Goat Cheese and Beet Salad

I'm back! School is definitely way more demanding than expected and throw in other responsibilities, working out and focusing on healthy eating, the days are just way too short to do it all. That's why I decided that I will end my hiatus and continue blogging (since I love it so much) but have short and sweet posts :)

Eating or even preparing beets was always a very daunting thought for me for some reason...until I ate this heavenly salad with my sister at an Italian restaurant called Alice Fazoolis. I have never enjoyed a salad as much as I enjoyed this, so I decided to make my own version at home. It's incredibly easy and as the husband stated- "the best salad he ever had in his life." :)


Goat Cheese and Beet Salad: 

• Mixed baby greens
• Boiled or roasted and peeled red beets
• Goat cheese
• Dried Cranberries
• Pecans (which I didn't have on hand)

I purchased these organic beets from Whole Foods- Washed them thoroughly, cut off the leaves (don't throw them out!) and threw the beets in a pot of water and boiled them for about 30 minutes or so until they were tender. I Drained and rinsed them with cold water and took off the peels carefully with a knife- these guys bleed like crazy so don't get them on your clothes. The leaves can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed for a healthy side dish. The roots underneath the beets can also be consumed. All parts of the beets are extremely nutritious and the water in which the beets were boiled can be added to soups or as cooking liquid as it contains important minerals and nutrients as well. You can cook the beets ahead of time and store them in the fridge like I did.

Benefits of Beets:

• Very high in antioxidants
• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Great for detoxification: hooks up to toxins and deactivates them making it easier for the body to dispose of them 
• Contains high amounts of 
• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Folate
• Leaves contain high levels of iron 
• High fiber content 

After the low maintenance cooking I then chopped the beets into bite size pieces, added them to my mixed greens along with the goat cheese and dried cranberries and that's it! Dress it however you like- olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette with lemon goes great with it. There is just something so amazing about the goat cheese and beet pairing. I guarantee that you will love it.
EDIT: I added quinoa to this salad today and it worked out really well-

• Goat cheese is a healthier option than cow's milk cheese mainly due to the fact that it is significantly lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and also is more suitable for those who have a lactose sensitivity. It also contains more Vitamin D, A, K and B's than cow's milk and is also a good source of protein. 

• I used Earthbound Farms Organic Power Greens mix- which is the best thing to ever happen to me. You just pop open the box and can throw a salad together in minutes! Baby kale, baby swiss chard and baby spinach, you just can't go wrong.

I encourage you all to try buying a new vegetable each time you go to the grocery store, google some recipes and have fun with it.  There is nothing to lose and lots to gain.
Happy vegging!