Goat Cheesy Beets

I’m clearly a bit partial to beets.  But, even if my blog wasn’t named One Beet, I’d still love them.  Their vibrant colors always draw me in.  There is something so beautiful about that vivid purply-red and bright yellow-orange.  But I also love that beets encompass the best of root vegetables and a terrific leafy green.  You can eat every single part of the plant and find great flavor and loads of nutrients.  Plus it makes such a terrific blog name!

I’m often asked about where the name One Beet came from.  Amazingly it goes back to my wedding.  Local food was a theme at our wedding and we used a beet as the image on our invitations and printed materials.  My dear friend, and Maid of Honor, made a beet pinata for us to smash when we needed a break from the late-night dance party.  Of course, the pinata was a beet!  And she added a small ribbon floating below the beet that read, ‘Two Hearts, One Beet.’

One Beet stuck with me ever since and immediately felt right for the name of my blog, and now for my wellness coaching business, One Beet Wellness.  It has personal meaning to me, but also represents healthy plant-inspired eating and finding balance in our lives.  I strive for the moments when all aspects of my life are beating as one.

Goat Cheesy Beets Ingredients (serves 4):

6 – 8 medium sized red beets
6 – 8 medium sized golden beets
1 inch log of goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions (30 minutes):

Remove beets from their greens and wash with a scrub brush.  I don’t like to peel my beets because there are so many nutrients in the skins.  Instead, a good scrubbing gets the job done.

Slice the beets into bite-sized pieces (I like to quarter them).

Arrange the beets in a steamer basket and steam for 10 – 15 minutes.  Test the beets with a knife to tell when they are finished cooking.  They should be easy to pierce, but not disintegrating.

Toss the hot beets in a large mixing bowl with the goat cheese, salt, and pepper.  The heat will melt the goat cheese.  Keep mixing until all the beets are evenly coated in cheese.

Serve the beets as a side dish, or on top of a salad as the main event.  If you’re going the salad route, try tossing some of the fresh beet greens into the salad.  If not, you can saute the beet greens just like kale or chard.  Try substituting the beet greens for kale in this recipe.

Beets are a true superfood.  They rank among the healthiest vegetables – especially when you look at antioxidant activity.  Beets have more than nine times the antioxidant levels of a tomato and fifty times more than an orange carrot!  Beets’ red color comes from high levels of betalains, which are strong cancer fighters, support cardiovascular health, and help regulate weight.

Beets have also been found to boost athletic performance due to their natural nitrate levels (not to be confused with the unhealthy nitrates that are added to processed meats).  These natural nitrates reduce the amount of oxygen required by your muscles during exercise.  Studies have shown beet juice improves run times for athletes.  In fact, Mohamed Farah, the British gold medal winner for the men’s five and ten-kilometer races used beet juice instead of Gatorade in the 2012 summer Olympics!

If this has you jazzed about beets, don’t forget these other favorites – Fennel & Beet Salad with Citrus Dressing and Beet Salad.  Enjoy!