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.
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.
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!
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!