glass of milk and then the can of condensed milk.
Whisk them together until they form a paste. Add the carrots and pour into bread pans. They can be eaten cold or hot.