Tags
benefits, cancer, carrot humous, carrots, cayenne pepper, Chomp, delicious, easy, garlic, garlic cloves, harrissa, health, Healthy, healthy food, heart disease, humous, lemon, nutrition, orange, prevention, snack, spicy, Tasty
Afternoon lovely people,
Just a quick one today, I made a tasty carrot humous kindly provided by Love and Lemons – another great healthy food flood I have found.
Its such a simple recipe and so much better for us than going to the supermarket and buying the pre-made dips. This way you know there are no hidden surprises in our humous and its as organic as the ingredients as we use.
Recipe
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 3 small carrots (or 2 medium ones cut in half)
- 2 medium (unpeeled) garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons harissa seasoning (ground) – I used Cayenne Pepper and it tasted great!
- 1 cup chickpeas (cooked and drained)
- juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- juice of 1/2 an orange (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- more spice, to taste
- Himalyan salt, to taste
Heat coconut oil in a medium skillet, add carrots, garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Cook, rotating occasionally, until the outsides begin to char, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the garlic if it starts to burn. Add the spices and seasoning and let the carrots cook for just a minute longer. Remove from pan and let cool slightly. Peel the garlic.
Chop carrots into 1-inch pieces (it’s ok if they’re a little raw in the middle). Add the carrots, garlic, chickpeas, lemon juice and orange juice to your high speed blender or food processor. Puree, drizzling in the olive oil as you blend. It might be a chunkier texture if you use a less powerful food processor
Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill until ready to use
Look at the wonderful colour and texture!
For Christmas I got some wonderful nutrition and healthy food books and I am so excited to put them to use so I thought I’d get started and give you a little bit of information on some of these ingredients and what benefits you get from using them.
Carrots
Carrots are full of Carotene and beta-carotene is a red-orange pigment found in plants and fruits, especially carrots and colourful vegetables (and actually got it’s name from carrots as they are so high in it). This means that the darker the carrot the more Carotene it actually contains!
The human body simply converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A. We need vitamin A for healthy skin and mucus membranes, our immune system, and good eye health and vision.
Carrots are also high in fibre, anti-oxidants, vitamin C and E, Calcium and Potassium
So actually eating carrots…
- protects agains high blood cholesterol and heart disease
- Lowers risks of some cancers by 45% (a chemical called falcarinol found in carrots actually suppresses tumours in animals by a third!)
- lowers risk of stroke
- protects sight and vision
- helps keep your lungs healthy
One thing I have read and need to do a little more research into is that apparently the nutrients in the carrots are absorbed better by the body when they are cooked rather than raw and this is because the Carotenes absorb into the body better.
Garlic
Garlic is actually a useful anti-biotic which has been used for thousand of years as a natural alternative and before anti-biotics were pumped into us.
Garlic is rich in sulphur compounds (thats what makes it smell so strong) but these sulphur compounds are also what makes garlic so bloooody good for you!
Research says that garlic can…
- minimise stomach the risk of heart disease and types of cancers (prevents formation of blood clots and plaque which leads to heart diseases)
- powerful anti-biotic inhibiting fugal and viral infections
- minimise stomach ulcers
- provide a good source of vitamin C, Selenium, Potassium, and calcium
DONT OVERCOOK YOUR GARLIC AS IT KILLS ITS BENEFICIAL COMPOUNDS
and just a handy tip – eating parsley after a garlicy meal can reduce all the smelly mouth odours!
Thats all for today – but enjoy eating your carrot humous knowing that you are eating things which are doing so much good for your body – just eat it slowly and enjoy it so your body maximises the nutrients it’s taking in and can absorb and digest these great ingredients!!
Happy chomping xxx