We talk about beets a lot on That's Fit.ca and our enthusiasm for this vibrant root vegetable shows no signs of abating, here's why: The beet is truly a nutritional powerhouse. Beet juice can boost athletic endurance and beets are loaded with antioxidant carotenoid phytonutrients, including lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health. They're packed with B vitamins and vitamin C, calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous and the always important zinc. Beets are also a great source of betaine, which stimulates liver function, lowers inflammation and protects bile ducts. Beets build and detoxify the blood.

With that knowledge you are probably keen to add more beets to your diet, but how? One can only consume so many boiled or roasted beets before growing bored, so here are five creative ideas on how to get more of these nutrient bombs into your day.

Juicing - Beet juice is one of the better ways to maximize all the nutrition in beets. A few ounces of organic beet juice is akin to taking a multivitamin and a liver tonic. And because they're sweet, any juice you add them to is going to be tasty. Don't forget, you can juice the beet's greens too.

Smoothie - If you're like me, you've got a high-powered blender that can tear through a chunk of beet as though it was an over-boiled potato. But since you're probably not like me, your standard blender might need a bit of help. Cut beets into small pieces or even grate them before adding them to your smoothie or it may end up chunkier than you like. Adding whole beets to smoothies instead of just juicing them means you get all their nutritious components plus the valuable fibre.

Salads - While you've got your grater out, you may as well grate some of those beets for a salad. Beets add a delicious purple sweetness to greens and when they're in small enough pieces they can easily be eaten raw (they're a bit too hard to eat whole). As a bonus, grated beets in a salad turn the dressing a funky purple colour and by my own calculations, purple food tastes 17 percent better than non-purple food.

Soup - Beets in soup are delicious. You can roast the beets first, in the oven or on the BBQ, to get a rich caramelized flavour, or just put them in raw with all of your other ingredients. I prepared a carrot beet soup for the Food Network a few years ago that you can check out here. With a name like Purple Velvet you know it's gotta be good.

Beet Kvass - This one's a little more out there, but it's probably the best way to maximize the nutrition of the beets. It's a fermented beet tonic that has all the nutrition of beets plus the added benefit of probiotic bacteria and all the vitamins they create as a byproduct of their fermentation. Taking a shot of this a couple of times a day will significantly reduce the chance of you contracting a summer cold. Check out the recipe here.


The Healthy Foodie is Doug DiPasquale, Holistic Nutritionist and trained chef, living in Toronto. Doug specializes in private in-home holistic cooking lessons. You can email him with inquiries or questions for the blog at dougthehealthyfoodie@gmail.com.