Carrots

[chipy]

ok, i know carrots are good for you. i love carrots when they're cooked... in a stew or soup... but i don't like the flavor of carrots when they're raw. i have nothing against the texture, it's just the taste of raw carrots that i don't like. the reason for this thread is, i'd like to eat them at work if i could and i thought eating them raw would be the most convinient way. now, i can eat them if i have ranch dressing, but i want to keep it healthy and i'm not sure if the health benfits of the carrots would be reduced by the ranch dressing. so my question to you guys is, how can i eat carrots raw and make myself like them? is there another dressing i can dip them in? is there a simple way to cook it and take it to work? any ideas are welcome. thanks!

cliffs:

1) don't like taste of raw carrots
2) want to eat carrots as snack at work
3) any other dressing i can use other than ranch for health reason?
4) maybe i can take cooked carrots to work? but how?

 

[interchange]

Of course there are healthier dressings out there.
Personally, I like it with a cilantro-lime dressing that I make myself. I just throw cilantro, lime juice, a splash of white vinegar, a little honey, olive oil & water for consistency, and salt & pepper in the food processor. Instant yumminess. The dressing should be very tart. It makes fruit taste AMAZING.

 

[Kipper]

If you use ranch, stick to low-fat or fat-free ranch. There are a few options out there.

You could try one of two things:

1.) Blanch the carrots. This involves preparing an ice bath, and then steaming the carrots lightly (maybe about 1 minute at a full boil). This softens them up a bit. Dump them directly into the ice bath, and then consume. It tenderizes the carrots somewhat/
2.) Use hommus as your dip. Yes, it can be calorific, but it's not as if you are consuming a tremendous amount anyway. This gives you the option of a variety of different flavors - my personal favorites are garlic and red pepper. Hommus is about 50-70 calories for 2 tablespoons, and it's not as if you are going to pick up a lot using carrots as dip anyway.

Might I also recommend cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers and even zucchini as "dip-friendly" vegetables? Also keep in mind carrots are okay but they really lack the micronutrient density and breadth of dark leafy green vegetables (kale, mustard greens, chard, bok choy, etc).

 

[brikis98]

So... why carrots specifically? There are plenty of other healthy vegetables in the world, so if you don't like carrots, you could always find something else...

At any rate, steaming carrots will make them a bit softer and sweeter. Otherwise, try dipping them in hummus, peanut butter, guacamole, or anything else you like that's made out of natural ingredients (ie, no processed crap like ranch dressing).

 

[chipy]

thanks to all of your comments! first off i think i'll try interchange's suggestion - or something very similar to that. funny think, i was at costco's today and a lady was giving out samples of carrots dipped in zesty italian dressing. it tasted good.

i also like hummus, so i'll have to try that as a dip for my carrots. i usually dip bread in homemade hummus but sounds like it works great with carrots too. i do eat other green veggies. in fact, my concern was i was eating just greens and not the red veggies like carrots and red bell peppers as much... although i eat tomatoes too.

thanks for all the ideas - i'll try them out.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: chipy
thanks to all of your comments! first off i think i'll try interchange's suggestion - or something very similar to that. funny think, i was at costco's today and a lady was giving out samples of carrots dipped in zesty italian dressing. it tasted good.

i also like hummus, so i'll have to try that as a dip for my carrots. i usually dip bread in homemade hummus but sounds like it works great with carrots too. i do eat other green veggies. in fact, my concern was i was eating just greens and not the red veggies like carrots and red bell peppers as much... although i eat tomatoes too.

thanks for all the ideas - i'll try them out.

The orange in carrots is pretty much due to their high concentration of beta-carotene (in the carotenoid class of compounds) and a precursor to vitamin A. However, these compounds are also present in large amounts in vegetables which are not necessarily orange (e.g. Kale).

So there is no NEED to eat carrots, but certainly don't let that stop you. Variety is probably the best thing when it comes to choosing what to eat. The Japanese government used to recommend that its citizens eat at least twenty-seven servings of unique foods a day - which when you think about it, covers the bases pretty well.

 

[MegaVovaN]

First try different kinds of carrots, some taste bland, others taste good. Find a sweet, juicy carrot.

Also, try them with sugar.

 

[gramboh]

Low fat dressings are heavy on sugar aren't they? They must be, the flavour has to come from something cheap. For some reason I love raw carrots. You could always blend them and make a smoothie type thing with ice?

 

[silverpig]

Can you become a rabbit? I hear they love carrots.

Try a different vegetable maybe? Cherry tomatoes are nice and convenient, and cucumber is really refreshing.

 

[wwswimming]

how about that carrot salad at the deli with raisins in it ?

 

[cliftonite]

Make some hummus, its not that hard and it tastes great.

 

[state 08]

i dip my carrots in bacon ranch

 

[heymrdj]

I like them just plain myself, or with ranch. Another good one, as mentioned earlier, is hommus. As said, gives you tons of tastes to choose from.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Low fat dressings are heavy on sugar aren't they? They must be, the flavour has to come from something cheap. For some reason I love raw carrots. You could always blend them and make a smoothie type thing with ice?

You're absolutely right, but depends entirely on the brand. Mass-market brands tend to carry a lot of sugar and salt (or sugar equivalents, like corn syrup or maltodextrin). There are a number of more expensive but less calorific dressings out there...that don't necessarily pack a ton of sugar or fat.

 

[dorion]

My mom would always cut them into quarters and soak them in water in the fridge, makes them sweeter.

I like to eat them with peanut butter... well be careful with too much of that

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: dorion
My mom would always cut them into quarters and soak them in water in the fridge, makes them sweeter.

I like to eat them with peanut butter... well be careful with too much of that

Makes them softer, too. OP should try this.

 

[Titan]

french onion dip. MMM good.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Any dip is going to add calories. Have you tried baby carrots? I find them to be a little sweeter than normal carrots.

 

[SKC]

agree on baby carrots. If you can stomach it, maybe juice the carrots and drink them like shooters?

 

[IronWing]

Carrot juice is great so you might consider a juicer (yea, an excuse to buy something expensive with a motor ).


Edit: Carrot juice doesn't keep very long but juicing a lemon into it extends the fridge life to a day or two.