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-boatsThe 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 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!
Make sure to save and cook those beet greens; they're the best part IMO.
ReplyDeletei am TRYING to like beets more and make them for my family. a friend sent me a few recipes with beets that her 4yo LOVES so i am trying them. thought it'd share:
ReplyDeleteClean a beet or a few, wrap them in foil, bake them at 400 until you can stick a knife through the package. The timing of this will depend on the size of your beet, but usually close to an hour for large ones, and about 30 minutes for smaller ones. You can then take the packages and put them in the fridge to use whenever. But the best way to use them is to open the package and scrub off the peel....this will happen easily once it's been cooked. Slice the beets and put into a casserole dish. Cover with thyme, salt, and pepper and olive oil. Then crumble a bunch of goat cheese on top. Place in the broiler just to basically melt the cheese and get it a little brown. You can also add bread crumbs with the cheese if you want a bit of a crunch.
and "pink pasta":
take beet greens, saute them in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flake for a few minutes then throw in a splash of broth or pasta cooking water, cover and cook for a few minutes to wilt them down. Then add a splash of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Toss with pasta of your choice (and pasta cooking water if you want it to be more saucy) and goat or feta cheese (the cheese will melt on the hot pasta). The dye in the greens makes the pasta pink.
saw this beet hummus recipe yesterday on babble.com- gonna try it.
I have never tried beets. I should start our version of "new for us" around here because there are many things we should try and it's always fun to do and try new things.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE beets, and my kids tolerate them. To make them more friendly I peel them and roast them with a bit of orange juice (which seems to get rid of that funky 'dirt' taste). Aren't CSA's great!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Kids eating beets! Now if only I'd eat beets☺ I am glad your kids are such adventurous eaters, I could learn a thing or two from them. What a great idea to have new food friday!
ReplyDeleteMy husband grew up eating the canned beets and loved them! I've tried fresh beets since then and love them. I make a beet salad. Roast them in foil packets like Jen said. I usually wear gloves when I deal with beets. After you roast them, the skin just rubs right off.
ReplyDeleteI cut the beets into chunks. Make a dressing with a bit of honey, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss in the beets. If you make them the night before, it taste really good the next day. Before you serve the beet salad, throw on some torn basil and chunks of feta. It's very good and doesn't contain a lot of sugar.
They're also good in soups, like beef stew.
oh my gosh--you guys are awesome!! Thanks so much for the ideas, advice, and recipes! We will have a beet-happy summer!
ReplyDeleteI grew up eating beets and my kids love them. If you have a pressure cooker, put a little water in it and the beats and cook them for up to 20 minutes. Take them out, let them cool, clean off the skin, cut into rounds and eat. Beets are sweet on their own. My aunt used to also make beet curry when we were growing up. Saute cooked beats in a little vegetable oil, add some summer peas, salt and a little pepper (paprika or garam masala will do too) and you have a lovely and healthy side dish.
ReplyDeleteHi! Just found your blog! Love your ideas!!!
ReplyDeleteWe are not to far from each other too! I about an hour from DC near Maryland. :-)