Good evening! I hope you have had a good start to your week. Another amazing bunch of comments on this morning’s post. So many awesome thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and stories. Thank you for sharing!
My day has flown by and I got quite a bit crossed off the list. All day long I had to fight the urge to ditch all my work and go read, lol. However, I use the book as a ‘treat’ at the end of a work day. I am really looking forward to reading before bed tonight, cuddled up on the couch with Eric and Sketchie!
I also noticed an increase in my energy today after having such a relaxing and rejuvenating day yesterday. I decided this will have to become a Sunday tradition!
Speaking of energy…
It may be no secret that I did not enjoy beets until my 26th year when I started juicing with them. I learned to love the taste of beets in a juice and I have had a beet juice at least once a week for the past few months. It is simply delicious!
One thing I never got over was eating beets whole.
I still have bad memories of the canned beets my dad used to try to get me to eat at Thanksgiving. He would open the can and the beets would come out looking just like a can, complete with little ring imprints around this beet puree mold. Horrifying I tell you. If you have been there, you feel my pain. Ever since my childhood I have crossed beets off my ‘must learn to enjoy’ list. My dad still eats canned beets to this day and I always quietly chuckle to myself whenever we have a holiday meal together and I see the canned beets come out! To this day, he is the only person who dares to touch the canned beets. Bless his heart.
However, I now appreciate a couple things:
1) Canned beets are not the same as fresh beets
2) My tastes are growing and adapting over the years
These days, I have a desire to experiment more with my diet so I figured why not take the plunge and prepare some fresh beets? Who knows, I might actually enjoy them!
Beet, Apple, and Orange Salad in a Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette
Adapted from Vegetarian.about.com.
Ingredients:
- 3 fresh beets
- 1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
- 2 apples, sliced
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, for garnish
- Salad greens (spinach, romaine, etc.)
- Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette (see below)
- Shredded coconut, for garnish
- Fresh Raspberries, for garnish
Directions: Rinse beets and cut off ends. Toss beets in a medium sized pot filled half way with water. Turn burner heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes until beets are soft. While the beets are cooking, chop apple and peel and chop orange. Remove any seeds from orange. Remove beets from heat and drain. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, thinly slice the beets. Add the apple, orange, and beets to a medium sized bowl and mix. Make the Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette (see below) and then pour over this mixture mixing it very well. Serve over top your choice of greens and sprinkle with sunflower seeds, fresh raspberries, and coconut. Serves 2.
Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider for the sweeter taste)
- 1 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil (or your choice of oil, EVOO works well)
- 7-8 fresh raspberries, mashed with fork
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Directions: Mix. [That was easy!]
I loved this homemade raspberry vinaigrette…so easy!
A gorgeous, bright and colourful summer salad appeared before my eyes…
I was just smitten by how beautiful it was. It was love at first sight.
…and love at first bite!
I actually surprised myself and I loved this beet salad! I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about eating cooked beets, but I loved them. They definitely exceeded my expectations.
The one thing I still haven’t gotten over is the smell of beets, specifically the smell of cooked beets, but I am sure I will get used to it over time. I think I need to slowly disentangle my bad memories of canned beets from the fresh ones.
Dessert was a new take on my Frosty No-Bake Glo Cakes!
I will be sharing the recipe with you tomorrow morning, so hang tight! They were deelish and frosty. Mmmm me oh my.
Eric is taking me out on a date tonight. He won’t tell me where we are going but he said to make sure I have air in my tires, my bike tires that is. haha. I’ll bring along the camera and show you some pictures tomorrow morning! Have a great night.
I LOOVE beets. We had fresh cooked beets on the salad bar in college, and I went through a phase my senior year when I ate so many my pee turned pink! And, a funny beet story. One day I was loading up my salad with my beloved beets when an older man in line behind me (an alum, maybe?) told me “My mom always said that beets make you beautiful. I guess she was right!” I was so flattered I wanted to hug him. But instead I just ate even more beets. :)
I have seen beets so much in the blogworld lately! The salad looked delicious, though! As did those glo-cakes!!!
These might be some new favorite foodie pictures! I heart beets — what a creative title, too : )
Enjoy your night <3
Thank you :) I might have to print one of the photos out!
