Beets, Red Beets, Beetroot

Beets, Red beets, Beetroot. Whatever this red root vegetable is called, it can be added to a variety of dishes: salads, soups, smoothies, and even desserts! It is easily becoming a popular food in my daily diet.

I recently ate a delicious salad with roasted red beets, chickpeas and feta. At home, I tried to recreate it (without the feta as I didn't have any) but used canned beets instead.

As much as roasted veg tastes great, I rarely have the patience to wait whilst veg roasts in the oven, especially when it can be eaten raw in a salad or steamed in boiling water for a couple of minutes. As the weather warms up and summer approaches, I prefer to eat uncooked food and keep the oven turned off.

The convenience, shelf-life and cost ($0.79 a can) associated with canned beets are more appealing. Cooking fresh beets take 35-60 minutes. They then must be peeled before use in a dish. After discovering they also maintain about the same nutritional value as fresh beets, giving you a good source of fiber, iron and folate, I stocked up at my local supermarket - ensuring I bought beets with no added salt.

A typical serving (120g / 4oz) contains 40 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 25mg sodium (no added salt variety), 8g carbs, 6g sugars and 1g fiber. They also contain potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B6 and C, folic acid, and antioxidants.

The day after my beetroot salad, I used some in a smoothie. I added in 100g canned beets into my Green Fruit and Veg Smoothie. Instead of green, it turned out to be a milk chocolate brown colour. Although it didn't taste like drinking melted chocolate, the natural sugars from the apple and beets made it refreshingly sweet.

I am keen to make Borscht, an Eastern European soup, as well as red velvet brownies and cupcakes.