beet crazy...
I did not like beets as a child, especially the pickled version. But after reading an article about beets improving performance, of course I gave it a try before a race….anything to get faster right?
I now gulp down beet juice (only found at Wholefoods or chamberlains) OR make this delicious beet and avocado and orange salad. Are you pulling up your nose? Trust me….this salad is so yummy you will not believe how good it is for you…a great source of fiber, beets get their red hue from betalains, antioxidants with cancer-fighting properties. We eat this a couple times a month, even when we have no races just because we like it so much. Great with lamb or chicken. I found this recipe in Runners World Magazine.
Beets with Avocado and Orange
- red-wine vinegar or raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 medium beets
- 4 tablespoons fruit vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
- 1/4 cup walnut oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 orange, bite-size pieces
- 1 avocado
- fresh chopped basil (a lot)
- boil a pot of water. add a splash of red-wine vinegar and the beets. boil covered for 30 minutes, or until you can stick a fork in the beet and it comes out clean. when cooked, peel and chop into bite-size pieces
- whisk together vinegar, mustard, wasabi, and walnut oil.
- toss beets into sauce.
- fold in orange, avocado and basil.
A study by researchers at Saint Louis University, published in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, shows that eating cooked beets “acutely improves running performance.” The key, the study says, is nitrate