I love carrots! I've been eating a lot lately, but I'm always left with a HUGE amount of carrot greens. Recently I began wondering if they are edible, because it seems such a pity to let them all go to waste. I did a little searching online, and found that the general opinion is that they ARE edible. One person, though, wrote that they are mildly toxic(!!!) and can cause bad reactions in certain people. Can anyone definitively settle this for me? Can I safely eat my carrot greens?

If they are indeed safe to eat, I'm wondering what they taste like I hear that they are pretty rich in potassium, which gives them a bitter taste. Are they anything like parsley? I've been eating tons of parsley lately (banana and parsley smoothie, yummy), just because it is so rich in nutrients. Which also leads me to wonder: how do carrot greens compare, nutritionally, to other greens?

Thanks all

All greens have some toxins in them. That's why it is important to rotate and not eat the same greens everyday. Read this article by Victoria Boutenko for more information and for a list of greens that her family rotates through [www.rawbc.org].

I would say experiment and see how you like it. You can always add more fruit or another green if you taste the smoothie and it's too bitter.

Let us know how you like it!

Thanks you sooooo much, Karen. This is exactly what I was looking for, and much more. Especially since it was written by Victoria Boutenko, who I have an incredible amount of respect for. Thank you thank you thank you!

Although unrelated to my initial question, I loved the part about the trees giving a final push of energy into creating seeds before dying. It's... the most beautiful thing I've read in a long time.

not that it will make a difference as far as toxicity, but i believe carrots and parsley are in the same plant family. I've nibbled on them before and found them bitter, but that was way before I became raw. My tastebuds seem to be brand new so maybe i'll try again.

blech!

you can take the carrot nub with the greens attached and plant it to grow a new bunch of carrots. that's gotta be tastier than eating the greens!

They are in the parsley family. High in oxalic acid.

A few tbsp per day is ok but you would not want to eat pounds of them every day. Probably your GI tract would rebel if you tried.

Years ago when I attempted to grow carrots, I was unsuccessful because cats kept eating the tops off. The same thing happened to someone else who planted them in her yard. Cats belonging to neighbors (that were well fed, not stray ones) also went crazy about them and wouldn't leave them alone till they finished them off.
Who knows what about them that attracted the cats!

Wishing you vibrant health

Carrot greens are totally edible, and in fact, the most nutritious part of the carrot... blend them up in your green smoothie... if you're into that.

Cheers,

Hmm, I wonder who told the cats to eat the greens. How did they know they were edible? Maybe they did what all other animals on earth do -- they put them in their mouths and listened to their bodies' reaction. Why can't we do the same? If something is good, it tastes good. Our species would not have survived if our senses weren't trustworthy. It takes a lot of twisted, contrived logic to refute that. Humans are the only ones who even try to argue against trusting nature.

Healthy foods don't have to be rotated to make sure you don't get too much of their toxic ingredients.

It is harmful for us to disguise foods that taste bad just to get them into our bodies. It is anti-nature. Trust your body. If it comes straight from nature and it tastes good, eat it. If it doesn't, don't.

Regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com