Beet Salad

I've been studying a bit on healthy eating influenced by my mom's upcoming surgery on December 18. Any form of major surgery is taxing on the human body. So, my mom wanted to 'prepare' her body for such an ordeal. For 3 weeks now, we have been reading, exploring, and trying out healthy foods. One major way to boost our immunity level and physical strength and endurance is to eat healthy foods.

One healthy veggie are beets. Not a lot of people enjoy beets. However, it is loaded with a good source of vitamin C and folate and are low in calories. This vegetable helps to booster one's immunity system and prevents cancer. It is the least expensive of the veggies costing about 69 cents (usd) a pound. What's also interesting is that beets has the highest sugar content of any vegetable. In Eastern Europe, the sugar is extracted and commercialized to make table sugar there. And, a popular dish there is borscht made from beets. The only drawback to eating beets is that it can turn urine and stools red, which can be alarming at first but it is a harmless condition that goes away in 1 day.

For my beet salad, I steam 3 medium sized beets for about 40 minutes in a double boiler. Let it cool and rest when it's done. Peel off the skin. Either chop them bite-sized or flat. In a separate bowl, dice half of a red onion, and combine 2 tbsp olive oil and 4 tbsps either red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, salt and fresh pepper together and stir. Next, pour the beets into the mixture and combine well. Refridgerate the salad for about 30 minutes so the flavors can penetrate the beets. For serving, place a bed of raw spinach or arugula or mesculen leaves on a plate. Then, spoon a fair amount of beet salad on top. For more freshness, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice just before serving. My mom is starting to like this now.

More of my healthy recipes soon. Here's to healthy foods! Bon Appetit!