Thank you to Phil for the  gift of fresh beetroot pulled from her beautiful garden at the foothills of the Comeragh mountains here in County Waterford.

beetroot health benefits

Beets are not only chock-full of essential everyday nutrients like B vitamins, iron, manganese, copper, magnesium, and potassium, these ruby gems also are a goldmine of health-boosting nutrients that you may not get anywhere else. There are some great health benefits when you eat beets.  They are full of powerful  anti-oxidants that help combat illness and disease. They are  anti-inflammatory, they support detoxification, increase blood flow (great for athletes) and  can help reduce blood pressure.

How to Enjoy Beetroot…

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Simply grate raw beets for a delicious and colourful addition to salads or decorative garnish for soups, see recipe below.
Healthy Boil beet greens for 1 minute for a great tasting side dish, which is very similar to Swiss chard.
Marinate steamed beets in fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh herbs.

My 2 favourite ways to enjoy beets is either  whizzed up in the nutribullet with apple, cucumber and water or grated for a salad

APPETIZER RAW BEET SALAD WITH SHALLOT, HONEY, ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups shredded raw red beets
  • 1 shallot, peeled, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar (can also use a champagne vinegar)
  • ½ orange or 1 tangerine
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or canola)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt,
  • Black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Peel and grate red beets (I used food processor). Set aside.
  2. Zest the citrus. Set aside.
  3. In small food processor, place shallot, a squeeze of citrus, honey and vinegar. Mix well. Add in both oils. Continue to mix. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Toss beets the the vinaigrette. (You won’t use it all, this should be enough for 4 cups of beets if you want to double recipe. Use remaining dressing for another salad).
  5. Toss with most of citrus zest, saving some for garnish.
  6. You can serve now or refrigerate and serve later.