new for us friday: kid-friendly beets

Kid-friendly beets? I think. Maybe.

I’ve searched and searched and believe I’ve found the most kid-friendly beet recipe around.

Actually, it was kid-friendly for one of my three kiddos, so does that mean this is an almost-kid-friendly beet recipe? A 1/3 kid-friendly beet recipe? I’m not sure.

But what I do know is that our CSA has provided us with yet another new-for-us veggie that added a bit of excitement to our week.

This New For Us Friday involves an ugly, purpley, rooty veggie: beets.

• Kid-Friendly Beets: I only remember pickled beets from my childhood, a delicious-looking dish but one that I could never acquire a taste for.

My hunt for an simple, quick, kid-friendly beet recipe came up short, so I got creative and came up with my own Kid-Friendly Beet Recipe which you can download here as a pdf and try for yourself.

Oooooooh, these ugly beets are preeeety inside.
Never judge a book by its cover, right?

I said, Okay, friends. This week we have a totally new-for-us veggie in our CSA box, and they’re beets. They felt them, tried to squish them, and admired their ugliness.

And them I rinsed them and cut them. I know Maddy, Owen, and Cora were interested to see what was inside of these ugly-looking root veggies. When I cut them open, they were impressed. (And so was I).

We played with the hot-pink-purple beet juice for a while, and then Maddy and Owen ran outside and Cora hung around to help me with our Kid-Friendly Beet Recipe.

I sprayed olive oil on the aluminum foil pouch I made, and I placed each piece of beet flat inside. Then I sprayed a bit more olive oil on top, added salt, and threw it in the oven.

Cora and I mixed the three ingredients together so the sauce would be ready for our beets. A simple combination of balsamic vinegar, syrup, and brown sugar was all it took.

Cora prepares the sauce for our beets.

Once the beets were ready and had softened a bit in the oven, we placed them on a plate, drizzled the sauce on top, and gave them a taste.

I cut a few pieces and put them on our little boat plates–which make everything more fun–and put a toothpick on top of each beet slice.

our crazy beet-boats

The verdict? Cora loved the beets. She loved them from her first nibble.

Maddy and Owen? Not so much. Owen said they had a funny taste, and Maddy told us they made her tongue feel funny. Maybe because they were already bothered by me calling them inside for a little taste, maybe the sauce was too sweet, maybe the beets were too warm. Maybe they just don’t like beets, and that’s cool too.

Cora finished everyone’s beets and asked for more, so she and I enjoyed the beets in peace and talked about other pink and purple foods we knew, other sweet foods we knew, and other kinds of sauces we like. And then as she popped the last bite into her mouth, she said, Mommy, I actually don’t think I like beets anymore. I want to go outside.

I told her no problem, go ahead; I cleaned the purple juice off her face and fingers and watched her run out back.

fyi, for those unfamiliar with b-b-b-beets:

• Beets are high in sugar (meaning that this recipe was crazy high in sugar. . .yikes!);
• Beets can be eaten raw or cooked but too much heat may diminish beets’ “anti-cancer activity”;
• Beets are cousins of Swiss chard (for all my fellow CSA pals);
• Beets can store for up to two weeks in your fridge;
• Beets are rich in nutrients and high in B vitamin folate, which all pregnant women need for healthy bambinos;
• Beet juice may stain your skin, but rubbing lemon juice on your hands will take away the color–cool!
• Beet juice is powerful and can help with: anemia; blood pressure; prevent colon or stomach cancer; dandruff; liver, gall bladder, or kidney problemos; varicose veins! Wow.

Thanks to WHFoods: Beets for the majority of this info and Juicing For Health for the skinny on beet juice.

Thanks also to Jessica’s post at Family Education BLOGS for the inspiration for our own Kid Friendly Beet Recipe. I also look forward to trying Disney’s Beet Walnut Dip and Kate at Savour Fare’s Beet, Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip. YUM.

The purpose of New For Us Fridays is to keep life in our house fresh, to keep us open to new foods, ideas, and activities, and to help us all to be excited to try new things. We’ve got a few cool things lined up this summer, and I’m excited to try them out and share what we find! Any suggestions for us, hit me with an email or comment!