How much you know about super food – carrot?

We all now carrots, we have seen them and we have tried them but do you know also their story? Fun facts and their health benefits? Well I am proud to inform you that I know! (..well,now!) and I am ready to entertain and share my knowledge as well with you and top with some nice tips and recipes. So let’s go!

A little bit of history – the carrot originally comes from Central Europe and the first evidence on people using them in their meals are found already 2000 years ago. Their initial colors used to be dark red. 

The orange color carrots got only in 16. century when dutch crossed the red ones with yellow ones and came up with the nowadays popular orange color when they also started to grow them massively as before it was considered to be a delicatessen – aka deli food ).  

Ancient Egyptians used carrots to heal people as noticed they are helping the sick recover faster while ancient Greeks called them the love potion and believed that carrots can help you fall in love faster.  (Interesting why?  and what they did to test it? Just eat them in big quantities? Presented as gifts?) 

 

This is a nice scene from Movie No Strings Attached. I did there is some magic around carrots. I would totally love receiving such bouquet. Wouldn’t you?

Nowadays carrots are grown around the globe except of Antarctic due to their good easy nature. Moreover the mature fast (50-80 days) and can be planted  almost all year round (depending on climate).

FUN FACTS

• An average person eats per year 10 866 carrots.
• The World’s heaviest carrot found in Alaska in 1998 and was 8,61 kg
• Longest carrot registered in UK in 2007 and was 5,84m
• In 1 teaspoon fits 2000 carrot seeds

 

Found this really funny as even Grumpy Cat knows that carrots aids absorbing sun and get tan faster due to all the A vitamin in it. 

NUTRITION FACTS

• Carrot is really a superfood due to it’s nutrition values
• Carrot aids eye sight, skin, heart and cardiovascular system, lungs, liver etc.
• Carrot juice is rich with A vitamin. (A vitamin helps to improve eyes and skin health!)
• 10 carrot consumption = 1 glass of milk in amount of Calcium

NUTRITION VALUE:

• 41 kcal
• 5 g sugar
• 10g carbs
• 3% soda
• 0,9g protein
• 3% Calcium
• 3% Iron
• 334%  vitamin A
• 9% vitamin C
• 3% Magnesium

And last but not least – usage in kitchen.

There are so many ways to use them either it is a side dish, julienne or juice – the possibilities are endless. even sweets! Have you ever tried carrot cake or Carrot muffins? Or even sweet carrot salad with raisins. (the last 3 ones are my favorites). so just try them out and you will not regret! It definitely a super food, good for you and really affordable to everyone! I even plan to grow them on my balcony next year! 

Recipes to try:

(Light) Carrot cake

Carrot muffins

Sweet Carrot raisin salad

 

 

Roasted carrots – perfect as a side dish with a meat.

 

 

And healthy carrot immune system boosting drink.

 

And last but not least my famous, Vegetable spiral cake – where colorful carrots are must! So good!

 

To sum up – Carrot is a super food, full of health benefits and should be used plenty in nutrition as there are so many ways to use them just need gt couple of them and start experimenting!

 

What’s your favorite carrot recipe?