I’ve always been scared of beets. My family also used to buy the canned ones. I hated how they tasted and I haven’t tried another beet since then. That salad looks so good, maybe I’d like fresh beets better?
Your beet story is my story – it wasn’t until i was with a gal pal in NYC and we stumbled across this funky little restaurant that I was able to overcome my fear of beets. My mum used to boil them and the stench was unbelievable! But this little place had a beet and goat cheese salad that looked able to overcome those smelly obstacles . . . and it was really good. I have been admiring your beet juices – so much color!! Hope you had a fun evening. We went for an Angela inspired walk, but had to kick it up a notch as there was a storm coming in, so no frozen yogurt stop (there was a line out the door, and while it’s good, it’s not “rainsoaked’ good :)). So maybe some best chocolate pudding you’ll ever have is in order! :)
hah that’s cute!
I’ve been thinking about those Frosty No-Bake Glo Cakes since you first posted! That’s it – I’m making them tonight!!
I didn’t like beets either growing up – of course they were canned – one of my strongest memories from pre-school was sitting at the lunch table with beets looming on my plate. We weren’t allowed to leave until we ate them :/
But I love beets now – especially cold beets in a salad with nuts and goat cheese :) yummy
beet juice started giving me a sore throat, this has happened to a few others. it hurts so i quit them. i am kind of off of beets raw but like them roasted or pickled. they are great for the liver.
thanks for the raw cookie recipe this morning!
What a beautiful salad!!! I have never been a fan of beets, they smell and taste like dirt to me. Recently a woman who works at the bakery with me made a citrus marinated beet salad, kinda almost pickled…and it was actually good! Now the rude comments fly whenever i’m caught eating it at work, caught “red handed” with my fingers in the salad bowl!
I was just having dinner with my friends last week and the topic of beets came up…my friend said that she couldn’t stand the taste of beets because they tasted like dirt! I’ve never had them and now I’m afraid :) I know I don’t like dirt.
I actually always loved beets! When I was a child, I was so HAPPY when we had some! My mother prepared cooked beets with a little butter on them and it was really good!
That salad looks absolutely delicious :)
I feel your pain with the beets. I’m still not able to eat them but I do LOVE them juicing them. Growing up I couldn’t stomach asparagus either. Mom used to serve canned asparagus, yes that’s right I said canned asparagus. It was foul tasting mush. Now that I’m all grown up and have experienced fresh asparagus I can’t get enough. Would you believe to this day my parents have not had fresh asparagus.
Can you share what kind of juicer you use? Do you like it?
It is a Breville Fountain Elite. It works just ‘OK’…it has a really hard time with beets, for example.
I have to agree, there is a distinct difference between fresh beets and canned! I just wish they weren’t such a pain to prepare. ;)
Oh wow glo cakes, you look so good.
I love beets, but didn’t start eating them until I was about 27 or 28 I think. We’re just late bloomers that’s all.
Roasted beets, turnips, celery root, and parsnips with rosemary and chevre cheese is awesome!
I still don’t like beets! I really wish I did though.
My oh my – such a gorgeous looking salad!!!!
have fun tonight!
That salad looks divine! I love beets.
I agree canned beets are not the same as fresh ;) Glad you are starting to like beets, they are one of my favorites!
Canned beets are almost an entirely different vegetable in my opinion haha!
I think beets are probably one of my most favorite veggies and near the top of the ones I love to roast (only behind squash!).
Your salad photos are spectacular too, really captures all of the vibrant colors. :D
thank you!
That looks good, and I’d definitely like to eat more beets. I’d never tried them until last year and as it is I think they’re OK – I’ll eat them, but I’ve only made them once myself.
I’ve never heard of canned beets. Is that a Canadian thing?
I used to babysit two kids ages 2 and 4 and they loooooved beets. Their mom would get out a jar of pickled beets and they would shriek for joy, “Beets! Beets!” and then we would spend an hour eating them. I thought it was hilarious, but their mom always acted really excited about beets and so the kids felt it, too.
I, like you, just started loving beets like last year! i love them in juices and especially in salads. I make a mean beet salad with kalamata olives, red onion, sliced apples, beets (obvi. lol), and homemade balsamic dressing! yum!