Last week my bosses were telling me about a beet salad they had made and ever since I’ve been craving these purple root veggies! Beets are SO darn good for you. How good you ask?? While they do have a higher sugar content than most veggies, they are low in calories, high in fibre, aid in weight loss, good for your brain, anit-inflammatory, super antioxidant, cell detoxifier and cleanser, improves mental health and helps prevent cancer. Phew! That’s a lot of work for these little purple guys. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some beets and let’s get going!
This salad makes a great side dish or add some grilled chicken and you have a satisfying meal. But you all know what day it is – Meatless Monday, so I’m just going to do the salad – straight up!
Beet, Orange, and Pistachio Salad
Serves 4
3 medium beets, cooked
4 cups lettuce of your choice
2 naval oranges
50g pistachios, shelled
Half a cucumber
Orange Balsamic Dressing
Makes 6 tablespoons – you really only need 4 tablespoons for the salad
Juice of one orange, about 2 Tbsp
Rind of half an orange, about 1 tsp
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
You can cook your beets the day before to save time. Preheat your oven to 375F, wrap the beets (skin on, not trimmed) in tinfoil and bake on a baking sheet for about an hour. Let them cool, then peel. The skin should come off easily by just using your hands and rubbing it off.
In a frying pan on medium heat, add your shelled pistachios and roast. This will only take about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
Please note – this is half the amount of pistachios – the hubbs doesn’t like them!
Wash and dry your lettuce, chop it up and add to a medium bowl. Dice the cucumber, section your orange and add to the bowl. Using a mandolin or by hand, slice the beets, place in a separate bowl.
Beets pre-chopped!
To make the dressing, combine all ingredients and whisk. Add your pistachios to the salad mixture and drizzle with 4 tablespoons of dressing, toss to coat well. Add beets on top before serving. If you toss the beets with the salad, it will turn everything purple!
Eat up health freaks!
Nutritional Info – salad
121 Calories, 16g Carbs, 5g Fat, 5g Protein, 11g Sugar, 69mg Sodium
Nutritional info – 1 tablespoon of salad dressing
66 Calories, 2g Carbs, 7g Fat, 0g Protein, 1g Sugar, 0mg Sodium
Source: care2.com
Looks delish, but I don’t know if I can do it! I’ve only ever had pickled beats *gags* and they left a bad first impression!!
Oh no!! Although I do love pickled beets, regular beets taste a whole lot different. Baby steps!
Ok, I will consider giving them another shot…
Yay! Start with half the amount 🙂 Mixed in with the dressing and other ingredients, it’s really good. Even the husband likes it, and that’s saying a lot!
No matter what type of beet I eat, I can’t seem to taste anything but dirt. Not to mention what they do to your urine!
Really?! I’ve never had a problem with them tasting like dirt, I always peel and wash them really well. The urine side effect, yeah…well it’s right up there with coffee and asparagus!