Carrots: Do You Know What You Are Eating?

I originally wrote this article for my other blog, The Mind Body Spirit Odyssey a few months ago, and when it was published it created quite a commotion with our readers.  The other day I was at the Farmer's Market in the town where I live and, among vegetables I purchased, were some fresh, just pulled carrots.  The taste and quality of the carrots was just jaw dropping compared to what is available in the grocery store.  They aren't even quite that fresh at Whole Foods.  Anyway, the carrots reminded me of this article so I thought I would re-post it.  Just remember, be careful what you eat and eat as fresh as you can.  It really does make a difference in your health.
I'll admit I never gave a second thought to a baby carrot until I read about them in the latest magazine issue of Mary Jane's Farm.  Then I just wanted to gag.  Sure, they are cute.  And yes, I always thought that they were a good alternative to giving kids chips for lunch.  The grocery stores where I live out East have multitudes of them.  Organic, non organic.  And who among us has not munched on them for a "healthy" snack or at the appetizer table?
Baby carrots are not actually "baby" carrots at all.  They are cut down from regular full-grown carrots that have been rejected for size and deformities.  The are not as nutritional as regular carrots because, as we all know, most of the nutritional value of a carrot comes from the skin and the area around it...which is peeled away on a baby carrot.
Since these baby carrots are pre-peeled, they are then soaked in a chlorine solution to kill the bacteria and help preserve that lovely right orange color (that never seems to change, if you stop and think about it).
Unfortunately, this is a standard practice even for organic carrots.
Watch what you are buying.  Read the labels closely and look for "true" organic carrots, those that are grown and harvested as babies.  Better yet, spend and extra 5 minutes in the morning and cut them up yourself for your kid's lunch.  It's less expensive that way too.
This is just another small way to "go green" folks, and improve the quality of your diet as well.
~ diane fergurson
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