It may be true, the Beet Root is the Underdog. The bashful beet has always hidden beneath the earths surface while it’s attached beet greens stood tall in the early summer – fall sunlight. This versatile green leaf on top of Beets, have always been something that I just chopped off and threw in the compost bin. I was thinking, let’s get to the meat of this plant-the sweet bulb, the succulent juice of the vibrant beet root. Now, I’ve always known that Beet Greens were good for you, loaded with health benefits but I guess I just didn’t understand how delicious they were until now. I am in Beet Green Heaven… my garden has just produced a large crop of fresh beets, and I figured it was time to embrace the “green”.
I added them to my Green Cleanse Juice (pg.38 of GNF) for a delicate taste along with a ‘power punch’ of Vitamin A which is also called retinol. It helps keep your eyes and skin moist. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties that neutralize free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cellular damage.
I’ve also been adding the beet leaves to smoothies, soups and salads. Beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach.and is rich in chlorophyll. What I have discovered about these lovely “chard like” greens is that they are as mild and delicious and can be used in place of fresh spinach in nearly every recipe. With only 21 calories per a 2.5 cup serving, beet greens contain 4grams of dietary Fiber and 2grams of Protein. It also provides 120% Vitamin A, 48% Vitamin C , 11% calcium, and 14% Iron. Beet Greens also contain vitamins B-complex as well as notable amounts of magnesium and phosphorus.
Beet Greens fun facts:
- Beet tops are more nutritious than the beet roots and in early times were exclusively eaten
- Beet greens are very powerful cleansers and builders of the blood.
- Good-quality beet greens will have dark-green colored leaves with rich red veins and fairly long, upright stalks.
I will be adding a few new beet green recipes this summer, so keep your eyes open, and “Just Beet It”.
In health and Love,
Tags: beet green nutritional facts, beet green recipes, Beet Greens health benefits, raw food cleanse, raw food detox diet, raw food diet, Recipes
