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In the past few years, since Derek’s diabetes diagnosis, I’ve been on the lookout for foods that are naturally beneficial for anyone with sugar intolerances. A number of herbs and spices have been shown to be effective and are certainly beneficial to Derek, but so are a few foods. One of the best that we have discovered is beets. The properties of this super food are really exciting and even if this isn’t a root that you’ve eaten before, it’s worth trying out some recipes that use this ingredient to help benefit your body and your health. Beets are like a tonic for the liver and they work as a purifier for foods. In fact, this amazing food has been proven to work as an anti-inflammatory and even been linked with decreasing your chances for cancers. Plus, they’re loaded with all kinds of vitamins and minerals like Potassium, magnesium, iron, Vitamins A, B, & C, beta carotene and folic acid. Honestly, not sure what this little root doesn’t have!
As a Russian girl, beets have always been a staple food in my diet, particularly in soups like borscht and in salads like vinaigrette (which is like a Russian relish slaw) – I’ll post those recipes up as well over the next few weeks as both are very delicious and extremely comforting! Beets for my husband however, were a bit more foreign. He did not grow up with them and had not acquired a taste for their earthiness and intense flavors. So, we experimented quite a bit with various ways to eat them – roasted with other sturdy vegetables, grilled and charred and now, turned into an alternative for potato chips. I think this is my favorite one so far! I saw a version of this recipe online at Running with the Kitchen and modified it a bit to make it to my own taste.
The most complicated part of doing anything with beets is peeling and slicing them. The most important thing to remember is to always wear gloves and keep a wet towel near you when working with beets as the color will stain immediately. I have found that using a good vegetable peeler and a mandolin or the slicing attachment to the food processor is the way to go. Peel the beets completely and slice thinly, or else you will cook the chips unevenly and it will not be as crisp as the potato chips you’re used to.
The other important thing to note is that beets can give an off scent to your kitchen, so you may want to light a few candles or keep the windows open while cooking, otherwise, you’ll have scent that lingers in there for a while.
Have fun and play around with the spices and vinegars on this one and let me know what you discover! I’ll post your updates as I get them.
Enjoy!
