Every chef, mom, and just generally healthy person knows that one food group trumps all in the quest for good health: vegetables! However, when it gets cold and snowy outside, I don’t know many people who crave a nice, warm…salad. If anything, most people turn to carbs and hearty soups for comfort food during the winter, which can lead to a dearth of vegetables in their diets.
Enter: beets. This vegetable’s hearty texture, beautiful color and availability in winter make it the perfect addition to a winter meal. Additonally, beets boast a plethora of health benefits, ranging from low caloric content to high folate, B-complex vitamin, and potassium content. They are also a great source of antioxidants. Even kids will enjoy this delicious vegetable if prepared in the right way.
Try this recipe below for a creative way to add beets to your winter menu!
Beet and Blood Orange Salad
5 medium beets
2 blood oranges (segments removed)
3 T olive oil
2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 t orange zest
small handful of mint torn to small pieces
Serves Two
Preheat the oven to 400.
Wash beets well, cut off ends, and remove the skin with vegetable peeler.
Cut beets into 1.5” pieces.
Toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and orange zest and lay out flat on a tin foil lined baking sheet.
Bake until tender, about 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and toss with mint and blood orange segments. Serve warm.
