I love carrots. So obviously I hulked out with rage and excitement when I learned these easy tricks to maximize their nutritional content. This comes from one of my favorite books, “Eating on the Wild Side,” by Jo Robinson.
If you follow these steps, you can increase the nutritional value of your carrots by up to 800%. So do it!
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Choose mature carrots over baby carrots.
Baby carrots are not the same as human babies. They come from ugly looking mature carrots, with the outer parts cut off and thrown away. Come to think of it, they are kind of like human babies after all.
But here is why you have a problem. Like many fruits and veggies, the greatest concentration of anti-oxidants and nutrients in carrots can be found in the skin, as well as in the tissues immediately below the skin.
From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. Anti-oxidants are needed in the outermost layers of the plant, so that it can best protect itself from pests and disease. And also from the growing influence of America’s far right.
Opt for regular mature carrots, and you will have access to the healthiest parts of the carrot.
2. Eat fresh rather than frozen carrots.
Unlike some other veggies, carrots lose much of their nutritional value when frozen or thawed. Opt for fresh carrots over frozen.
3. Steam or sauté your carrots rather than boiling them.
When you boil your carrot, some of the water soluble nutrients end up in the cooking water. Avoid this by steaming or sautéing your carrots.
You can also avoid some of this nutritional loss by cooking your carrots whole, and cutting them afterward.
4. Eat your carrots with fat.
A little bit of fat will help you absorb the most beta-carotene from your carrot. That’s because beta-carotene is fat soluble.
This makes me happy, because fat tastes like heaven. Carrot flavored ice cream anyone?
Happy munching 🙂
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Frozen veggies often have more nutrients than fresh ones because they’re frozen before the nutrients break down. I would say farmers market fresh > frozen > grocery store fresh
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Not the case for carrots! ..provided you’re not buying SUPER old ones. I try to buy them only if top is still attached. They can’t be too old this way.
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