Meatless Monday: Orange-Balsamic Roasted Beets and Carrots over Quinoa and Spinach

The storm's-a-comin' as I write this: the winds outside are picking up and the rain is just starting to come down. We are all ready with a stocked kitchen, extra filtered water, and plenty of candles at hand. We don't know just how bad Sandy's going to be, but we will be cozy :)

I was craving fresh vegetables after 3 days in a row of eating a less than stellar intake. Turkey loaf with Rice-a-Roni one night, carnival fare at the pumpkin patch for lunch on Saturday, then lasagna with tiramisu for dessert- I needed vegetarian pronto! And beets were on my mind...I picked up a bunch at my last trip to the supermarket, and roasted them along with some carrots in a sweet and slightly sour marinade...

Orange-Balsamic Roasted Beets and Carrots
(serves 2-4)

Ingredients:

3-4 beets
4-6 carrots
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest + extra
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Set oven to broil. Slice off tops and bottoms of beets, then peel with a peeler. Wrap in tin foil, and place on baking sheet, then into oven like in picture below. Broil for 45 minutes-1 hour, or until they are easily pierce-able by a fork.

Meanwhile, trim and peel carrots then cut into thirds and quarters, or however you'd like. Reserve them for the last 20 minutes of roasting; at the appropriate time, arrange them on tray beside beets.

Once ready, remove beets and carrots from oven and allow to cool. While they're cooling, heat balsamic vinegar and orange juice over low heat in small saucepan. Heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly. Slice beets up like an orange into sections, or however you prefer. Toss veggies in bowl and some salt and pepper to taste if desired.

We ate this served over quinoa and fresh baby spinach, along with some orange slices and extra orange juice squirted right onto it all. It was delicious and refreshing, just what I was craving. Paul and Lily enjoyed it as well. This is a great way to introduce these kinds of healthy foods to your family. The veggies are extra sweet with this marinade, and it all mixes well with the spinach and quinoa. I cooked 1 cup of quinoa according to the package, along with a tsp of olive oil. 

she likes her beets!

Balsamic vinegar is my most often-used salad dressing. I like to mix it with a little olive oil, and salt and pepper. Did you know this low-fat, low-cal condiment also contains some health benefits? It is high in antioxidants, aids the digestive system in breaking down proteins, and also helps to regulate blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for those with diabetes.

If you have little ones under a year old, serve some of the carrots and beets mashed up plain, or with a little orange juice if desired. This is truly a meal the entire family can enjoy, whether you partake in Meatless Mondays or not.   

Now it's your turn to share your Meatless Monday dish below! No rules, other than please only link-up meat-free recipes. No other un-related links or I will remove them. Sorry to sound so harsh, but let's keep it true to what it is, ok? Link up as much as you want, and feel free to spread the word with the button below. Thanks, and have a great week! 

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Meatless Monday: Vinegret Beet Salad

Today's extra yummy Meatless Monday recipe comes from a good friend of mine who brought this delightful salad to my Memorial BBQ. It contains my favorite vegetable as the main ingredient- beets! This is a salad the entire family will love- I swear! Even kids who get turned off by vegetables should like this one. It turns a bright magenta color once it's all mixed together which may help entice them further. Lily gobbled it all up and so did everyone at the party. Luckily my friend made more than enough, so there were leftovers all for me to enjoy for the rest of the week!  

Vinegret (vee-neh-GRET)

(serves a party! cut amounts in half to serve a family)

Ingredients

1 lb beets, peeled
1 lb carrots
1 lb potatoes, peeled
1/2 lb sauerkraut
1/2 lb dill pickles
1/3 lb onion
1/2 lb sweet peas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Apprx. 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Boil or steam beets, carrots and potatoes until soft, then allow them to cool down. Next, chop them into small pieces (very small cubes). Chop pickles and onion into small pieces too, then add to vegetables in a large serving dish or bowl. Next, add the sauerkraut and salt. Pour the oil on top then mix it all together. It should become a bright, magenta color. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Delicious on lettuce or as is. 

Note: it may not look this pink right away, this image was shot a couple of says after the salad was originally made

Some pickier children may think this looks "weird", but get them to try it and I will be surprised if they don't like it. The sweet and salty combination is a real crowd-pleaser, and it's so easy to make and relatively inexpensive. This is a recipe I will be using very often in the future. 

