11.10.14

beet benefits

I love fall and fall food! It's been a while since I've eaten beets, so today I made them in my usual way... which is probably weird. I don't like them raw (though juiced with other things it's fine) so sometime after an elimination diet where I learned I have a yam and potato allergy, I tried cooking them like fried potatoes. They end up almost like potato chips if I cook them way too much - crispy and oily and salty. They're messy and a little bit of work to prepare, but honestly I will gobble them up so fast because it's yummy this way. (hmmm... I should plant some beets...) I wanted to share my way of cooking them and see if anyone has tried this or other fun ways to cook beets. I don't use recipes so this isn't a recipe... but I will explain the way I do it for you.

First: why beets are awesome. They kind of look like a heart and make a mess of red stains. They must be good for our hearts right? I checked and it's true. Great at detoxifying blood and internal organs. This may be why I love them. They also lower blood pressure and are anti-inflammatory. Plus beet greens are super high in iron and many other vitamins. You can read more about the benefits online, now for the recipe thing.


not my picture... too busy cooking to take a picture today.

If you find the golden or orange beets they are a little less messy and equally delicious. I peel beets, but apparently it isn't necessary. Keep the greens for something else or saute them with the roots if you want. Thinly slice up the beet roots. This can stain your cutting board (everything...) so a nice trick is to slice them on a ceramic plate. Heat up a frying pan with your favorite high temperature oil (coconut is nice). Use meduim-ish heat - more or less depending on how well you pay attention/burn things. I usually lay out the beets in a single layer and grill them slowly at a med-low heat while slicing the next beet. I like to put the bigger and thicker slices in the middle and small thin ones on the outside of the pan so they cook more evenly. You could go culinary and throw a bunch in on high heat and flip them to coat the oil. Because I prefer to get them a little browned and crispy, I want to cook them for about five minutes on each side. When they're done, put them onto a plate with a paper towel to soak up extra oil and sprinkle on some salt. Resist temptation to eat them all while you're cooking. Today I mixed in some carrots I sliced diagonally and that was yummy too. Red and orange foods make me drool this time of year... Don't even get me started on kabocha.

Feel free to share how you cook beets or other fall foods... drool. now I'm hungry.

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