Raw Vegan Beet Slaw,

Steamed, and Baked Beets

Several North Island Aotearoa families allowed me to cook for them when I was on one of my more lengthy adventures, living in “land of the long white cloud.” Otherwise known as New Zealand, this is the incredible place of much varied terrain where The Lord of the Rings was filmed.

One family told me they had never eaten beets that had not come from a can!

Their family loved this raw beet slaw and later told me they now make and eat it often. =)

Beets are FANTASTIC for cleansing and assisting the liver in purifying and oxygenating the blood. Your liver is a major organ needed for general good health, as well as in weight loss. If you have never tried raw beets before, go easy on them the first few times.

¼ - ½ a small beet can trigger a cleansing reaction (a good thing, though it may cause slight discomfort), so you don't want to over-do it. Try consuming only ½ a cup of the finished raw salad at a time when you first start out.

Here are your three Raw Slaw Ingredients:

• ½ a Yellow OR a Red Onion

• 1 medium-size Beet

• 2-3 Carrots

Dressing:

• ½ a fresh Lemon

• Coconut Oil OR Olive Oil

Optional Seasonings:

• ½ – 1/ tsp high quality Sea Salt – unwashed, unrefined. NON-PALEO IDEA

• One small dash Cayenne Pepper

Herb options - Basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, dill, etc.

Cooking Supplies:

• A cutting board

• A knife

• A hand grater (a food processor works, too)

• A mixing bowl

• A one-pint measuring cup

• A plate

• A mixing spoon or fork

• A lemon juicer (or you can just squeeze it by hand)

Scrub your vegetables and remove the ends to prepare them for grating.

Much nutrition is in the skin - so don't peel it off, buy organic to avoid sprays, and grate them skin and all!

Grate the carrots and the beet until you have slightly more carrots than beets. I usually just measure by eye.

Be careful you don't grate your fingertips! Leave that for The Adam's Family.

In measuring mine for this recipe, I had two cups of grated carrots and one-and-a-half cups grated beet. A small piece of beet was left over and I needed to use a third carrot.

Slice ½ of the onion thinly and then mince it. I used ½ cup of onion.

Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl.

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze ½ a lemon to obtain the juice.

Add this lemon juice, about ¼ cup, to your beet mixture in the bowl.

Then add ½ cup of Coconut Oil OR Olive Oil.

Since it's been very cold outside (-17 degrees F.) and even a bit chilly inside here in the northeast, my jar of coconut oil was hard. I was in Florida the first time I used Coconut Oil for this Slaw – it was warm and runny then!

So, instead I just used Olive Oil this time.

I also added ½ tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper. You may also add some herbs now, fresh or dried, if you like.

Your simple but delicious salad is done!

~~~~~~~~~

Ruby Red Nuggets ~ aka Steamed Beets

Wash your beets well and cut off the root and top ends.

Dice your beets or cut them in small wedges like this.

Put them in a pot and then add an inch of water. The beets do not need to be covered with water.

Bring the pot to a boil and then cover it and turn the heat to simmer. Simmer beets until they are tender, about 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy them with butter!

I used three large beets and it fed two people, with a little to spare. You can eat a lot of cooked beets on a daily basis – they will help cleanse your liver!!!

~~~~~~~~~

Baked Beet Balls

One of the things to learn about cooking is concepts – if you can cook one vegetable stir-fried, you can probably cook a lot of other vegetables the same way, even if the time it takes to stir-fry is a little different.

I once told my mom I was going to bake my home-grown beets, and she replied, “You can't bake beets.”

“Why not?” I asked her...seemed pretty clear to me they'd cook that way.

And they do. But they take almost forever to be done if still whole. Bake whole beets only if you're NOT in a hurry.

As with most things roasted in the oven, their flavor is stronger. Baked squash or baked yams are tastier than the steamed variety. I guess that is one benefit of cooking beets in the oven. Cutting the beets up and baking pieces is much faster!

But here's how to bake the entire beet: 

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Wash six SMALL beets well and cut off the root and top ends.

Place them in a glass or metal baking dish or pan.

Put the pan of uncooked beets in the oven and let them bake for at least 90 minutes at 375 degrees. You could check them after an hour, to see it they're done - it varies depending on the size of the beet you bake.

When done, a fork should go into them uh, sort of easily.

Eat your baked beets with butter, or olive oil and a bit of salt, or Paleo Parsley Pesto. Or, cut the Baked Beets up, add a little Sesame Oil, Lemon Juice, and some finely chopped Scallions for another great beet salad!

Note One: Don't panic if you see your urine or stool changing color after eating beets. You are probably NOT bleeding, the red color is just a normal reaction to eating beets.

Note Two: Beets are a TERRIBLE dye. If you happen to get beet juice on your clothing, it most likely will come out in the wash!

Note Three: Beets come in a few different varieties. Dark Red Beets are common in most grocery stores. You can also now find Orange Beets, which may have been hybridized to give them a sweeter flavor.

I usually grow and use the “Detroit Dark Red” variety, avoiding the hybrid beets, but you may enjoy trying Orange Beets.

What are your favorite ways to eat beets?

With Respect for the Body,

Elise

P.S. A little note on the importance of cleansing the spirit AND body:

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." ~ II Corinthians 7:1

Addendum:

I am not a medical doctor and anything I say is not to be construed as medical advice. Please take what I have shared about food and the body as suggestions only.