Frozen, Fresh & Canned Carrots

Carrots are one of those vegetables that I enjoy eating and photographing in a variety of ways.  They are simple, colorful, healthy, and taste good too.  They aren't my favorite vegetable so I don't think of picking them up unless I have a recipe in mind, but whenever I cook them I always wonder why I don't grab carrots in the grocery store more often.

Raw carrots are the most versatile to me.  I enjoy the crunch of a raw vegetable without any additions, or alongside a great dip.  Stonewall Kitchen makes a delicious vegetable dip mix that is perfect for parties or a movie night at home.  I like to mix it with fat free cream cheese when I make it to cut down on the calories.  My favorite use of the fresh carrot might just have to be a sweet carrot cake!  I like to cut the calories down though, so I go with this recipe from Cooking Light that cuts the calories in a piece of cake down from 1460 calories per slice to 284 calories per slice. 

If you are on a budget canned or frozen carrots are also a great option for enjoying this vegetable.  Canned carrots taste with just a smidge of brown sugar baked in the oven or cooked on the stove.  I also like them just heated up and served as a simple side dish.  When it comes to frozen stir fry is the first use that always comes to my mind.  Keeping some frozen vegetables, and rice on hand always makes for a quick and easy meal.  You can make a stir fry with a recipe, a sauce from the grocery store, or what I like to do is simply add a little soy sauce to the mix and cook in a wok until heated throughout.

While I am on the topic of carrots there is a really fun carrot resource at the World Carrot Museum that I discovered while I wrote this post.  It offers recipes, nutritional information, and history.  I am always curious on the history of foods, and really enjoyed the detailed history on their website.

If you have a favorite carrot recipe please feel free to share a link! I am always looking for new ways to cook old favorites.

Don't forget about the $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway I have going on right now.  You can find that blog post at this link.