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.
You MUST roast beets. They’re so delicious (seriously taste like candy) and then you don’t throw out all the nutrients with the boiling water.
I can’t get over the colour of beets. I LOVE, love love them. They’re much more common here in Australia than in Canada (I only knew of pickled beets as a kid) and I’ve certainly learned to love them.
not really a beet person, but you make it all look so pretty!
Love beets, Angela! (but definitely not from a can, noooo m’am!) I’m really weird and can’t bear to slice them in circles because it reminds me of the canned ones. I always have to cube them! Just an idiosyncracy, I suppose. I always put mine with goat cheese and arugula, but I can see how the oranges and apples would bring out their natural sweetness. Oooh and I’m making VOO tonight…I don’t have chia seeds so I’ll have to use flax meal. Fingers crossed!
Oh no! What am I missing with beets? So many beet fans. I just can’t go near them, for various reasons, lol. It is the one veggie I can’t handle. Gorgeous salad, though. I’ll pretend all the beets are strawberries.
i love pickled beets, and beet relish (beets with horseradish) my mom makes it the best!
lots of flavour and kick to them.
Hi! I need your help..pretty please? LOL. I tried making your overnight oats, except mine came out all soupy. Any ideas why? They sound so good.
use more chia seeds and make sure to stir very well before and in the morning :)
What a colorful meal! I love it :)
So apparently I’m rather alone in my lifelong canned or fresh true love affair for beets! My mom has pictures of me with beet juice staining my little toddler face. Naturally, this salad sounds DIVINE. So I’m going to bookmark it until I cook up my fresh farmer’s market beets for it. :)
haha that is too cute!
That salad looks SO GOOD!! I can’t wait for berry season here, I’m going to recreate this!
I personally love beets – I sometimes grate them raw along with my carrot for salad sandwiches, but you can also try roasting them to toss through salads (nice in the Autumn, with a salad with rocket, pecan nuts, pear and roasted beets with a red wine vinegar dressing). I always have them in my juice too!
Beets are the best! I never have them cooked, though – not boiled anyways. Mostly I slice them thinly in salad, if you use a veggie peeler you get long, curly purple strands that beautify any salad, but mix them in last or they’ll colour up everything! Grated raw is good as well, with a nice dressing, some crunchy nuts…if I cook them I chuck them in the oven in thin potato-wedge size slices with a bit of olive oil, some honey and rosemary. Oh, and if I want them for a sweet side dish, pan-roasted at low heat for 20-30 minutes in balsamic and honey and a bit of oil – they go all soft and sweet! I want some now, and it’s only breakfast time :-)
I’ll have to try them raw, thanks!
I felt the same way for a while! My mom tried making me eat canned beets for a diet and I avoided them like the plague. I rediscovered them and ate them with sweet potatoes :)
I adore the colours of that salad!
So beautiful!
We are so lucky to be able to eat such beautiful and nutritious food, eh?
You know I was actually thinking that when I looked at the pictures!
I used to hate beets, too. I really only started liking them when I got an amazing beet salad at a restaurant. Now I love them. I roast them with salt (which only goes on the outside and gets peeled off with the skin) then add goat cheese, finely crumbled pistachios, and grapefruit over arugula. With a vinaigrette dressing, it’s so good!
I love beets in salads, especially fruity ones like yours! I need to give your raspberry dressing a try!
Wow! That is a bright and beautiful salad. Beets do smell pretty earthy- but they are so soft and sweet that it totally makes up for that.
I love canned beets!!!!!!! Rings and all.
Have you tried Roasted Beets Angela?? I think it is the best way to eat beets (I also like it raw and shredded in salads, really good!), much more flavorful than cooking in water.
It is so easy to roast beets, all you do is wash them under water and give them a good scrub to remove any dirt. Then dry with a paper towel, remove the bottom and tops and put them whole in a big piece of aluminum foil. Fold edges to make a pouch, put it on top of a baking sheet (to catch any drippings in case it occurs) and into a very hot oven it goes, I usually roast mine in 400F. Leave it there for about an hour (maybe less if your beets are on the smallish side).
Remove from oven, let them cool a bit, open pouch and using a paper towel grab each beet and just slide the peel out of them. Cut into chunks, season with salt, pepper and olive oil and be happy, roasted beets are really yummy!!
Ana
YUM! Thank you!
That salad looks amazing! I love the bright, clean colors. You might need to add that to your pictures on the wall. :)
there is nothing like fresh beets….roasted is my absolute favorite way to consume beets! :) have a great date night.
… I’m about 99% positive that I’ve never had a beet before (or any semblance of one). I asked my boyfriend if he has, and he made a face and said “Ugh, I grew up eating them, my parents grow them every year!” Looks like I’m buying some beets today… I’ve gotta try this out! Haha :)