Raw Beet Salad with Sauteed Beet Greens

 

With the unseasonably hot weather we've been having the central Indiana, Brandon, the mastermind of our kitchen, whipped up a vibrant and delicious salad for dinner tonight.  We had been running errands earlier that afternoon and had a sandwich at a specialty shop for an early dinner, so this purposefully a light dinner.

At the start of the year, we began subscribing to the Green BEAN Delivery again to have fresh organic produce delivered to our front door.  It has been very successful in prodding us to try new recipes to use the produce we are being dosed out weekly.  We had cabbage and oranges left from last week's box and received beets and carrots in this week box.

Brandon found a Raw Beet Salad recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.  He followed the recipe for Raw Beet Salad with Cabbage and Orange. He added some shredded carrot too.  This salad was really easy to eat, mild tasting acid, crunchy, and a tiny bit sweet.  We added a little side of bread and butter.  Cheese would've been good too.

With the left over beet leaves and stems, Brandon rinsed them, then chopped, and sauteed them in a little oil and garlic.  These beet greens were surprisingly mild and easy to eat.

Surprise, surprise, the picky boy who has begun developing a few food jags, dove right into this bowl of veggies.  Do be warned - beets stain.  The beet juice that Aidan got on his shirt from using it in place as a napkin - it's not going to wash out.  I really don't care if clothes get stained.  He's a little kid, they stain things.

Two Nutritional Benefits of the Dish:
High nutritional density based on color alone.  The deep green and red indicate that these foods a high in protective antioxidants.  Fat soluble Vitamins A resides in these color foods.  Eating Vitamin A sources with some fat, like butter or the oil in the dressing. helps our body to absorb the fat soluble vitamins well.
A plate full of veggies like this is also packed with fiber from the produce but especially the raw beets and raw cabbage.



I'm linking up to Sorta Crunchy's Green Resource!