All About Them Beets

I love beets! I mean I work at the Sugar Beet School House so really who are we kidding here?! If you follow me on Instagram @elleshealthyeats, you may have seen a few of my stories when I make my super easy and tasty beet and cucumber salad. I've really been enjoying this salad with my breakfast and my favorite combo so happens to be soft boiled eggs, breakfast sausage, beet salad, and fried plantains. I'm so excited to share this recipe with you all and can't wait for you to try it out. Beets have a very earthy flavor, my mom isn't a huge fan she says she feels like she is eating dirt. Anyways I've grown to love their flavor and I think beets actually have a sweet taste to them. I've paired this salad with a lemon and olive oil tahini dressing which balances the flavors and brightens the dish up. I've also added some cucumbers and chopped walnuts for a nice crunch and texture. I really hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

A little nutrition education about this awesome root vegetable:

Beets are a good source of fiber about 4 grams per one cup, making them great for digestion. Other significant micronutrients found in beets include: folate, manganese, potassium, copper, magnesium, iron, and vitamin C and B vitamins. Some important health benefits of this veggie are: they contain cancer fighting antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, heart healthy, detoxifies your blood, helps you maintain a healthy sex drive, full of anti-aging properties, and boosts endurance, stamina, and muscle recovery. Guess what I learned something new while researching beets for this post! Yes I'm a nutrition major and I still don't know everything, that's why I'm the nerd I am, I love science and continually growing my knowledge of food and nutrition. I always knew beets had lots of fiber which helps the digestive system by getting rid of waste and toxins while keeping normal bowel movements, however I never knew that they helped to detoxify our blood. Beets contain compounds called glutathiones, which are necessary for detoxification of the liver and and digestive organs. These help to cleanse the blood of toxins, heavy metals, and wastes. So beets are a natural detoxifier! For all of those into the cleanses, I'm not that big on this movement but I'm all for incorporating natural foods into our bodies which can help to balance and detoxify our bodies. Try this beet salad or even beet juices or smoothies! Find this awesome recipe in the Food section or under Salads!