I love this roasted carrot recipe! It’s a great easy way to get some veggies on the dinner table. Roasting the carrots with garlic brings out a whole new flavor. You can also eat the roasted garlic cloves in this recipe. Roasting makes the garlic tender and delicious!
About my boyfriend the formerly picky eater:
My boyfriend Victor also loves this recipe. He was a formerly picky eater (especially with vegetables), but he’s definitely coming around. He used to not like any vegetables apart from “fried zucchini” (his words), but I knew if I prepared some tasty veggies with garlic and butter or olive oil that he might come around. Everything tastes good with garlic and oil right?
I think a lot of people that aren’t foodies or into cooking don’t know very much about how delicious veggies can be. I think most chain restaurants don’t have quality, in-season, fresh vegetables and furthermore don’t know how to prepare veggies in a way that makes them delicious, so these people think they don’t like veggies. If I had to only eat the vegetables they serve at Chili’s, McDonald’s, or school lunches, I probably wouldn’t like vegetables either.
I always try to get Victor to try new things to better his diet and most of the time he’s resistant at first. I’ll ask him, “Do you want to try some sauerkraut?”, He’ll say “No, I don’t like sauerkraut.” I’m thinking… yea right, when was the last time you had real sauerkraut? Probably never. So I say “Will you just try a little bit? If you don’t like it you don’t have to have any.” He agrees. He takes a bite and says “DO I LIKE SAUERKRAUT?!”
This is how it’s been going for some time.
Me: “Will you try these grapes?”
Victor: “No I don’t like grapes.”
Me: “Just try one”
He eats one.
Victor: “DO I LIKE GRAPES?!”
Another night I decided to make these roasted carrots and Victor says, “No, I don’t like cooked carrots”. So I say, “I’ll just make them and you can try them and if you don’t like it then don’t have any”. He tries the carrots and guess what he says?
“DO I LIKE CARROTS?!”
So, this has become a little inside joke between us. Every time I try to get him to try something new and he’s INSISTENT that he doesn’t like it I say “Is this going to be like the carrots and grapes and sauerkraut where you INSIST you don’t like them and then you try them and say ‘DO I LIKE CARROTS!?'”
I must admit it doesn’t always work. Sometimes he tries things and just doesn’t like it, but that’s ok because for every 1 thing he doesn’t like he probably likes 3 other things. His diet has improved by leaps and bounds over the years. Needless to say I’m a proud girlfriend.
After all, his health affects my health. If he eats poorly and keeps junk food in the house, it tempts me to eat it too. If his immune system is poor because of his bad diet and gets sick often, I have a higher chance of getting sick too. If he’s tired, depressed and in poor spirits because of a bad diet, it brings me down in the dumps too. No one wants to see their partner in poor health. It’s stressful mentally too. So, kudos to all those people trying to get their partners or kids to eat better because they care. It’s not easy, but good on you for trying!
Who is the picky eater in your house?
How have you tried to help them improve their diet?
Simple Roasted Carrots:
About 6-8 carrots
5 cloves garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil (where to buy quality olive oil)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°. Wash carrots and cut into thirds. Cut thicker parts into thinner slices. All pieces should be about the same size.
2. Put carrots and peeled garlic into a bowl and add olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and mix well so that the oil covers all the carrots and garlic.
3. Spread carrots onto a baking sheet, you can line it with parchment paper or a silpat (I use my silpat a lot for baking, it makes it easier and is less waste than parchment).
4. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until carrots are tender and you can pierce them with a fork.
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This looks great! I just realized tonight that I hadn’t made cooked carrots in the longest time, so I steamed some to go with dinner. That was boring though; this looks a lot more tasty!
These were great! My 2 year old loved them so much that we used them as a bribe to get her to eat the rest of her food. “Oh you want more carrots? Okay then eat a couple of spoonfuls of quinoa.” 🙂
Haha! That’s great Luanna! Glad to hear they were a hit with your daughter.
I love your technique, I do the same with my husband. I don’t like to “trick” people into eating foods, I think it is very important to knowingly try new foods! Another technique I use is to include a variety of veggies in “one pot meals” I tell him what is in the pot, but I only include small amounts of the things he doesn’t love and in bite sized pieces.
I agree Mandi, it’s important to know what you’re trying! I do the bite sized mixed in method too, it’s better if a new food isn’t the dominant flavor 🙂
Roasting veggies is where it’s at! My DH & DS used to not be much of a veggie eater outside of salads. They’ve both expanded their horizons tremendously and part of it is that I roast a lot of veggies! Besides salads, roasting veggies is my go-to for simple, quick veggie prep. Chop up veggies, throw them on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and toss with salt, pepper and any other herbs or seasonings that sound good. Throw them in the oven until they’re done to our liking. Instant yumminess! I used to hate cooked carrots. Now I roast them frequently – similar to your recipe. My son refers to them as carrot “French fries.” 🙂
Love it! I cook carrots similar to that a lot. The best is the roasted potatoes. When I met my husband he declared never make him potatoes, he “hates them” and will not eat. Once, he let it slip it’s because they have no taste! That did it. I make several varieties (sometimes mixing potatoes and carrots) all much like above, just changing the fresh herbs around, especially when my herb garden is is full bloom. Now, he cannot get enough of them! It’s all about how you cook. We sometimes have 2 or 3 veggies. People still are stuck on…but what about the…(starch? meat? whatever!). It’s all about the taste and vitamins!
cute story!