Carrots
Description: A long tapered root vegetable normally orange in color though other colors including purple and black are sometimes available
Availability: Year Round
Facts: During WW2 British pilots ate so many carrots (to improve their night vision) that their skin turned slightly orange. The orange color of the carrot was actually the result of a special breeding program by Holland growers to honor the 'House of Orange' who was then in power.
Serving Size = 1 CUP
Selection: Choose well-shaped, smooth, firm, crisp carrots with deep color and fresh, green tops. Avoid soft, wilted or split carrots.
Storage: Refrigerate in plastic bag with tops removed up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Benefits: Fat free; saturated fat free; low sodium; cholesterol free; excellent source of vitamin A; good source of vitamin C; low calorie.
Pigments: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene
Phytochemicals: apigenin, pinene, terpinene, terpineol, d-limonene, myricetin, caffeic acid, p-courmaric acid, chlorogenic acid
ORAC Score: 200
Reprinted with the permission of the Defeat Diabetes Foundation.
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