So, every Thursday The Maxim Hygiene Green Queen is going to discuss one specific fruit or vegetable just to get you in the mood for good eating. The first one I want to check out is the carrot, aka Daucus Carota.
Here’s how it goes. Wash, peel, cook, eat! Or, you don’t even need to cook these appetite-adaptable vegetables. They’re delicious however they go down. Snap into one like Bugs Bunny, or eat them in a rabbit stew. Whether baby or full-grown, in a packet with ranch dressing or alone, sautéed or steamed, carrots are great and healthy!
Carrots are unbelievable sources of Vitamin A and extremely low in calories. They also have excellent antioxidant compounds, which protect us against cardiovascular disease and cancer. Check out the below nutrition details for a more in-depth view of what the carrot does for you…
Source: The World’s Healthiest Foods
As you’ve probably heard your entire life, carrots are extremely beneficial for your vision, especially night vision. What I bet you didn’t know, however, is that the same antioxidant helps provide protection against macular degeneration and senile cataracts, which causes blindness in the elderly.
Sometimes, when I’m down, I snack into a good chocolate or ice cream sandwich. But, after reading Joy Bauer’s article on How Eating Can Affect Your Mood, I’m reaching for a bag of carrots (or any other healthier snack) from now on. If you eat every four or five hours a day, good and healthy alternatives to your normal diet, you will actually be in a better mood more and more often. The constant input of energy and vitamins makes your body work with your mind in a way that can produce more endorphins, which equals more happiness.
My favorite carroty snack is a small pre-washed bag of baby carrots and a little tub of spicy hummus. Try it out. Delicious. Then, if I go out to a Chinese restaurant, I always order the same thing… steamed chicken with mixed vegetables, “heavy on the carrots,” I will even say sometimes.
If you’re one of those gals that love the outdoors like I do, and keeps a veggie garden, carrots are an obvious and great addition to your backyard. After all, carrots are in the same family as radishes and turnips. Maybe, that’s why they’re great. They act like their family as they grow up, but they are also individual, taking on a vibrant and spectacular hue as they ripen. They remind me of my childhood for so many reasons, Looney Tunes and summer beach snacks with the folks.