If you are wondering what veggies to choose when the weather outside is frightful, not delightful, have no fear, root veggies are here! You may be familiar with carrots, onions, shallots, garlic, and potatoes but there is a whole section of root veggies that are front and center in supermarkets right now. Daikon, parsnips, radishes, rutabagas, and turnips in addition to my fav- beets bring the nutrish and delish to your bowl or dish.
So why do I love root vegetables? They deliver on nutrition: fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and Phyto ( plant) nutrients that keep us healthy. Beets contain dietary nitrates that can help to control blood pressure and have a role to play in decreasing information. Root vegetables are shelf-stable so they keep for quite a while. They are versatile and can be added to soups, stews, roasted, or mashed. Beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, radishes, rutabaga, and turnips can be grated, cubed, or sliced for a winter root vegetable salad. And beets and carrots are sweet so they work well in smoothies.
Roasted root vegetables have eye and taste appeal and fill you up not aht. Chop, season, drizzle on a little olive oil and flavored vinegar and roast at 400-450 degrees until tender ( about 20 minutes). And you can enjoy these hot or cold, as a side dish or even added to a veggie broth for a delicious root vegetable soup.
And if you want to #stirthebeetaround, consider making my #soothiesmoothie. Most of us in the Burgh and around the US falls far short when it comes to our daily fruit and veggie consumption. In fact, 1 in 10 of us consumes enough fruits and veggies daily. This smoothie contains beets, spinach, frozen berries, pomegranate juice, and pineapple juice so you actually get 5, count ‘em FIVE servings of fruits and veggies in 1 glass.
SOOTHIE SMOOTHIE
- A small beet, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup baby spinach
- ½ cup frozen mixed berries
- ½ cup pomegranate juice
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
Put all ingredients in a blender and puree.
So let’s get to the root of the matter and find ways to enjoy our produce every day. #haveaplant #JeetJet
