I spent the afternoon in one of my favorite places (my kitchen), really embracing the colors and vegetables of fall. I decided that I really hadn’t dabbled into the root vegetables of the season and taken advantage of seasonal eating, so I pulled out some colorful and delicious beets. This of my favorite root vegetables, that are oh so versatile and tasty! So lets get started with those beets!
Beets, are usually those red roots in the grocery store that you are a bit intimidated to try for yourself. Well fear no more, they are absolutely fabulous and have so many health benefits. Some of the nutritional benefits are:
1. They were anciently used as an aphrodisiac. Beets contain high amounts of the micro-nutrient boron that can positively affect your production of sex hormones!
2. They are extremely high in nutrients! Lots of them including potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine; folic acid!
3. They are a wonderful tonic for the liver, works as a purifier for the blood, and can possible help in the prevention of cancer. Nuff said, right? Tastes good and prevents cancer? Sign me up!
4. Beets have been shown to have contain betaine and trytophan, which both can be beneficial in maintaining a good sense of well-being, a healthy state of relaxation and have been used in the treatment of depression.
5.At the same time they are low in calories and high in sugar (although the sugar is released into your system gradually, as opposed to chocolate). Very few foods found in the natural world are as beneficial as beets in this regard.
So now let’s take the guess work out of it, and show you how to easily prepare them, by roasting them in the oven.
RECIPE:
5 pieces of chicken (any cut will work)
1 golden beet
3 red beets
water
salt and pepper
fresh garlic
thyme
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Then wash your beet thoroughly, removing any excess dirt
Chop them into cubes (you can remove the outside layer if you’d like, but I left mine on), nestle them with chicken by placing them in a 9 X 13 pan and then just topped them with fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Finish by pouring about 1/2 cup of water over the top of them and place them in the oven to roast for about 50 minutes or until they are cooked thoroughly.
Enjoy as a side to any fall-friendly meal!
I also wanted to share (in less detail), that I did some baking today and utilized another fall staple, pumpkin!
I prepared some wonderful Paleo Pumpkin Bread, I used the recipe from Elana’s Pantry. It is SO GOOD and a must try for any aspiring Paleo baker out there!
Paleo Pumpkin Bread
- ½ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
or palm shortening
- ½ cup agave nectar
or honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup fresh baked pumpkin (or winter squash), well packed
- In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
- In a vitamix
puree oil, agave, eggs and pumpkin until smooth
- Stir wet ingredients into dry
- Rub the interior of the loaf pan with coconut oil to insure an easily removal from the pan when finished
- Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes
- Cool for 2-3 hours
- Serve
Makes 1 loaf
Thanks for checking out my blog and from my kitchen to yours, have a wonderful week!
Karmen
References:
“Paleo, Gluten Free, Grain Free, High Protein and Healthy.” RSS. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Dumas, Kiley. “6 Health Benefits of Eating Beets.” Www.fullcircle.com. Full Circle, 10 May 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.