Who else has no problem eating beets? They’re one of those vegetables that kind of has a bad wrap, but I honestly don’t understand. I used to eat straight boiled beets in college because I loved them. Also because I didn’t know how to use the oven.
However, the one negative thing I will say about beets is the chopping process. It’s nearly impossible to chop a red beet without leaving the kitchen looking like a crime scene. And your fingers will be dyed red for hours. It’s not the best look.
You have beeter options….get it?
- My favorite option is not caring what you look like and eating the damn beets anyway. You turn on that murder podcast and embrace your new Ted Bundy look! Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy a good murder and don’t pretend like people care about your fingers. They don’t.
- You could buy pre-cooked beets. This is a good option for those who are at my college cooking level or those who don’t want to cook, but would like to poop (I’ll get to that). My favorite brand is Love Beets. They have some wonderful flavored options as well, but they aren’t organic and many have sugar. I’d go for the plain organic cooked beets and add your own spices/herbs/sauces/oils/other veggies/all of above.
- Lastly, you could buy yellow beets. They are packed with all the same nutrition as their red counterparts, but you won’t spend hours scrubbing your fingers. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Just from a pure annoyance standpoint, I get how beets can seem like they’re not worth the effort. But they SO ARE. I hesitate to use the word superfood because it’s basically just a marketing gimmick, but beets are pretty damn nutrient-dense. Here’s the shortlist:
- Beets have tons of minerals. I know minerals aren’t sexy, but we’d die without them. Minerals act as “spark plugs” for enzymes in tons of different reactions in the body. These reactions don’t happen, you die. Kapeesh? In particular, beets are high in folate and manganese.
- Beets have lots of fiber. Not as sexy as folate, but far sexier than constipation.
- Beets have phytonutrient compounds called betalains. These betalains go on to support glutathione in our phase 2 detoxification pathways. This sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, but detoxification is very important. And I’m not talking a 3 day juice cleanse kind of detox. Not my thang. I’m talking normal daily detox so you don’t have to juice cleanse.
- Beets (and their greens) have a high amount of lutein. Lutein is a carotenoid, which is important classification of nutrients with many functions, but most famous for eye health. Yellow beets have even more lutein than red beets – that’s totally why I chose yellow beets for this recipe 😉
If you’re not convinced to eat more beets now, then I don’t know what else to say. And if you think you don’t like beets, give this recipe a shot. IT’S THE BEST.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 60-75 minutes |
| Passive Time | 75 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 3 medium yellow beets
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp smoked salt
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
Ingredients
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|
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Peel and chop beets into small cubes. Place in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Add the oil, salt, paprika, and chipotle powder to the bowl. Mix well.
- Place beets on one side of a foil-lined baking sheet. Fold the empty side of the foil over the beets to cover.
- Bake in oven for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.
- Toss with fresh cilantro (or don't) and serve warm.