Did you know that beets will officially be in season in June? I can hardly contain my excitement! Which is why I want to introduce you to the fantastic world of beets now - so you can be ready for beet season when it arrives!

While you can buy beets any time of the year, this vegetable is in season from June till the end of November. What’s all this talk about produce being in season for? When people say a fruit or vegetable is “in season”, that means it’s the time of year when that fruit or vegetable is usually harvested by farmers in your area. Why does that matter? When you purchase produce around the time it’s harvested, those crops will have been picked when they’re at peak ripeness. This means that those fruits and veggies have had more time to ripen naturally on their parent plant, which makes them more flavourful and even increases the amount of nutrients in them!

In contrast, when you buy fruits and vegetables out of season, they are harvested early - before peak ripeness. This is because, if a produce item is not in season in your area, that means it’s coming from a farm in a distant location (ie: another country). The crops must be picked early in order for there to be enough time to ship them to your local grocery store and sell them before the produce goes bad. In addition, produce that is in season is at the peak of it’s supply. That means that fruit or vegetable will be cheaper for distribution companies to purchase, decreasing the cost of that item at your grocery store. So produce that’s in season is more delicious, nutritious, and cheaper!

At this point you might be wondering, “How the heck am I supposed to know if a fruit or vegetable is in season?” If you live in Ontario (where I’m based), you can use this very helpful site to know what’s in season each month of the year:

http://ontariofarmfresh.com/consumers/whats-in-season/

For those of you who live elsewhere in Canada, you can use this website as a guide:

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/in-season/blog/whats-in-season-in-canada/

Beets are about as versatile as a vegetable can be. They come in all sorts of colours: red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, white, and white with red stripes. They can be eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. And, of course, I wouldn’t be recommending them to you if they weren’t packed with nutrition!

The nutritional value of beets will make them a healthy addition to your plate this summer and fall. If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while, you’ll know about the many benefits of eating fibre: https://www.thesplendorousceliac.com/blog/my-feelings-about-raw-vegetables. Eating beets (and other vegetables) will add fibre to your diet, which is great for gut health and helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease. Beets are also packed with vitamin C, an all-purpose vitamin that has many roles in the body, from proper immune function to forming collagen for healthy skin. Other nutrients found in beets include folate, potassium, and iron. [1]

Now that we’re on the topic of nutrition and beets, this presents an excellent opportunity talk about a nutrient you might not have heard of: manganese. Manganese is a mineral that is required by many of the body’s enzymes to function. This includes the enzymes that metabolize amino acids, cholesterol, glucose, and other carbohydrates. In addition, bone density is maintained by certain enzymes in your body - several of which need manganese to work properly. So manganese indirectly affects the health of your bones. This mineral is also an antioxidant, which means it prevents levels of free radicals in the body from getting too high (you can read about why this is important here: https://www.thesplendorousceliac.com/blog/should-you-go-on-an-anti-inflammatory-diet). On top of all that, manganese plays a role in blood clotting, immune responses, and reproductive health. [1, 2] Who knew such an awkwardly-spelled mineral was so important?

If at this point you’re freaking out because you’re not sure if you’re getting enough manganese, don’t worry. It’s naturally present in many foods [1, 2]:

• fruit & vegetables - including beets!

• whole grains

• legumes (ie: beans, lentils, peas)

• nuts

• shellfish: clams, oysters, mussels

• coffee, tea

• many spices

The amount of manganese recommended for adults aged 19-50 is very low; only 1.8 milligrams for females and 2.3 milligrams for males [2]. Deficiency of this nutrient is very rare. These requirements can easily be met by eating a variety of the foods listed above. All the more reason to enjoy beets!

[Side note: Beets are a high FODMAP food. If you have IBS, you might need to avoid beets or limit the amount that you eat if they cause GI symptoms.]

Hopefully by this point I’ve convinced you to include beets in your diet. If you’ve never cooked beets before, read on. Even if you have cooked with beets, you might not be aware of their full culinary potential.

First of all, you can add an extra crunch to salads and various slaws (ex: cabbage, carrot) by adding in raw beets. If that’s not your jam, try roasting beets for delicious results. When they’re in the oven, the heat from cooking causes the natural sugars in beets to caramelize, making them extra tasty. Cooking also makes beets much softer than they are raw. You can take advantage of that soft texture and chop/mash/puree cooked beets to use them in all kinds of recipes.

Not sure how to make roast beets? Follow these instructions:

1. Cut the leafy green tops off and scrub the beets thoroughly.

2. Loosely wrap each beet individually with foil. (If your beets are very small, you can wrap a couple together.)

3. Bake at 400 F for 50-60 minutes, then check your beets for doneness. Your beets are done when a knife slides easily into the centre. If they’re still a bit hard at this point, return the beets into the oven, checking them every 5-10 minutes until done.

4. Wait until the beets are cool enough to handle before removing the skin. This is a messy process. You can keep your hands clean by rubbing the skin off using paper towel. Or you can wear rubber gloves. If you don’t mind using your bare hands, lemon juice or vinegar can help get the colourful beet juice off your skin afterwards.