Sauerkraut is something I don't eat often enough, especially after finding out just how healthy it is. First of all, it is probiotic which is a big plus for many people who understand the benefits of having good-for-you bacteria in your body. The fermentation process causes this and this helps to strongly aide in gastrointestinal health. Here is a direct quote from Natural News' awesome website touting the magnificent cabbage:

"Cabbage offers a host of health benefits. It is high in vitamins A and C. Studies have shown the cruciferous vegetables can help lower cholesterol levels. Cabbage also provides a rich source of phytonutrient antioxidants. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties, and some studies indicate it may help combat some cancers. However, this already helpful vegetable becomes a superfood when it is pickled."

Read more about the amazing benefits and history of sauerkraut and other fermented and pickled vegetables here, at NaturalNews.com. If you are not familiar with that website, I suggest you become so. It offers a wide variety of verified information on health, food, psychology,  environmental concerns, social concerns, and much more. 

Any of these vegetables can easily be steamed and mashed for baby to enjoy along with you and the fam (or any of the other vegetables in this salad!). Beets are very good for babies, and they can eat them as early as 8 months. If you are pregnant, eating sauerkraut right now will help improve your iron and folate intake, and also aide in digestion. 

Now it's your turn to share your Meatless Monday recipe! Please link up any meat-free dish you'd like below. Link as many as you want! Grab a button and spread the word! Thanks for stopping by :)

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What I made for dinner tonight: a healthy vegetarian meal for 2

June was a jam-packed month for my family and I, and July ain’t looking much different. The move to a bigger place was successful, most of the cleaning and organizing has been done, and we are starting to really like our new home. My sister had her baby, a healthy baby girl :) Summer is just getting started, and I know it will be gone in a blink of an eye so I am trying to take as much advantage of the time I have.

For today’s Meatless Monday recipe, I once again featured my favorite root vegetable in the starring role: the beet. Paul went to the store and selected a nice looking bunch so I popped 2 in the oven and threw what else we had together to make quite a tasty and low fat meal. This would be a great way to recover from a 4^th of July weekend filled with hotdogs and hamburgers.

Oven-roasted Beets with Green Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

2 Large beets, peeled and trimmed

2 handfuls of green beans, trimmed

1 cup white rice

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp butter (I used regular, but you can use margarine)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dry parsley or 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Preheat your oven to 450. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil completely, then put on tray into oven for 45 minutes or until tender enough for a knife to slide right in. Meanwhile, cook the rice for 10 minutes and steam the green beans for 5-7 minutes, depending on how tender you like them. When the beets are done, set them aside to cool and fry the garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until brown and fragrant. Mix the butter, parsley, salt and pepper into the rice. Set each item onto 2 plates and top the green beans and beets with the garlic and oil and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and parsley. Serve with a nice white wine if available.

You can, of course, substitute the white rice for brown and slice up the beet any way you choose. I went with the "sliced orange" style, which is appealing to the eye and looks a little like a rose. You can also skip the butter to lower the fat even more and just mix any excess garlic and olive oil into the rice instead to give it a little extra flavor.

 

We gave some of the beet to Lily to try. I think she ate about 2 small pieces, then threw the rest on the floor. These were very sweet and soft beets, so we were surprised she didn’t like it. Oh, well. Its normal for a tot to be a picky eater as we all know, but do feel free to offer it up to your little one all the same. She liked the rice of course, and she also had:

2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp steamed mixed peas and chopped carrot

For baby:

1-2 tbsp pureed peas or carrot (4 months+)

or

1-2 tbsp pureed beet (8-10 months)

Parsley is typically the underrated herb that you normally find as a garnish on your plate in some restaurants. Yet, parsley is packed with vitamins A and C and especially K. Parsley has been shown to benefit the heart and contains antioxidant flavonoids such as luteolin.

A lesser known benefit of parsley is it’s “chemoprotective” properties; it contains oils that can neutralize cancerous carcinogens. Add it to meats when you’re grilling to utilize this effect.

One of the best things about parsley is it’s cheap! You can get a nice bunch from just about any supermarket for $.50-$1.00. Smells great too!

And, it being the 4^th and all, I couldn’t get away without posting some kind of healthy grill recipe. We’re all familiar (I believe) with grilling vegetables, but here is a simple and tasty less-traditional way to grill corn on the cob.

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

6 tbsp queso fresco, divided

6 tsp chili powder, divided

2 limes cut into 6 wedges

Extra lime wedges for garnishing

Rub each ear of corn with a lime wedge and sprinkle with a tsp of chili powder. Wrap each ear in tin foil and cook on grill until brown but not burnt, turning every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle each with about a tbsp of the queso fresco and an extra lime wedge if desired. SO GOOD! Enjoyed best with an ice cold Corona Light.

I first had grilled corn this way at a small, but very popular Mexican diner in the Chelsea area of NYC. I wish I could remember the name of the place; I only recall that it was on a corner near the 23^rd Street Path Train station. You can use this seasoning for other vegetables as well. I’ve tried it on asparagus and tomatoes and it was awesome both times.

