Early Root Vegetable Roast

Fresh from the Arlington Farmer's Market came wonderful beets and carrots this week. I had never been to the market before it was so quaint with a tea and coffee stand mixed among the apple and hearty greens.
I decided to slice and dice the carrots and beets in order to roast them, but was unsure of what shape would do best. In the end, I did all kinds of shapes and sizes. I added a pinch of course sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil before putting it in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Half way through I tossed them around in effort to flip them, but not all flipped. They came out wonderfully soft, but still held their own shape.

Most people eat carrots raw, but cooking them actually enhances the availability of their beta-carotene by breaking down the fiber and making it easier for the body to utilize the beta-carotene. There's nothing wrong with eating them raw though, carrots provide the highest source of pro-vitamin A carotenes of all the commonly consumed vegetables. They also provide sizable amounts of vitamin K, biotin, fiber, Vitamin C, B6, potassium and thiamine. Carrots are best from your farmer's market because they are noted to have high levels of pesticide residue on them when bought conventionally.

All this wonderful info is from The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, by Michael Murray, M.D. It is a bible of a book with hundreds of types of food ranging from grains, to fruits, to herbs, to meats, to vitamins. Be on the lookout for more posts highlights super foods that are cheap to find and easy to prepare!