Those Crunchy, Yummy Carrots!

Whenever I think of carrots, “that wascally wabbit” Bugs Bunny immediately comes to mind. I always remember him crunching loudly on them as he says, “Eh... what’s up doc?” In fact, it was the only thing that would get me to eat them... imitating him. (Yeah, I need help...) Still, carrots are considered to be one of the more popular vegetables we Trinbagonians consume, and we enjoy preparing them in so many ways. When Divali comes around, it’s grated and boiled to make carrot halwa, a delicious sweet snack. Carrots are also a starter ingredient in our delicious soups (corn soup, fish soup, etc.) and stews (beef, chicken, etc). On Sundays, we dice it up with potatoes and add green peas, then mix it all with flavoured mayonnaise to create potato salad. Mothers with babies and toddlers boil and puree them for their children to eat, and health enthusiasts swear by its properties, and especially enjoy them both raw and juiced. In fact, carrots are rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals and also get its characteristic bright orange colour from beta-carotene, which is metabolised into vitamin A in humans when bile salts are present in the intestines. Lack of vitamin A can cause poor vision (including night vision), and vision can be restored by adding it back into the diet. Overseas, carrots come in many colours, including white, red, yellow and purple. Though we don’t have these varieties here, we can still enjoy the traditional carrot in many ways. Here are recipes for a delicious Carrot and Orange smoothie and a tempting Carrot cake that I’m sure you’re going to take pleasure in eating. (I know I do!)

 

Enjoy!