The arrival of spring means many things; warmer weather, flowers blooming, and seasonal produce, such as carrots. What better time to introduce baby to carrots than during the Easter season! This crunchy, sweet power food is packed with a ton of healthy nutrients, essential for both babies and adults.
Carrots can be introduced to babies between 6-8 months of age. Their mild flavour make them an ideal, easily digested first food to give baby. Carrots are vitamin-rich root vegetables, packed with a variety of powerful nutrients such as;
- Beta-carotene helps prevent cell damage.
- Vitamin A promotes healthy skin, good eye health and vision, and helps flush toxins out of the liver.
- Alpha-carotein and lutein are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
- Vitamin K contributes to bone strength and kidney health.
- Vitamin C boosts the immune system and helps strengthen teeth and gums.
- Fiber promotes bowel regularity and helps control blood sugar levels.
Carrots can be eaten cooked (boiled, steamed, sauteed, or roasted), raw (in oatmeal, overnight oats, and baked goods), or in smoothies or juices. Children can benefit from eating raw carrots since chewing on them helps scrape off plaque and food particles from the teeth. They can be seasoned with a variety of sweet and savoury herbs and spices, such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, and cumin.
Here are the top 5 carrot recipes for the family:
Raw Hummus and Carrot Pinwheels
Ginger-Glazed Carrots & Caramelized Onions
Curried Cauliflower Carrot Fritters
Im into the ginger glazed and carmelized onions! Great list!
Lisa, I love your recipes, because they are meant for babies, but even adults would gladly indulge in them. (aka… me… I would gladly eat these baby food for life)
Thanks! Actually most of my recipes are prepared with the kids AND myself in mind! I really need to change the name of my Blog…but that would open up another can of worms!
My daughter LOVES carrots. She wants to eat them everyday. I’m sure I could make any of these and she’s be thrilled!
That’s great! I hope you try some of these for her!
Awesome ideas! We aren’t huge fans of carrots, but I think these recipes would definetly make it worth while! Thanks for sharing.
Sometimes all it takes is a new recipe or method of preparation that could help change your mind!
I wish we were neighbors. I’d babysit or something in exchange for yummy treats. 🙂 🙂 🙂
That would be perfect!!! It’s really a shame we’re not closer then, lol!
I am loving the carrot cake oatmeal. Can’t wait to try this out.
Hope you do! Please let me know what you think 😉
Wow! I love carrots but I’ve never tried any of those. Such brilliant ideas you got here.
These all look like amazing recipes I will have to try indeed. They all sounds so good. The Curried Cauliflower Carrot Fritters I am going to try first. Thanks for sharing.
One of my faves! Actually, I woke up this morning thinking about what I should prepare for dinner and now realized that I have cauliflower and carrots in the fridge…looks like I know what I’m making for dinner!
Different recipe yet all yummy and healthy – that is so good.
Our boys love carrots, it’s scary to watch three little guys between 1 and 3 crush 2-3 cans of sliced carrots or most of a 1 lb bag of raw carrots in a sitting. This will let me get some variety in their carrot consumption (to say nothing of how much I love carrot cake…)
Wow! That’s a lot of carrots!! I’m sure they’d love these then! 😉
That carrot cake oatmeal is something I need in my life. I love my morning oatmeal and dont really eat carrot cake anymore. This makes up for it.
Great! Have you tried making overnight oats? They are SO easy to make! There are a few great recipes on the Blog!
Wow! So many yummy carrot recipes! I need to try them in more things 🙂
I think carrots are a super food and I love them. The carrot pinwheels with the hummus sounds yummy.
I added them as an afterthought-I figured I use carrots to dip into the hummus so why not stuff them into the wrap as well!
Those pinwheels are so pretty! I never thought to bake carrot cake cookies before. Great ideas!
Those carrot cake cookies look amazing! I love carrots, and have just in my later years been learning how to make them taste great!
OMGosh so much stuff that’s really ‘different’ – I’d love to try the pinwheels and the cauliflower fritters! Oh the cookies too!
I appreciate the excitement over my recipes!! 😉
I have 3 bags of carrots in my fridge from reading recent food posts. I think I might have to add Ginger-Glazed Carrots & Caramelized Onions to my list of recipes to try – those look good!
I don’t think I’ve ever had that many carrots in my fridge at once! You have enough to try ALL of these, lol!
Yummy – great recipes – I never thought about the shredded carrots with oatmeal and have saving the fritter’s recipe – thank you!!
The fritters are a great way to use up any leftover carrots (or any veggie for that matter) that you have in the fridge!
Yum-Carrot Cake Oatmeal cookies! I adore anything carrot cake myself. 🙂
Me too! It used to all about chocolate mow it’s anything carrot cake!!!
I love carrots and will definitely have to try a few of these recipes in the near future. Just modified a soup recipe today to include carrots.
Ahhhhhh honestly I am not a carrot fan :-/ wish I was because I swear carrots are in everything I eat lol… Hubby is obsessed with them though so I will have to save these recipes for him!
It’s the opposite in my home! My husband is from Italy and can’t fathom the fact that weput veggies in baked goods (ie., carrot cake!). I made a delicious carrot one year at Easter and he hated it, lol! I have to say though that he’s come around because he seemed to really enjoy those carrot cake oatmeal cookies. You never know!! lol! 😉
One of my favorite veggies to eat. My kids absolutely love them as well. Thanks for sharing these recipes. They will come in handy.
