Carrot Thy King

Carrots. What can you say about this ubiquitous root vegetable? Maybe this. “You’ve come a long way, baby. Baby carrot, that is.” For when you think of carrots, what did many of us grew up with? Little orange stubs marketed as “baby” carrots. News flash. They are not babies. And please don't feed them to the babies.

Thank heavens the carrot now shows up at farmers markets and beyond in a vast array of color, shape and size. I can’t help but grab a bunch when I see them in their colorful glory, still connected to their leafy tops. See, there I am, at the farmers market buying too many carrots. What am I thinking?

Speaking of those leafy tops, when the farmer asks if you want the tops cut off politely decline. Studies show they’re not dangerous, poisonous (as previously reported), and actually make a nice addition to soups and salads. It’s a great way to imbibe the whole vegetable root, tops and all.  

Need I go on and on about the health benefits? I hope note. We should all know about the high levels of betA Carotene found in carrots which then gets converted into Vitamin A. That's good! What's also good is, according to traditional Chinese medicine, eating sweet foods, like the root vegetable carrots, helps you better attune to the spring season. 

All around the carrot rules. The carrot is king. Long live carrot, green tops and all.