How To Incorporate Beetroot Into Your Diet

Beetroot Into Your Diet: This is pretty simple.

• One way is to consume beet juice. You can juice the beet greens as well, as they also contain good amounts of potassium and magnesium.
• You can shred raw beets on your salad. Grate them finely.
• You can also bake beets. But ensure you wear something to cover your hands to avoid ‘red hands.’
  

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Beetroot Into Your Diet

The following recipes can also help.

Fresh Beet Recipes

Here are a few ways to eat beets.

1. Russian Beetroot Soup Recipe (Borscht) 

What You Need

• 1 kg beef chuck with the bone, well rinsed
• 8 cups of cold water
• 1 large onion and carrot, both coarsely chopped (with the carrot peeled as well)
• 1 coarsely chopped celery rib
• 1 sachet of stock
• 450 grams of beets and 3 large carrots, all trimmed and peeled
• ¼ cabbage, shredded
• 2 large peeled and sliced potatoes
• 2 large diced onions
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Salt and pepper, as required
• Sour cream and lemon wedges, as required

Beetroot Into Your Diet

Directions

1. For the beef stock, first, combine the beef and water in a stockpot over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently. Skim the top surface for about 30 minutes, or until the impurities no longer appear.
2. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. Also, tie the stock sachet to the pot handle and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot and simmer for an hour or until the meat falls off the bone.
3. Remove the stock sachet. Transfer the beef to a bowl and pull the meat off the bones. Chop the meat into bite-sized pieces and set them aside. Strain the stock into a clean and heatproof container, all the while pressing on the vegetables to obtain maximum flavor. You can then discard the vegetables.
4. To make the soup, cook the beets and carrots in the beef stock. Cook for about 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from broth, let it cool and then shred it coarsely. Set aside.
5. As the beets and carrots cool, you can add cabbage, onion, and potatoes to the broth. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes (covered) or until tender. Add beets and carrots and tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Finally, serve in warmed bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a lemon wedge.

Beetroot Into Your Diet

2. Beetroot Salad Recipe

What You Need

• 5 to 6 medium beets
• ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon of honey
• ½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 finely chopped large shallot
• 1 finely chopped celery stalk
• Freshly ground pepper, for taste (as desired)

Directions

3. Preheat the oven to 204^o. Divide the beets between two pieces of foil and bring the edges together. Crimp to make packets. Roast until the beets are tender or for about 1 ¼ hours. Unwrap the beets and let them cool.
4. While the beets cool down, whisk the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl to make the dressing.
5. After the beets have cooled down, remove the skins. Cut them into ½-inch cubes and place them in a large bowl. Add shallot and celery and the dressing. Toss to coat properly.
6. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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Beetroot Into Your Diet

3. Beetroot Smoothie Recipe 

What You Need

• 1 red beet, small, trimmed and peeled
• 1 large apple, cored
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 cup of carrot juice
• 2/3 cup of frozen sliced peaches
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

Directions

1. Roughly chop the beet, apple, and celery.
2. Add all the ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth. You can also taste the smoothie to ensure if the sweetness is to your liking. If not, you can add a little more of the fruit.
3. Serve chilled. You can store the smoothie in a jar for up to 2 days.

There are a few other delectable beet juices you can try –

• Simple green and red beet juice
• Beet-ginger juice
• Beet and pineapple delight

Not just with respect to benefits, but also in terms of ‘being cool,’ beets are way ahead. Like the super cool beet facts you will read now.

Beetroot Into Your Diet

Super Cool Beetroot Facts

• Beetroot was initially cultivated around 2000 BC in the Mediterranean region.
• When harvested, the entire plant is edible.
• The biggest beet in the world was owned by a Dutchman, and it weighed over 70 kilos.
• Beetroot juice is one of the richest natural sources of antioxidants and dietary nitrates.
• You can use beet juice to measure acidity. The juice turns pink when added to an acidic solution, and turns yellow when added to an alkali.
• There is a belief persisting in several cultures that a man and a woman eating from the same beetroot are bound to fall in love with each other.
• Boiling beets in water and massaging the water into your scalp each night can be a great cure for dandruff.
• Eating too much of beets can turn your urine red. Even more of the vegetable can turn your stools red. (Guess this is not so super cool!)

