Beets: Not Just Your Gramma's Vegetable
All the vegetables are so delicious now its easy to have a plant based diet!
Eating what is in season is important to not only our bodies, but our carbon foot print and our local farmers. Can’t say this enough: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS!!
Beets are one of those vegetables that are underrated. They just don’t get enough credit.
There are many different varieties ranging from a run of the mill deep red beet to golden or to a pretty marbled bullseye colour, they are all tasty! And make for an interesting salad when combined together.
When they are small and in the earlier part of their season there is no reason to cook them.
When they are young and tender, you can eat these guys raw while maintaining all of their nutrients.
My favourite way is in a Shredded Carrot, Beet, Avocado with Pumpkin Seed Salad.
The nutrients are amazing in beets they are high in iron, potassium, niacin, and Vitamin C. Beets are especially supportive of the liver and our poor liver needs all the help it can get!
Later in the growing season they will have grown a bit bigger and has developed that distinct earthy beety taste, roasting or steaming is a good idea.
To peel or not to peel….the young ones may not need to be peeled, just depending on the texture of the skin. If the texture takes away from the beet peel the skin off using a pairing knife.
If you are cooking them, keep the skin on until finished cooking and then scape or rub off the skin.
If you are buying them from a farmers market or your local farm, the tops, if they look good, can be used in a salad or steamed. If they look yucky, toss them in your compost bin.
Cooked beets can be used in place of some of the fat in a muffin or quick bread (recipe to come in the fall).
Beets are a really versatile vegetable and we could all use more beets in our life. If beets are new to your diet, I encourage you to buy a bunch and experiment! Try them roasted in a rice bowl, raw in a salad, in soup, pickled or as a side.
If you have any health concerns or want more information on how to prepare beets don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I would love to help!
Happy eating!
Sarah
XO
