Friday, April 20, 2012

Carrots and Beets, Have One and Skip the Other.

It’s no secret that I love to juice. I understand green juices aren’t for everyone and  there’s so many things to juice that aren't green. A recent study showed beet juice to be an excellent exercise aid. Cyclists who swigged beet juice (2 cups) before workouts were able to cycle 16% longer.  Beets are high in nitrates which increase nitric oxide relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow. Another study in Hypertension, based on this same effect, showed beet juice lowered blood pressure.  If you’re thinking nitrates sound familiar, you’re right. Added, inorganic nitrites (hotdogs, cured meats) can react with compounds in protein called amines and produce carcinogenic compounds. Naturally occurring nitrites in beets and also radishes do not react in the manner and are in fact good for your heart and exercise. Beet juice is intense, I like to juice beets, cucumber, celery and ginger.

And now for the “bad”, not to worry I’m not one of those people who think carrots have too much sugar and therefore should be expelled from the vegetable bin, puleez. I do have a carrot issue and that’s with these
These don’t exist in nature. Baby carrots have greens attached to their tops, they’re not these uniform nubs which are actually “baby-cut” carrots. They’re large carrots that have been peeled, cut and washed in a chlorine solution (of course claimed to be safe) and then packaged. If it’s been a while peel an “adult” carrot, cut it up and do a taste test. You’ll never eat babies again.
Have to tried beet juice? Any foods you swear by for energy? And adult or baby-cut carrots, what do you prefer?

26 comments:

  1. I buy both organic baby carrots and "adult" carrots. I like the adult better hands down!! Sad that the conventional baby carrots are washed in a chlorine solution... more chemicals.

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    1. I think even organic washed in chlorine, they say levels fine but just don't like the whole concept. So you're bi-carrot Lisa.

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  2. Recently I made myself buy the full carrots rather than "baby" and they are so much more interesting! Freshly grated in salads or chopped up in "baby" version, they taste like a whole new food. Beat the "baby" version or pre-shredded any day.

    As for energy foods, I like to think my chia seeds fuel great runs... possibly all in my head but I can't stop thinking about those aztecs and mayans, haha.

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    1. the placebo effect is powerful but I think there's something to those chia seeds...maybe chia in beet juice worth trying.

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  3. So happy you mentioned those baby carrots. They're a pet peeve of mine. I like my adult carrots, that I can cut into "baby" pieces.
    Also a fan of beet juice but I don't have a juicer so don't have it very often. On my list of purchases though.

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    1. welcome to the "we hate baby carrot" club. I'm so glad others are bothered by some of the same things I am.

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  4. Baby carrots sort of annoy me (as ridiculous as that sounds). And when my then 5-year-old said, "I want regular carrots because they don't have that green thing on top of them" I realized that baby carrots had no place in my home.

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    1. I think our children will grow up to think that carrots come out of the ground (if they even get that) those uniform little nuggets. "Regular carrots" so sad.

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  5. I fell into the trap of baby carrots but then realized it was way cheaper to buy the adult ones. We also grow them in our garden in the summer, and I love watching our son pull them out and ask that we rinse them off. He then walks around munching on them with the green tops still attached :)

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    1. You had to throw in the "garden" thing, huh? Jealous, no garden in NYC for me. Didn't even think of the expense, silly me but the water/mess of baby carrots drives me crazy. At least your son knows where real baby carrots come from.

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  6. yikes im so guilty of baby carrots! they just make life so much easier. but i didnt know about the chlorine - even organic? eeks i guess i will quit being lazy and cut carrot sticks.
    tried beet juice on a cleanse but never thought much abotu it again. After this i'll give it a shot. do u make it at home? arent raw beets so messy? Swear i'm not as lazy/kitchenophobesque as this comment is appearing

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    1. baby carrots totally easy and chlorine is in tap water...but still I would say only in a pinch. You can make your own "babies" I know you can. As for beets, I wash them and cut them in half and toss in juicer so not dealing with as much mess as peeling them. You may sound lazy but you're expressing what everyone else is thinking. And the roku juices make a premade beet ( think it's roku the fermented company...)

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  7. After reading about chlorine, I have stopped eating baby carrots! YUCK!
    Beet juice sounds fantastic. I need to get a good blender or juicer right away.

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    1. It's really a lot of fun to juice and juices can be used for dressings/sauces and more.

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  8. I am never eating baby carrots again. I will have to try the beet juice :)

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    1. you don't have to say never but maybe less often?

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  9. I knew about "baby" carrots almost right away and refuse to buy or eat them. And can I get on my high horse and ask why in the world do we humanize our food? I think eating "baby" anything is sort of disgusting. It usually puts me off something. I don't want to eat a baby and IF I am eating a baby, I don't want to know about it. I'm not just saying this for effect. I'm serious. I think it's gross! I haven't tried beet juice and I still don't really know what food gives me energy even though I've been running for a long time now. You'd think I would have an answer to that question by now. :)

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    1. some babies are natural though (baby eggplant, baby artichokes) but I agree, we could say "mini" or "small".

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  10. Yeah, I don't buy baby carrots anymore, I actually prefer the taste of the full ones that I have to shred/peel myself!
    As for the beet juice...I have a client who would benefit from this for his BP that is strangely high (he's normal weight and eats very healthy, so I try to look for things like this to help him) but now his BS is getting high too! So....beet juice probably wouldn't be the best solution. Ugh. Sometimes the healthiest clients are the toughest ones!

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    1. Gina, the blood pressure response is almost immediate/certainly worth a try.

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  11. TImely post...when I'm shopping alone I always buy the "adult" carrots , with the tops on (which I feed to our guinea pigs), but the other day my kids came shopping with me, and my daughter asked me to buy the "babies.". Now, I do know they are washed in chlorine, but I bought them (organic), because I'd rather have my kids snacking those than a box of, say, cookies (not that I'm anti-cookie mind you!). Well, both my kids ate that entire bag of carrots when we got home. So, while I will still continue to buy the big guys, I will also occasionally by the babies. The ultimate, though, will be to grow our own, because on that same grocery shopping trip with the kids, they also wanted to buy seeds to plant in our garden, which I am still hoping to start soon, so We bought carrot, tomato,, and pumpkin seeds, even tough I'm not convinced we have enough room for our own pumpkin patch!

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  12. PS-Forgot to mention, that, yes, beet juice is good, although I don't have my own juicer...yet!

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  13. I half-like beet juice. I love the colour, but I find that it kind of tastes like dirt. To enjoy it, I really need to cut it with 3/4 beet juice and 1/4 fruit juice. Beet and mango are the perfect combination!

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    1. fine to cut it, "dirt" when did you last taste dirt?

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