Eat & Thrive: In Season: Beets

To be perfectly honest, I didn't realize I had a thing for beets until I had lunch with my supervisor at St. Honore in Portland. I ordered the Roasted Red Beet Salad (oven roasted red beets, apples, toasted walnuts, house vinaigrette, mixed greens, hold the cheese, thanks) and it was absolutely delicious. It silenced me, I'll put it that way. When I went raw a while back, I ate out a ton and beets were all over the place at the living foods cafes. One of my still-favorite ways to enjoy beets is rawvioli. It's an unexpected taste pleaser.

Reap the Benefits:
> provides antioxidant support
> anti-inflammatory
> very good source of manganese
> good source of vitamin C
> detox support
> eye health/age-related eye problems
> lessening tumor cell growth

**Unlike some other food pigments, betalains undergo very steady loss from food as the length of cooking time is increased. Keep beat steaming times to 15 minutes or less and roasting times to under an hour.

Beets: A History
The ancient Romans were one of the first civilizations to cultivate beets to use their roots as food. In earlier times, people exclusively ate beet greens and not the roots. Beets' value grew in the 19th century when it was discovered that they were a concentrated source of sugar.

How to Select & Store:

Choose small to medium-sized beets whose roots are firm, smooth-skinned and deep in color. Place beets in plastic bag and squeeze out air. Place in fridge and beets should keep 3 wks.

Eat Up!