Tag: Beetroot

Winter Beetroot Wonder-Juice: Refreshing, Nutritious, Simple

img_2479This was a leftover juice in the sense that there were bits of veggies left over just before shopping day and they were put together to produce this very refreshing juice, full of nutrients to help you withstand the Winter bugs.

Together these ingredients have antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and are good for your blood and circulation; they contain minerals such as calcium, potassium and iron, protein, soluble fibre, they are hydrating and their combined juice tastes good too.

If you’d like to read more about the many health benefits of turmeric, click here or for beetroot, read Make Beetroot Your New Veg Friend! (Juice Recipe Included)

I have kept the fruit to a minimum as I’ve been working on achieving the optimum balance of 80% veggies to 20% fruit to maintain good digestion and blood sugar regulation – the carrot and beetroot are sweet, however if you require it to be a little sweeter, add another apple.

Ingredients

(organic, washed, peel left on, quantities approximate)

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1 Apple

1 good-sized Carrot

1 1/2 Sticks of Celery

Small Beetroot

2″ Cucumber

3″ Broccoli stem

Small piece of Turmeric

Handful of Spinach

Method

 Begin with apple and end with apple, squash the spinach leaves up and put through the juicer followed quickly by other ingredients to get the most out of them so they don’t just go straight into the pulp container.

Juice the turmeric with another ingredient for the same reason

If you want a more substantial juice, blend with a quarter of avocado which will give you extra protein, healthy fats and lots of extra vitamins and minerals. It will also keep you fuller for longer. I didn’t this time, I just wanted juice.

For more information on how to fight winter bugs, read Juicing My Way Through The Cold Wars – Update + Golden Milk Recipe

Since I’m publishing this on America’s Thanksgiving Day, I’d like to thank you all for reading and supporting my blog; I love reading your comments and questions, thank you for keeping me out of mischief!

Cheers, stay healthy!

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Copyright: Chris McGowan

Hot, Hot, Hot Anti-Inflammatory Beetroot & Ginger Juice!

This is one of my favourites. I love ginger and have become so used to it I can stand quite a lot of it in juicies. It is anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-fungal and when used regularly it’s great for helping ward off colds and viruses, treating Candida, nausea and relieving inflammatory pain.

Inflammation has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

If you’re not used to it, begin with a thin slice of ginger root and gradually increase it.

Beetroot is well-known for its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, it dilates blood vessels which improves circulation – athletes, professional cyclists and gym enthusiasts are known to employ fresh beetroot juice in their training and preparation. It’s a good source of potassium.

Freshly extracted beetroot juice has also been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol when drunk regularly.

Celery, apple and lemon provide electrolytes, so altogether this is a good juice to have when exercising.

All ingredients are organic and therefore they are just washed and the peel left on. If using waxed lemon, thinly pare the peel leaving plenty of pith, it’s where the healthy micro-nutrients are.

Ingredients

Small Beetroot

2 Carrots

2 Apples

1 Stick of Celery, chopped into 3″ pieces

Thick Slice of Lemon with peel on

Thick knob of Ginger – about 2cms x 2 cms

Juice all the items, placing the lemon and ginger between the apples and putting the celery in last to avoid it clogging up the juicer.

(The picture in the background is entitled Moths and Butterflies by Sophie Whiting).

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Nutty Bean & Beetroot Veggie Burgers with Quinoa & Redcurrants

These are the third in a series of attempts to find a tasty home-made veggie burger that holds together well and I think in the latter category, these are the best! I think the key might be in using chia egg (chia seeds soaked in water to form a gel) rather than just the chia seeds on their own. In the other recipes, we had assumed that the seeds would soak up any excess moisture in the mix and combined with the chickpea flour, would hold it together. They worked well, but these worked even better.

Don’t be put off by the beetroot, they are peeled and grated and the burgers don’t taste earthy at all. Beetroot are heart healthy, a good source of potassium and good for the circulation. (Read Make Beetroot Your New Veg Friend! for the full benefits of eating/juicing beetroot).

I had a couple of burgers warm with some quinoa and a red- and whitecurrant dressing, with a green salad. The rest were put in the freezer and I had a couple when we had a picnic on a sunny day and they were even better! They held together and tasted amazing – I ate them with my fingers, like a biscuit, and they didn’t break up.

Quinoa is a complete protein and also gluten-free. It can be a little bland unless you add some spices, lime juice or dried fruit for example, here we’ve made a dressing using fresh red and white currants, but you could use defrosted frozen berries or dried cranberries.

Apart from being very tasty, redcurrants are a rich source of dietary fibre, potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin K – necessary for blood-clotting and for good bone health.

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Ingredients – Burgers

1/2 Tin Black Beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 Medium Beetroot, grated

1 Small Onion, chopped

1 Clove of Garlic, crushed

1 Cup Ground Walnuts (you could substitute for seeds or other nuts, but they would give a different texture and flavour)

2″ Slice Marrow, chopped or 1/2 Courgette (Zucchini)

2 Chestnut Mushrooms, chopped

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds soaked in 3 Tbsps Water, stirred vigorously, to form a gel

1 1/2 Cups Chickpea Flour (garbanzo or gram)

A Squeeze of Tomato Purée

1 Tsp Vegetable Bouillon Powder

1/2 Tbsp Cumin Seeds

Handful Fresh Coriander, chopped

Splash of Tamari

Pink Himalayan Salt & Black Pepper

A little coconut oil for frying.

