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Behold, the beet


Another Tightwad post on culinary curiosities. This sassy little veg is often overlooked but is a pretty nice way to round out some meals, especially during the summer in salads, or served cold as a side dish.
Here are some random facts about beets:
- they were grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Assyria;
- in ancient Greece and Rome, beets were white or black rather than red;
- beet greens can be used for medicinal purposes;
- the Romans considered beet juice an aphrodisiac;
- beet juice makes an excellent natural red dye;
- beets can be used to make homemade wine;
- they are a good source of fiber, iron and folic acid;
- one cup of beets contains about 75 calories.
Tightwad has rounded up a few recipes that incorporate beets; she loves roasted beet and feta salad, and also the beet chips that are mentioned below:
Healthy Happy Life spring cherry blossom salad
What's Cooking, Chicago baked beet chips

Don't just stop at the purple ones, golden beets are good too!

5 comments:

CherylT said...

I am not a big beet lover, having come from a family who tried to feed me borscht and sour cream, but that beet in the photograph sure looks yummy. Maybe I'll look into some of these recipes.

alicia said...

Not a beet fan, but wow what a beautiful photo. I had no idea it was so interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Kim said...

We love beets! One of my daughter's favorite dishes is beet alfredo. It turns the alfredo sauce a pretty pink that she loves. Just saute the beets with some onions, and garlic, and YUM. Pink alfredo. :)

Unknown said...

Ooh...we are getting beets from the farm this week! I am so glad you posted this!

Leanne said...

I'm a HUGE fan of the beet! All Beets! Love to simply roast them in the oven and slice over a bed of greens - so lovely and yummy in the summer (and all times of year!) Introduced them to my daughters when they were first eating solid foods and they both STILL devour beets! So good!!!

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