Carrots happen to be one of our favorite veggies. I’m so delighted you shared these many recipes! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you! I hope you try some of them!
Love this. I am doing a fitness challenge currently and have been eating super healthy so these recipes will let me be festive and not break my strict diet that I have to follow the next 4 weeks. The hummus one is right up my alley putting the ingredients on my shopping list right now.
You definitely won’t have to give up on flavour with these recipes! And good for you for taking on the challenge!
These are all sound healthy. MY kids love carrots and I pretty much incorporate carrots in my cooking. I’ll try some of these.
I used to hate carrots! Luckily, I realized how yummy it is
when cooked right!
Sometimes all it takes is the method of preparation!
I like the ginger-glazed carrots and caramelized onions. I love onions, and carrots are always better when they are glazed 🙂
So true!
The Curried Cauliflower Carrot Fritters looks amazing. i will have to try a few of these recipes this weekend.
We love them! They actually pretty filling and healthy too!
I’d really like to make some of those pinwheels. My daughter loves hummus. She’d love that one.
Yum, yum, yum! I put carrots in as many things as possible: baked goods, smoothies, etc and I eat them raw DAILY to help me get the crunch I want instead of (as many) cookies ; )
I enjoy them raw too…especially fresh, organic ones!
I had some carrots & hummus as a snack today. Love carrots. Thanks for reminding me of the carrot oatmeal, I had a recipe I wanted to try but forgot about it. The carrot cake cookies look great as well.
Carrots and hummus are my go-to snack or pack and go lunch! It’s so healthy and so easy to put together!
Carrots are so delicious! I actually put them in smoothies all the time for natural sweetness. That carrot cake oatmeal sounds fantastic!
I’ve only put them in a smoothie once, mixed with apples and oranges. I need to add them more often!
What a great list of recipes. Some of my kiddos are picky when it comes to veggies but with carrots all 5 of my kiddos love them. =)
Lucky you…you could try all of these recipes!
What a wonderful list! I love carrots and now I have even more ways to use it.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal??? Say what!! That sounds and looks amazing. I happen to have a 14 year old that would think I was the best thing if I made this for him. He loves carrot cake. I think I will have to give this a try. They all looks so amazing. Than you for sharing!
Thank you! You should try it…and he doesn’t have to know how healthy it is for him, lol!
I enjoy eating carrots, especially with hummus. Therefore, I will definitely have to try the Raw Hummus and Carrot Pinwheels recipe.
They are so easy to make!!
Oh yum, lots of carrot loveliness just in time for Easter. I love the sound and look of the carrot pinwheels, so delicious!
We buy carrots by bulk and will be growing them in our garden this year. They are such a great snack and I love making carrot soup from them. I really love your idea about raw hummus and carrot pinwheels so need to try that recipe.
I would love to grow my own carrots, or any vegetable for that matter. I’ve never thought to make a carrot soup…that sounds delicious!
Even though they taste so good, I honestly don’t use carrots as often as I probably should. I definitely want to give the Curried Cauliflower Carrot Fritters a try this week and hopefully the family gets a kick out of it.
Hope you love them as much as we do!
I need those carrot cake oatmeal cookies in my life immediately. That’s the uber treat for me. Yum!
Great! I’d love to know if you try them!
Yum this all looks awesome! My oldest is a huge carrot fan when it comes to recipes. I’m sure he would love all of this!
These recipes all sound amazing. I’d love to try the Ginger-Glazed Carrots & Caramelized Onions and the Curried Cauliflower Carrot Fritters. I love anything with carrots in them and eat a lot of them. So much so that sometimes my skin appears to be orange and I have to back off of them some.
Thank you! Those ginger-carrots are one of our fave side dishes and I love those fritters!
wow, so many awesome ways to enjoy one of my fav veggies!
While reading this, I am enjoying a slice of carrot cake. So delicious. I’d love to try your raw hummus and carrot pinwheels.
Lol, too funny! Carrot cake sounds really good right now!
Carrots are very versatile and I like ’em raw, cooked, and juiced.Ü I’m totally digging the Carrot Pinwheel & Hummus — seems like a good combo that’s healthy too.
Let me know if you try them!
This post could not have come at a better time! I bought too many carrots Saturday when I was prepping for soup, and now I have 6 or 7 still sitting in the fridge. I think I’m definitely going to try those hummus & carrot pinwheels for my daughter’s lunch, it looks like a recipe we all would love!
Great! You should check out some of my other carrot recipes on the Blog!
Oh, these all look fantastic. I think I’d try the carrot fritters first. But then again, we just finished breakfast so I’m in that sort of mood still.
Those are one of my faves! They just taste so healthy 😉
The raw hummus and carrot pinwheels look amazing. I enjoy carrots cooked and raw and especially carrot cake. 🙂
I love them too!
Your raw hummus pinwheels have me intrigued. I love hummus, but never thought of adding carrots.
It was sort of a last minute thought, just to add colour, but we ended up loving the texture they added!
I don’t love the taste of carrots, but if I make them in a maple glaze or something similar, I am ok with them.
My brother is the same way…he doesn’t care for them so it really depends on how they are prepared.