We all know that we should eat more vegetables, but what kind of vegetables are best? While any vegetable is better than none, beets are perhaps one of the best out there. The positive effects that beets have on a person’s health are well-known, but some Austin culinary arts students might not know all the benefits that beets bring to the table.
Nutrients
Beets are related to spinach, and just like their green cousin, beets are full of vitamins your body needs. Three vitamins that beets are specifically good for are vitamins A, B and C. These vitamins help with things like your immune system, sight, reproduction, proper organ function and more. In addition to those three vitamins, beets are rich in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid and several other nutrients that are very good for you.
You can eat the whole plant
Every part of the beet plant is edible. When most people think of beets they think of the root. That deep purple color most people associate with beets comes from that part of the plant, but the leaves and stalks are edible too. They are commonly used in salads, but you can also cook them with salt, pepper and minced garlic, and eat them like you would cooked spinach.
Taste
Beets might not be the first thing you think of when you think of tasty vegetables, but most of us have only ever had beets prepared a few ways. Forget your grandmother’s borscht, and try something new: like a beet, carrot and pomegranate salad, some fried beet chips with sprinkled coriander, or a beet and feta cheese veggie burger. Still not convinced? You can add beets to desserts. Few things are more tasty than a beet and goat cheese jalousie or a scoop of ginger beet sorbet. If you just want to eat them for the nutrients, munch on a clean, raw beet since cooking beets hurts their nutritional value.
