BeautyFullSoul

Every time I mention how much I love beets there’s someone who says… “ewwww”, “ughhh”, “yuck”, “disgusting”, “I hate beets”, etc.  I laugh to myself because I too remember the time when I thought beets were the absolute most disgusting food on the planet LOL.  Not only did I think they tasted bad but the deep red color wasn’t so attractive either.

However, understanding the fact that we develop an acquired taste for foods and learning of the health benefits of beets, I kept trying them until I liked them.  It’s amazing the difference a year or two can make.  I now try to be conscious about including beets into my eating repertoire at least once or twice a week (if not more).    Here’s why:

1. Beets are a wonderful source of magnesium, calcium, iron and phosperous! They are also considered a fiber food and contain vitamins A and C as well as niacin
2. Beets are contribute to a healthy immune system and are known to guard against cancer (especially colon cancer)
3. Beets have ZERO trans fat and ZERO saturated fat. They are also low calorie!
4. Beets help satisfy your hunger and curb sweet cravings
5. Beets contain folic acid which is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important for pregnant woman or anyone undergoing physical healing.
6. Beets have been shown to help cleanse the blood, cleanse the colon and strengthen the gall bladder and liver
7. Because of their cleansing properties beets help alleviate digestive issues such as constipation and bloating

Now that you are aware of the health benefits of beets, I encourage you to try them out.  If you’ve never had beets before it may take you a few tries to adjust to the taste, and that’s okay!!  Keep in mind that being healthy requires you to really be open and willing to try new things.  Making dietary change is hard for many of us because we are stepping outside of our comfort zone.  Healthy living does require some determination and commitment self and the world.  If you approach health with the mindset of “I don’t like, I can’t, I won’t, this is too hard, this is digusting, etc.” you will more than likely have a hard time transitioning.  However, if you are open you allow yourself to explore the world of possibilities that are associated with foods.

Try adding beets to your salad or morning smoothie.  Also try chopped beets and carrots with fresh ginger and vinaigrette dressing.

Please look forward to my next post on “how to prepare beets”, but in the meantime you can always usually grab beets (or some form of beet salad) off of the cold salad bar from your local health food store.  Go ahead and give them a try and let me know what you think!