Carrots

Have you noticed I sneak carrots into a lot of my recipes? My meatballs, chicken salad, meatloaf etc.

Well, this is a little trick my Mum taught me one day while we were making spaghetti sauce. I watched her grate a carrot into the sauce and at the time, thought it was really weird. But after thinking about it, I realized it's such a good little trick. They add a natural sugar and why not get that extra bit of nutrition into the foods I eat and feed my family.
First of all, carrots are very inexpensive and I always have them in my crisper. Before I started adding them to whatever I could, I would be left with a bag of rotten carrots in my fridge. Truthfully, I really only bought carrots because I just figured they are a staple veggie. I only used them in salad, when I made a soup or on the rare occasion I would steam some for dinner.

All that has changed.
Now I am always trying to find a use for them. I have them cut up in my fridge for easy snacking, I roast them with EVOO, S&P and maybe a little dill, and I grate them into sauces, meat mixtures, and salads.
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Some Nutritional & Health Benefits:
Carrots are one of the most healing foods that provides the finest and highest quality in nutrients. They are an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6.
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Cancer: Studies show that adding one carrot per day in our diet significantly reduces cancer risks.
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Inflammations: Its anti-inflammatory effect greatly helps reduce arthritis, rheumatism, gout and other inflammations.
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Nursing mothers: Carrot juice helps enhance the quality and quantity of a mother's breast milk.
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Water retention: Carrot juice is a diuretic and helps to eliminate excess fluids from the body, reducing water retention, especially for women during their monthly menstruation cycle and in pregnant women.

And yes, they are good for your eyes!

*Info Resource: Juicingforhealth.com