When I was a child I can totally remember my Mom having beets on the table. She loved Harvard beets out of a jar. I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them either. As I grew older beets certainly weren't my first choice to go on my plate. Like most people when we are exposed to foods as a child, we tend to think they can only be prepared or offered one way. It's funny how our minds work. As I come across adults I see how close minded or stifled in a box we can be when it comes to food. My sweet husband loves my cooking, but I still see him get a nervous if a new dish or food graces his plate. I've for the most part always been an odd ball in that respect. I always loved trying new foods within reason, anything in the vegetable or plant category I've deemed as safe to try. When we get into the animal kingdom that's where I begin to get picky for various reasons. I'm still like that today for the most part. I can remember branching out into what I considered healthier foods as a teenager the more trendy or fancy it was the better, again, I'm not that different today, I was a foodie in the making. Dare I say how hip I thought I was eating that veggie patty from TGI Fridays in 1995. If smart phones, food shots, and blogging were in then I would've been doing this way sooner.
I don't think many people reach for beets on a standard American diet since most are concerned with what is fast and tastes good going down in our busy society. You just don't find beets in the American drive thru. I am grateful to Mom for exposing me to beets though because I had a base to start from and in 2009 when I adopted a plant based eating regimen to transform my health I knew I'd have to expand my horizons above the over cooked frozen broccoli that I grew up on as well as the jarred beets. I will say she scarred me from trying brussel sprouts because of the boiling. I thought brussel sprouts always had to smell like stinky feet, which is what happens when you boil them, so I didn't go near them. It wasn't until I learned about the power of roasting vegetables that brussel sprouts became acceptable.
So I don't eat beets from a jar today, but I do enjoy them a variety of ways. I love them raw in smoothies, juices (best raw juice ever with lots of ginger), or grated on salads. I adore them lacto-fermented, which I can do a blog post about if you'd like. Let me know. I might do it anyway. A favorite and simple way that opens up lots of doors to enjoying beets, which I'll share today is roasting them. When you roast beets, magic happens. They soften, caramelize, and turn into root veggie candy. They are wonderful as a dinner or breakfast side dish, on salads, a snack, in sandwiches or wraps, or whatever other food experience you may create.
Foodie Tip: Do not throw out those beets greens and stems! They are amazingly healthy and are great juiced, lightly sauteed in coconut oil, or chopped up for a salad.
Beets have a phenomenal nutritional profile packed with minerals like potassium and manganese, vitamin C, fiber, and anthocyanins (really wonderful antioixdants). They support healthy blood pressure.
You want to buy them organic because they are one of the top genetically modified foods.
Simple Roasted Beets
You can roast as many as you want or get into your oven. I've not frozen them afterwards before, but I would think if you wanted to do so after chopping them, and then throw them into a stir fry later, that would be fine or directly into a smoothie.
I do not peel them, but I do wash them with my toxin free Thieves Fruit & Veggie Wash. We never know what our foods' path was before it got to us, so washing is highly recommended. I put them in a bowl of filtered water with a 1/2 to 1 tsp of the veggie wash or I spray each beet with the veggie spray and then put them in the water. Using a vegetable scrub brush I gently clean them. You can get the veggie wash or spray with a family wholesale account through Young Living Essential Oils, here. You'll receive a 24% discount along with other benefits as a member. Young Living is a wellness company with wide range of safe, toxin free products for the whole family and house. You can see the products here. Feel free to ask me questions about it. You can email me here.
After you wash them I cut the ends off with the stems, but not the tips. (In the picture some are cut off because I honestly got distracted by my toddler.)
Cover the beets in either avocado or coconut oil, then sprinkle with Himalayan salt. Avocado oil would be better due to the temperature.
I always like to use parchment paper to reduce clean up. So I place parchment on whatever pan or dish or sheet I'm using to roast the beets.
Roast them in the oven for 50 minutes on 400 degrees F.
Let me know how you like your beets! If you've never tried beets before, definitely try them this way first.
No comments:
Post a Comment