This post was contributed by our French Diva!! That’s right! We’re going multilingual and if you parlez français, then we encourage you to check out our new French diva blog HERE! Sheryl-Anne is one of the newest members of the diva team and as you’ll see, she’s got lots to say in both languages and we’re honored to have her here with us! Stay tuned as our Green Smoothie Challenge, 7-Day Detox and Body Enlightenment System are ALL being translated in French!
Today’s post is on a very versatile root vegetable. Carrots. Everyone knows what they are, but do you eat enough of them? Boring? Well, we like to go for variety and exotic new taste but sometimes forget to eat locally. They are in season right now. Fresh as can be. So let’s take advantage of this. And who says we can’t “be elevated” by our carrots???
Raw carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. Studies have shown that high doses of beta-carotene contribute to lowering cardiovascular disease risks by up to 45%. And carrots are one of the best sources of beta-carotene! The same study states that supplements [of beta-carotene] are of no use.
Carrots also contain fiber and potassium (among other things). They help prevent night blindness. And, carrots will help lower cholesterol in the blood and help prevent cancer.
So, to benefit from these nutritious roots, have your raw carrots as veggie sticks, juiced, grated, puréed, mixed in smoothies (oh yeah!), made into raw crackers, raw cakes or blended into lovely raw soups! Here is a warming soup featuring this root. It’s cold up here right now! I’m freeeezzzin’!
Spicy Carrot Soup
1 tbsp chia, soaked in 1/4 cup water
2 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft
1 big carrot
1 medium tomato
1 small garlic clove
1 hot pepper (it’ll warm ya right up!)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
salt, to taste (or seaweed)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Preparation:
Let the chia seeds soak for a few hours until they produce a nice gel. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes until they are nice and soft. If using oil-packed tomatoes, then soaking is not necessary and you might want to omit the olive oil in the recipe.
Put all the ingredients in the blender, except for the red pepper flakes. Blend away until nice and smooth. Pour into serving bowl. Garnish with red pepper flakes and /or raw cashew cream.
Bon appétit!