   *If beets are cooked long enough, the skin should slide off easily. If you’re struggling to get the skin off, try baking your beets longer.

   Alternatively:

   • some people find it easier to skin their beets when they’re raw

   • after skinning your raw beets, you can cut them up, toss them in oil and seasonings, and then roast them

   • depending on how small you cut your beets, it’ll take about 45-60 mins to cook them at 400 F

   • this way, you can eat your beets right after you take them out of the oven

Use the method that works best for you. If you want to enjoy roasted beets, but making them sounds like too much work, you can find pre-cooked beets in the refrigerated section of the produce department at the grocery store. Just be aware that this option is more pricey than roasting them yourself.

Roasted beets can be enjoyed as is or they can be added to other dishes. You can mix them with risotto or quinoa, add them to roasted mixed vegetables, or put them in a salad. Additionally, hold onto those greens that you cut off in step 1! They can be steamed and sauteed in the same ways you would use Swiss chard or spinach. You can use them in tomato sauce, pasta dishes, soups, and stews. Just keep in mind that beet greens will only last about 4 days in the fridge, whereas the beet root can last up to 4 weeks. [3]

When it comes to beet recipes, I’m assuming you’ve already seen a bajillion arugula and goat cheese beet salads online. For a different salad recipe with beets, try this:

Rainbow Roasted Beet Salad

Yield: 5 meals

Ingredients

4 medium beets

2 small sweet potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon oil & desired seasonings to roast sweet potatoes

1 cup dry quinoa

1 medium purple onion, diced

1 tablespoon oil for frying

2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large chicken breasts, cubed

2 medium bell peppers (red, yellow, and/or orange), diced

1 can navy beans, rinsed

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried thyme

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2) Roast the beets according to one of the methods explained above. Allow them to cool and chop them into bite-sized pieces.

3) Toss the cubed sweet potato in oil and seasonings (ex: cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper). Roast at 400 F for approx. 25 minutes, or until soft and browned. Set aside to cool.

4) While your beets and sweet potatoes are roasting, cook the quinoa in a pot on the stove top. Bring 2 cups of liquid (ie: water, broth) to a boil. Then add the quinoa, cover with a lid, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

5) Be a level 9000 multi-tasker and cook your chicken while the quinoa is simmering. First, saute the onion in a frying pan at medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes. Next, add the chicken to the pan and cook all the way through. Set aside to cool.

6) While all your hot foods are cooling, dice your bell peppers, rinse the beans, and make the salad dressing (whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or Pyrex measuring cup).

7) Once all the cooked foods have cooled, combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl and toss with dressing.

You can store this salad in the fridge for 3-4 days.

If you’re adventurous and want to get wild and crazy with beets, try adding them to your baking, like I did in these velvety chocolate cupcakes with frosting. They’re a great way to sneak some veggies to your kids or your partner because they’re hard to resist!

Velvety Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with Luscious Chocolate Icing

Yield: approx. 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten free flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 & 1/3 cups sugar

3/4 cup beet puree

*Note: roughly 2 beets will get you 3/4 cup of puree, depending on the size of the beets. If you have a food processor, you can throw your beets in there and then measure out the correct amount of puree. I don’t have a food processor, so I mashed my beets up a bit with a fork first. Then I measured out roughly 3/4 cup of mash and put that in my blender with the buttermilk, blending that till smooth. Don’t stress about measuring out exactly 3/4 cup of beets, you have some leeway with this ingredient (ie: if you end up adding closer to 1 cup, that won’t ruin the recipe).

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted (I used Hershey’s Chip Its, which are gluten free)

2 large eggs

Frosting ingredients:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 F and place paper liners into your muffin tin.

2) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3) In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, beet puree, buttermilk, butter, chocolate, and eggs.

4) Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

5) Divide the batter between the muffin tin wells.

6) Bake for about 22-25 minutes. The cupcakes are done when you stick a toothpick or knife into the centre and it combs out clean, with some crumbs.

7) Cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

Frosting:

1) Melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove top or large Pyrex container in the microwave.

2) Add the sugar and salt and whisk until smooth.

3) Stir in the yogurt/sour cream.

4) Apply generously to your cupcakes!

Did you know you could add beets to baked treats? Other than cupcakes, what baked good could you see yourself adding beets to?

I’d like to try making cookies with beets and adding white chocolate chips to the dough for a cool colour contrast!

References:

[1] Bjarnadottir, A. (2019) “Beetroot 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits”. Healthline. <https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/beetroot#nutrition> Accessed May 12, 2020.

[2] Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020) “Manganese: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals”. National Institutes of Health. <https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Manganese-HealthProfessional/> Accessed May 12, 2020.

[3] Angelo, D. (2011) “In Season: Beets”. Food Network’s Healthy Eats. <https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/in-season/2009/12/in-season-beets> Accessed May 12, 2020.