Hi Chuggers!

If you are wondering why I haven’t use Beetroot yet… Here you go!!!

I am a super Beet lover! I love adding them in my juices and salads… They have a natural sweetness and is so full of flavour!

I must admit handling them is a little cumbersome though. Once you start peeling off the skin, you will get all the red juice in the basin, the chopping board, on your fingers and if you are not careful… they will stain your clothes too! >.<

Nevertheless, it is not going to stop me from including it in my smoothies!

 

Here comes the amazing ingredients!

 

2 x Beetroots (peeled)

2 cups x Spinach (did not include all in the picture)

2 x Apples (cored)

2 x Orange (juiced)

1 x Lemon (juiced)

1 cup x water

-serves approx 5 cups-

 

Without further ado, let’s see why this root is known as a Superfood…

Beetroot…

• Consists of natural Nitrates which help increase Nitric oxide in the blood vessels and in turn, helps open up the vessels, enhances blood flow and eventually, helps to lower blood pressure. (These Nitrates are not the same as the ones from hotdogs and cured meats). A study was published to  show that drinking Beet juice helps to lower blood pressure. However, there are also articles like this, which have an alternate opinion. Do read up if you are interested to find out more.
• May help to fight the progression of dementia due to the nitrates in Beetroot (which produce Nitric Oxide in our blood). You may like to read the article here
• Helps reduce LDL cholesterol
• Is high in Dietary Fiber to maintain healthy digestive and colon functions
• Gives a boost of energy and stamina so it’s good to have some beet juice in the mornings. This is because it has high contents of Sugar which is released slowly into the body.
• Contains Folic Acid which is important for tissue growth and helps prevent birth defects
• Contains Iron which is beneficial to anaemia sufferers
• Contains Betacyanin, an antioxidant which is gives Beetroot its red colour. It helps to speed up detoxification and therefore, promote healthy liver functions
• Contains mineral Silica, which helps the body to utilise Calcium, thus reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
• Contains Vitamin A which helps to give you healthy skin
• Was used as an aphrodisiac in the old days 😳

 

A drink so red Edward Cullen would approve 😆

This smoothie tastes simply delicious and is definitely a great detox drink. If you are not a regular Beet eater, then perhaps you would just use 1 small Beetroot. It does have an acquired (earthy) taste that can be prominent if you used too much. Beet greens are very nutritious too but I seldom see them in our local Supermarkets. If you do come across Beet greens, include them in your smoothies!

Do not be alarmed if you see red in your bowel movements after drinking  Beet juice! It is normal 🙂

Do note that people who tends to have oxalate kidney stones might want to reduce drinking Beet juice because it contains high amounts of Oxalates.

I usually eat my Beets fresh and raw, either in my juice or Salads. But there are plenty of recipes online which make use of Beets in their dishes. E.g. Beets risotto, Beets pancakes… Oh! And definitely the lovely Red Velvet Cupcake 😀

How many of you are Beet lovers?

Do share with me what other fruits you like to juice with your Beets… I would love to try out more recipes. Thanks in advance!

 


Til then,

Chug It !