Beet Salad with Mint, Lemon, and Celery

What could be more appropriate for the health conscious than a recipe using red beautiful beets?

Forget the Mess!!

If you adore beets, but hate the mess, I've got the answer for you. This is the easiest beet making recipe in the world and the tastiest way to eat them. It's so simple that you won't even have to peel them before cooking: Stay with me and trust me on this one!

As much as I love beets, I didn't make them for years because of the mess.. Now I make these heath giving, iron rich, sweet delicacies whenever I find a great looking bunch in the stores. 

Organic beets taste great

I buy organic  because they are very easy to find in most markets, and the price is not much different than the regular beet prices. ( but the organic are so much better) and most organic brands say, " GMO Free"
  
Roast and Rub

After roasting the whole beet ( unpeeled) in the oven, I quickly rubbed off the peel, cut them up, and made a beet salad with some fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, and some crunchy chopped organic celery. It was easy and delicious. Of course the roasted beets were so sweet and tender, I could have just eaten them plain. 

Power Up Your Diet !  Beets are an excellent source of immune building antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, including iron and potassium. 

Fresh nutrient dense vegetables such as beets are a perfect food for a gluten free diet. This salad is light and delicious and makes an interesting side dish with just about any meal.

Ingredients needed:
2 large organic beets, roasted whole in their skin
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint
Juice of a 1/2 fresh lemon
1/4 cup chopped organic celery ( celery is on the dirty dozen list, so I buy organic)

Instructions:
After roasting the beets whole in the oven, remove them and allow them to cool - then remove skin ( it will come off easily) .
Cut beets into large chunks. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over beets. Add chopped mint and chopped celery and mix well.

How to roast the beets:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

• Cut the beet from the greens ( very easy)
• Wash the unpeeled and uncut beets well 
• Place them whole on a parchment paper  covered cookie sheet, and roast at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until they are soft in the center ( amount of cooking time will depend on the size of your beets). 
• Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
• Take a knife and cut in half lengthwise to make the heart effect - looks great doesn't it!
• To eat them, just use the back of a spoon or knife to easily remove the skin ( wear rubber gloves or not) and cut the beets up.
• slice beets and add the lemon juice, chopped mint, and chopped celery.. 
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Benefits of Eating Beets

• low in calories ( about 45 calories a cup) 
• high in fiber 
• have zero cholesterol
• almost no fat 
• provide cardiovascular benefits 
• rich in potassium 

 Potassium is known to help lower heart rate and balance the metabolism within the cells by opposing the negative effects of sodium.

 

slice to make it look like a heart

           
  

Some of my additional vegan fresh beet recipes :

Beet and Orange Salad in White Balsamic Vinegar

Quinoa Lover's Salad with Roasted Beets

Medley of Roasted Winter acorn Squash and roasted beets 

 Hearty Beet Borscht Soup; Cold or hot

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May be shared on the following blog carnivals

cut beets from the greens and then trim off stems

Fresh Mint

Roast whole in oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes - 1 hour

Remove from oven, cool, and slice lengthwise to make hearts