Nutrition Spotlight
Savor the Many Benefits of Beets Beets may be a bit intimidating to prepare, but don’t let that stop you from making this amazing salad. They’re chock full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that support heart health. If you need an easy short cut, look for pre-cooked beets in the produce department of your grocery store. Yield: 4 servings Prep Time: 1 Hour
Basil Balsamic Beet Salad with Walnuts & Goat Cheese Ingredients: Salad— 1 bunch scrubbed, topped, and trimmed beets (about 4 beets) ½ red onion, chopped ½ cup chopped walnuts ¼ cup fresh basil, chiffonade chopped ½ cup goat cheese crumbles 4 cups arugula Dressing (makes about 1 cup)— ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or honey (or to taste) Pinch of sea salt, to taste Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions: 1 Place the unpeeled beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover an inch or two above the beets. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2 Meanwhile, whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or shake in a glass mason jar with a lid.
3 Once beets are done cooking, carefully cool them in a bowl of ice water or rinse the beets with cold water until cool enough to be handled. The skin should easily peel off under the water.
4 Dice beets into bite-sized pieces then toss with red onion, walnuts, basil and dressing. Serve over a bed of arugula and top with goat cheese.
Recipe by Lisa Markley, MS, RDN, LD Lisa Markley, MS, RDN, LD is the Director of Culinary Medicine at AdventHealth Whole Health Institute. She is passionate about educating others how to harness the healing power of food and offers virtual cooking and nutrition classes.
Winter 2022 | MyHealthKC.com
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