Shaved Carrot Salad

• 1 bunch romaine lettuce
• 4 large carrots, peeled
• 1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a lemon (or a whole lime)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup microgreens
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Optional: red pepper flakes
• Optional: nuts

1. Rinse romaine lettuce, remove bottom inch of stem, and tear or chop leaves into 2-inch pieces.
2. With a vegetable peeler, shave carrots into long strips and place in a salad bowl.
3. Halve a red onion and thinly slice; add to bowl.
4. Juice 1/2 a lemon and add to bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
5. Add microgreens to bowl.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. If using, add red pepper flakes and nuts.
7. Stir until everything is well coated with oil and lemon juice.

There are over 100 species of edible carrots today.

Carrots were domesticated in the ancient empires located in today’s Iran and Afghanistan over 5000 years ago. From there, this great root vegetable spread across the known world.

Ancient Greeks and Romans ate carrots but not the orange varieties we know today, they ate the less cultivated wild varieties of various other colors.

Carrot leaves were once used as a fashion statement (they were carried in the hair, especially in 17th century England).

Until 17th century, the only edible types of carrots had black, white, red and purple colors. In the 17th century western carrots first appeared in the Netherlands. Dutch carrot growers invented the orange carrot in honor of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family.

The natural sugars and sweetness of carrots allow them to be used in carrot cakes of western countries, in India they are used as desserts, while countries such as Portugal use carrots in jam. Carrot juice is widely consumed, especially as a health drink, with or without other fruits and vegetables.

The orange color results from abundant carotenes in these cultivars, mainly the beta-carotene which is a strongly colored red-orange pigment found in some plants and fruits.

Carrots are 87% water.

The human body turns beta-carotene into vitamin A and carrots are one of the best sources for beta-carotene. Vitamin A is important for the health of our vision (including our night vision) as well as our bones, teeth and skin.