DECEMBER FOOD OF THE MONTH: CARROTS

• Taste: Sweet, Pungent

• Temperature: Warming

• Post-Digestive Effect: Building

• Dosha: Vata, Kapha (can be Pitta aggravating in excess)

• Qualities:  Hard, Rough, Heavy (when raw) - Light, Soft (when cooked)

• Properties: Laxative (encourages BMs), Blood Tonic (strengthens the blood), Liver Tonic (supports the liver), Skin Tonic (strengthens the skin), Hypotensive (reduces blood pressure), Antioxidant (stops oxidation which damages cells), Alterative (blood cleansing), Energizer (gives energy), Anticarcinogenic (prevents and inhibits carcinogens), Cholagogue (encourages production and release of bile from liver and gall bladder)

• Best flavor combos: allspice, almonds, apples, basil, bay leaf, beans, beets, ghee, cardamom, caraway seeds, celery, cashews, cheese, cilantro, cinnamon, coconut, cloves, coriander, cumin, dates, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, honey, lemon, leeks, lentils, maple syrup, mint, miso, mustard, nutmeg, orange, parsley, raisins, sesame

• Season: year-round with the sweetest and most abundant harvest in October-April

Carrots, a staple of winter cooking.

Carrots are known to be great for skin health, eye health, liver health, blood health, and more. When I think of carrots, I think of the blood. They deeply nourish and purify the blood tissue. They are also great for detoxifying the body and assisting in bowel movements.

Some refer to them as "tiny ginseng," giving lots of energy, especially when consumed raw as a juice. This can also be used for anemia when mixed with beet juice (1/2 cup each) and a pinch of freshly ground cumin powder (Dr. Vasant Lad's remedy).

Sometimes the pungent (heating) nature of carrots can be aggravating to pittas. Which is why, I prefer to eat them in the colder months and spring. If you notice their qualities from above, they are easier to digest when cooked. So, I prefer to cook them in soups and stews and other dishes, but when looking to detoxify, raw (as a juice preferably) can be helpful.

I use them in a lot of recipes for a number of reasons. They are in season almost year round, easy to digest (especially when cooked), only aggravating to pitta in excess, and pair well flavor-wise with so many different foods.

And they are extremely healthy - look at the benefits they have above in the "properties section," they are even known to be anti-cancer in Ayurveda and used in many Ayurvedic cancer programs.

Organic carrots are typically one of my go-to produce items I grab at the store, especially during this season, BUT I do prefer to minimize them in the summer.

References

• "Carrot." Joyful Belly Ayurveda, www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/ingredient/Carrot/2. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.

• Lad, Usha, and Vasant Lad. Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing. 2nd ed., Ayurvedic Press, 2008.

• Page, K. (2014). The vegetarian flavor bible. Little, Brown and Company.

• Smith, Vaidya Atreya. Ayurvedic Medicine for Westerners: Volume 3 – Clinical Protocols and Treatments in Ayurveda. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013.

ROASTED CARROT SOUP

APPLE CARROT GINGER MUFFINS

CARIBBEAN STYLE CARROT COCONUT KITCHARI