Clean Eating Citrus Marinated Beets Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to prepare beets? ›

Stir-Fry Them

While cooking techniques like pan-frying, shallow-frying and deep-frying increase calorie, salt and fat content, stir-frying is a healthier technique. We recommend using a stainless steel wok from Saladmaster to stir-fry beets and other vegetables.

Beets are a weekly ritual around here. Usually we boil them and toss them in a sweet sour vinaigrette and keep them in the refrigerator to eat all week. The vinegar in the dressing "pickles" the beets, helping them last longer in the fridge.

You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies. They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is even great in a galette or quesadilla.

Keep about 1 inch of the stem attached to the beet to prevent loss of nutrients as it boils. Place prepped beets in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring water to a boil over high and cook beets at a rolling boil, until tender when pierced with a fork, 30 to 45 minutes.

Steaming: Steaming is a great way to cook beets while retaining their nutritional value. To steam beets, first, scrub them clean and trim off the greens and tail. Place them in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water and steam for 30-40 minutes, or until they are tender.

Both eating beets and drinking beet juice will give you anti-inflammatory betalains and other phytonutrients. If you're looking to enhance athletic performance, drink up. Juicing beets delivers a concentrated dose of nitrates, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. However, you lose the fiber when you juice the beets.

The vinegar used to pickle beets might help with blood sugar management. Vinegar reduces blood sugar levels after meals. Some studies have shown that pickled beets may help protect against cancer. Pickled beets contain the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum.

Now, we've added a Red Beet Blend to apple cider vinegar in our latest wellness shot, and folks—they're perfect together.

The bottom line. Pickled beets are popular on salads or as a side or snack. These naturally sweet root veggies may have a number of health benefits, including improved digestion, physical performance, blood sugar levels, and heart health. However, you should avoid varieties with high levels of added salt or sugar.

Some foods that mix well with beets include goat cheese, arugula, walnuts, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Other complementary ingredients include orange, dill, horseradish, and sour cream. Beets also pair well with meats such as chicken, fish, and pork.

Is it OK to eat beets everyday? ›

Can you eat beets everyday? It's always best to follow a varied diet. Eating a small amount of beetroot every day is unlikely to do any harm, but a high intake could lead to low blood pressure, red or black urine and feces, and digestive problems for anyone with a sensitivity to the nutrients.

With only a few exceptions, canned beetroot has about the same nutritional value as fresh beetroot. Fresh beetroot has double the phosphorus, potassium and folate, but 1 cup of sliced, canned beetroot has 14 percent of the recommended daily intake of folate and 4 percent of phosphorus and potassium.

But roasting transforms beets from something crunchy into something silky and tender. Although it requires a hot oven, I prefer roasting over boiling or steaming because roasting concentrates the beet's flavors and brings out its sweeter side.

Cooking beets won't give you the same health benefits because heat destroys betalain pigments and hampers nitrates, but it's still good for your health. To preserve the maximum health benefits, grate raw beets into salads or steam/roast beets just long enough to tenderize them.

Roasting beets gives them a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. As a cook, I am inspired by colors, so I find beets particularly exciting to work with.

With only a few exceptions, canned beetroot has about the same nutritional value as fresh beetroot. Fresh beetroot has double the phosphorus, potassium and folate, but 1 cup of sliced, canned beetroot has 14 percent of the recommended daily intake of folate and 4 percent of phosphorus and potassium.

Yes, you can. It's completely safe to drink water that has been used to boil beetroots. Why can't I eat them raw? Actually, beets can be eaten raw, especially when grated or made into a salad.