Friday Foodie Fix
This week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is carrots. I love to munch on carrots and so does the Easter Bunny. Don’t forget to put some out for him. I love carrots. They’re delicious, cheap, great raw or cooked and pack in tons of Vitamin A. One of my strongest memories from being a kid was my dad pulling up carrots from his garden, hosing them off and eating them right there in the garden. I had no idea carrots could taste so good. I wish I knew what type he grew because I would plant some in my garden.
If you buy carrots with the greens still on top remove that greenery as soon as possible because it removes the moisture and vitamins from the roots. Store your carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator buy not near apples that emit ethylene gas and that can give carrots a bitter taste. Make sure when buying carrots they are firm and have no cracks. If your carrots become limp, re-crisp them in a bowl of ice water. If you are using shredded carrots in a recipe that calls for 2 1/2 cups, start with 1 pound of fresh carrots.
I think carrots are often over looked or maybe a last minute thought. Well they can be around my house. I love roasted carrots and in the past my family has not so I stopped making them. Well now that they are eating more healthy with more real foods I think I’m going to give them another try. Adding fresh ginger with some salt and pepper is one of the ways I like to roast them.
I also love carrot cakes. For my birthday last year I made Elana Amsterdam’s of Elana’s Pantry recipe from her Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook and it was amazing. I also love the muffins Ali Segersten from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen has in her Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and make them often. I also want to have a replay on the Glazed Carrots I made
last summer with the North African Meatballs.
Do you eat carrots or just feed them to the bunnies? Do you prefer them raw or cooked? Do you use a recipe when making carrots or do you just wing it? Please share your recipes with Mr Linky or your non- recipe recipes in the comments section.
I can't wait to see everyone's recipes! I LOVE raw carrots, but cooked I have to keep them small and with lots of other flavors (like this chicken pot pie haha). I've never been a fan of cooked carrots, ever since I can remember. Whenever we had them for dinner my parents would always set aside a bowl of a few for me that didn't go into the pot (which I greatly appreciated) – I guess they didn't have a problem as long as I was at least eating them somehow 🙂
Jenn- I wonder why there is such a divide on cooked vs raw carrots. Is it a taste or texture thing? So it sounds like I may not be able to move my raw carrot guys to the cooked side. Well I'm with your mom, if they eat them at all I'm happy.
My vote goes to raw carrots! The cooked taste and texture are both disgusting!! I have a juicer and love to make fresh carrot juice. If you haven't tried that you really should.
Michelle- Wow I had no idea people were so passionate about their carrots. I can't remember having carrot juice on it's own but I've added it to different drinks. Do you mix anything into yours?
Thanks for the tips on the carrots. Never thought about not putting the carrots near the apples.
We love carrots in my house, adults and kids, alike. We eat them both raw and cooked. When my kids were babies (before teeth) I gave raw carrots to the kids for teething. When the kids were toddlers I would steam them or cook them a little (but not til they're mushy) and then refrigerate them. That way, when I pulled them out for them to eat for snacks, they weren't too crunchy for them to eat.
I used to dislike cooked carrots as a kid, but we only ever had them cooked until mushy in soups. I like them to have a little more bite to them, and a little sweetness.
Heather- Great tip on teething tools. I wish I had given my kids more veggies to use and play with when they were young. Maybe my youngest would eat more of them. Didn't matter for my oldest, he's a vegetarian. He's my only support for cooked carrots and he's at college. I'm on my own.
I think I really prefer carrots cooked. I use them in savory dishes (always soups and pot pies) most of the time, but I really enjoyed them in the Almond Banana Carrot muffins I made a while back (need to buy more almond flour!) and in carrot cake. Yours looks spectacular. You know I don’t enjoy many gf specialty items or buy baked goods out usually, but one of my friends/support group members buys carrot cake from Sweet Sin Bakery (Whole Foods and other stores carry them) and OMG that is one wonderful cake. I’m sure it has dairy though (at least in icing) and probably rice flour. It’s not inexpensive, but it is wonderful for an occasional treat. I wish I’d had more time to make a new carrot sweet treat for this FFF. Along those lines, Aubree made some carrot bread bites recently that looked wonderful.
Happy Friday! My surprise dessert for our Gluten-Free Progressive Easter Dinner Party is almost finished baking. It smells so heavenly. 🙂
Shirley
Shirley-Can't wait to see that dessert. Thank you for sharing your carrot recipes. I am working on getting more carrots into my diet. I've had that cake you're talking about and it is very tasty and sweet and yes it does have dairy and rice so it's now off limits. Good thing, it was too good. Thanks for the tip on Aubree. Hope she shares them here.
@Diane – For me it is totally a taste thing – there is an aftertaste to cooked carrots that I really find displeasing for some reason….
Jenn- You know I’ve heard that at my house before and I thought they were just making up an excuse. So they were actually telling me why. So I wonder if there is anyway of cooking them that would get rid of that after taste. Hmmm, must investigate.
We really love carrot cake, but I posted a recipe for potato chowder that includes shredded carrot. It gives it a nice orange color and everyone loves the soup. I'm looking forward to finding some plantain ideas next week. I think I've only eaten them once.
Linda- Very interesting. The soup sounds really good. Thanks for sharing.