Note: Queso fresco is a light, crumbly, slightly acidic Mexican cheese. If you can’t find it or queso blanco, you can sub with feta, Monteray jack or cheddar.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!!!

Meatless Monday: Simple Beet and Spinach Soup

I know I said I would be posting my Meatless Monday recipes on Sundays, but with the holiday weekend I did not find time to do that. So, here’s a meatless recipe on Monday…

It’s another soup, yes, and another one with beets, yes, but I chose this one because I made it recently and it’s very quick and easy with only a few ingredients so it could be made on short notice if you do want to stick to the Meatless Monday initiative. I hope you like- this is an original recipe by me!

Simple Beet and Spinach Soup

8 cups of water

4 beets peeled and diced

2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach or frozen chopped spinach

½ cup diced onion

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried thyme or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Sauté the onion in the butter for about 3-5 minutes then stir in the beets and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil then cook over medium-high heat for about 30 minutes or until water is deep red and beets are tender. Add the lemon, salt, pepper and thyme and add more to taste if desired. Once it tastes to your liking, add the spinach and remove from heat, stirring the soup until spinach is wilted. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt if desired.

This is a very sweet and light-tasting soup and excellent served hot or cold. Great for spring and summer and great to dip whole grain bread into. Enjoy!

Babies and tots love beets too! They’re sweet and healthy and colorful and when pureed they make great baby food! If you cook the beets soft enough using the recipe above, you can serve them right up to your finger food-eater with some spinach and a squirt of lemon, or for baby puree a couple of spoon-fulls of the beets and spinach (without seasoning if they are under 9 months, if over 9 months then salt, pepper, thyme and lemon are fine unless deemed otherwise by you) and serve. Yum!!!

Beets are loaded with vitamin C, vitamin A and folates, while spinach is a very well-known superfood for its large sources of iron and vitamin K. And thanks to Popeye, your kid might actually want to eat it! Thyme is also loaded with vitamin K and the lemon with C, so this soup will help strengthen your bones, your immune system, and help fight free-radicals with strong anti-oxidant power! 

I love beets!

On cozy, winter days I really like to eat soups and stews and borscht is one of my favorites, a well as my husband’s. We enjoy it all year round actually, but winter is the best season for it. It’s a very versatile soup, but I like to make it vegetarian and with the main focus on the beets.

Beets are definitely an underrated vegetable in this country, usually labeled with a reputation akin to Brussels sprouts and broccoli. But, the beet is filled with nutrients like B vitamins, beta-carotene and antioxidants. It’s also as versatile as borscht, in that it can be used in other soups, stews, and salads, and as a great side dish or even juice. Beet juice is probably the most used natural food coloring. Beets are especially good for is juicing due to their detoxifying and cleansing properties.

Borscht

2 beets cubed

2 potatoes cubed

2-3 carrots chopped

8 cups of water, 2 vegetable bouillon cubes or 4 cups water, 
    4 cups vegetable broth

½ cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp red cooking wine

or

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp dried parsley or ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Sour cream for topping

Borscht cooking

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil in large pot for about 2 minutes. Add water and/or broth and bring to a boil. Add bouillon cubes if using. Add beets and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add carrot and cook for about 5 minutes, then add potatoes. Add all other ingredients except for sour cream and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl and fresh parsley if available. Makes 6-10 servings depending on amount served to each person.

I haven’t given Lily any beets to try yet since organic are harder to come by around where we live, but next time I’m in a Whole Foods or farmer’s market I plan to pick some up for her. While I was enjoying my borscht last night, Lily had:

2 tbsp shredded Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses

2 tbsp cooked black beans

Enjoying her dinner

2 tbsp steamed mixed chopped veggies (corn, peas, carrots and green beans)

 

As you can see, Lily likes her finger foods. Giving her finger foods to eat also helps keep her occupied while I cook or feed myself. She makes a big mess, but that’s all part of it. She goes right into the tub after dinner anyway.

Recently she tried a new snack that has become a fast favorite- raisins. She’s had black and golden raisins and seems to enjoy them both equally. I plan to make her a carrot cake for her upcoming birthday and raisins are a main ingredient in the recipe I have. I made a test cake about a week ago and it didn’t come out to well. The dough was too wet and it ended up with the consistency of a pumpkin pie rather than birthday cake. The cream cheese frosting was delish though and Paul and I gobbled that up quick enough. It was my first try making a cake ever though, so hopefully next time will be better. I will be sure to blog about it!

For more info on beets, click here