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Beetroot Into Your Diet

Other Uses Of Beetroot

You can use beets to dye your hair. If you are a hairstyle/hair color aficionado, this could be for you.

We have seen how to include beets in your diet. But how about including them in your beauty routine as well?

• One routine you can try is the beet, rose, and black tea hair rinse. The procedure is simple. Take one cup of beet juice, and half a cup each of rose water and black tea. Mix them and massage it directly on your scalp. Work this treatment from the ends to the roots of your hair. Leave it on for about 10 minutes and then rinse well. The black tea in the rinse is loaded with tannins (that help in the dyeing process) and antioxidants (that are great for hair and scalp health).
• You can also use beet green juice for the same purpose as beets. Beet greens are powerful cleansers. They cleanse the blood and kidneys – which is another reason they are a must-have. However, ensure you consume it in moderation.
• Beetroot powder has its uses too. You can use the powder in your soups for some variation in taste. You can also add the powder to curries or gravies to up their nutritional value. Use the powder as a dry coating to snacks or food colorant.
• You can also make your own organic powder blush, minus the chemicals. Make a simple hair dye by mixing beet powder with henna and applying it to your tresses.

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Beetroot Into Your Diet

But how do you get beetroot powder? One way is to purchase it online. The other way is to prepare it yourself at home, which is simple and healthier.

All you need to do is wash the beetroot thoroughly first. Boil, bake, or steam it. Cut the tops of the beet and discard them. Shred the beet. Next, dehydrate the beetroot (a temperature of 60o C is fine). You can use a dehydrator or an oven for this purpose (it must take 8-10 hours). Dehydrating in the sun is a bad idea as the process might take days.

Once done, grind the dehydrated beet in a food processor. Your beet powder is ready!

A couple of very important questions. One, beet juice or cooked beets – which one to go for?

Betalains and other nutrients are usually lost in the cooking process. In this context, juicing is better. But cooked beets usually contain more fiber than beet juice – as much of the fiber is filtered in the juicing process. The best way to go about it is by having beet juice with the pulp.

And two, beet juice or beet supplement – which is better?

Beetroot Into Your Diet

In terms of comfort, beet supplement is probably better because all you need to do is pop a pill (or add the powder to your food, if it’s a powdered supplement). Also, a beet supplement is far lower in calories as compared to beet juice. But the beet supplement might also be lower in carbs and fat (which could be good news) and protein (bad news).

In terms of nutrients or nitrates, both are similar. And in terms of sugar, the juice is on the higher end. But otherwise, there is no drastic difference between the two. If you are more on the move and literally can’t make time to prepare juice out of beets, go for the supplement, else opt for the juice.

This was about the health benefits of beets. Let us now take a look at the side effects.

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Beetroot Side Effects

• May Cause Kidney Stones

Beets and beet greens are high in oxalate, and as per research, such foods can reduce the absorption of calcium  Consuming high amounts of oxalate can also cause kidney stones

• Pregnancy And Breastfeeding

There is not enough information in this regard, especially with respect to using beets in large medicinal amounts. Stay safe and stick to food amounts.

• Drug Interactions

Vitamin K can interact with warfarin, an anticoagulant medication. Though the amount of vitamin K in beets is not so high to interfere with warfarin, it is not the case with beet greens as they are high in vitamin K (51).

Beetroot Into Your Diet

Conclusion

Beets are chock-full of other nutrients like iron, manganese, copper, potassium, and magnesium – all of which have their individual benefits. Raw beets also have terrific benefits – one of them being the ability to prevent cancer.

Beet juice can be healthy as well. Just 200 ml of the juice a day is all you need to reap its benefits. The juice also has a higher concentration of betalains. However, cooked beets contain more fiber. But you can include both in your diet; while beets offer the crunch, the juice seems to contain all the nutrients that might otherwise be lost in the process of cooking (and is easier to digest as well)