Method

Put everything in the food processor and pulse/slow process until it starts to come together but is still coarse, you don’t want it too smooth & mushy. Scrape it down between each blast.

With floured hands take handfuls of mix and form into burgers on a floured board using a flat spatula to help it come together if necessary. Sprinkle with a little flour before cooking. We made 5.

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Melt a little coconut oil in a frying pan, but not to smoking point, and gently cook the burgers. You might prefer to cook them in the oven.

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Quinoa

Just before you cook the burgers, put on some quinoa to cook as per instructions, keep the lid on until cooked, about 10-12 minutes – you want the moisture evaporated but the quinoa still keeping its shape, not broken up and mushy. If there is still some moisture, leave the lid off and turn the heat off but keep the pan on the warm plate, or turn it out into a hot dish and fluff it gently with a fork to allow the moisture to escape.

Red and White Currant Dressing

I adapted this from an Able & Cole recipe.

Place about 125g fresh Red and White Currants in a saucepan, add approximately 2 Tbsps water, 1 Tsp Maple Syrup, 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds. Heat slowly until the currants burst slightly. Remove from heat.

Pour half into the quinoa and lightly mix. Check seasoning.

Serve the burgers with the quinoa and a green salad and drizzle over the rest of the dressing.

See Vegan Tiger Nut & Peanut Chilli-Burger (you can use substitutes for Tiger Nuts) and Vegan Black Bean & Walnut Veggie Burger for the other recipes.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Pink Oats, Anyone?

imageThis is my second post on savoury oats and this one might throw you for a loop: people tend to either love them or hate them but beetroot should be your new veg friend.

It has been shown that regular juicing with beetroot can improve your circulation and lower your BP by dilating your blood vessels. It certainly worked for my husband. I wasn’t too sure about using beetroot when I first began juicing, but now I have it every other day. If you add lemon or pineapple, or a couple of apples along with other veg, it makes a refreshing and very healthy juice. (See post and juice recipe here).

All well and good, you might say, but adding it to porridge is going a little bit far!

I wasn’t sure either, but I had tried courgette (zucchini) oats (recipe here) and was pleasantly surprised, so in for a penny, in for a pound! Don’t forget, the benefit of having veg for breakfast is you have one of your daily portions of veg to give you a head start and it keeps you fuller for much longer.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Oats

1/2 Cup Home-made Almond Milk (see recipe)

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 to 1/2 Small Beetroot, peeled and grated

2 Medjool Dates, chopped

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds*

1 Dsp Açaí Powder*

Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

*

Method

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Add all ingredients except chia seeds and açaí powder to a pan and warm up stirring occasionally, then cook for 5-10 minutes, keep giving it a stir.

Add chia seeds and açaí powder.

Stir well.

Transfer to a bowl.

Top with the fruit of your choice. I had plum and banana with raw chocolate mulberry chips.*

Add a drop of milk if you like it thinner.

imageBon Appetit!

Convinced? No? My husband will make it for me but won’t go near it himself. Although he has a daily beetroot juice, he draws the line at beetroot porridge. He prefers his plain, nothing added.

Watch out for my next version of Zoats, which turned out the best I think. It really does need practice to work out the right combination for your tastebuds.

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright Chris McGowan

Blended Breakfast Beetroot Juice

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Blended Breakfast Beetroot Juice in Grip and Go Bottle*

When I first began juicing, I would never have believed some of the combinations I now use every day or how many vegetables I would try with trepidation but end up loving and adding to the juicing repertoire (parsnips being the exception, of course!).

Beetroot is one of them.

I am so hardcore, I even leave the skins on!

Beetroot is known as the blood builder and is especially recommended for anyone with raised blood pressure or poor circulation.

All ingredients are organic and washed and so keep their skins, except the pineapple, if using non-organic then scrub and peel.

The juice is blended with avocado to add protein, fibre and healthy fats and because it makes you feel fuller longer.

Ingredients

2 Apples

1 large Carrot

1 Thick Slice of Unwaxed Lemon

1/2 Medium Beetroot, ends removed and scrubbed well

4″ Cucumber

2″ Broccoli stalk

Half inch slice of Pineapple

1/2 stick of Celery

1/2 small Avocado

(you can freeze the rest if you remove the skin and stone, chop up the flesh and use in smoothies or guacamole)

Juice all the ingredients except the avocado, blend the juice with the avocado.

Add ice if you like your juice chilled.

Ps If you’d like a chance to win some of these Grip and Go Bottles and Travel Mugs see Earth Day Competition but hurry, it ends midnight on Friday, 29th April, 2016!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Make Beetroot Your New Veg Friend! (Juice Recipes Included)

 

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The Red One – Recipe Below (along with details of where to buy the glass bottle)

When I was at school and had school dinners, they used to give us sliced boiled beetroot with shepherd’s pie once a week. It turned the mashed potato a blushing pink. In those days we ate what we were given, both at home and at school, there were no menu options. I loved school dinners and whilst I wasn’t a big fan of boiled beetroot, it was ok. I ate it. Then in my teens I started taking packed lunches and between then and 2 years ago, not another slice of beetroot passed my lips. We never had it at home and later when I had my own family, my husband didn’t like it so we just never bought it.

Juicing changed all that. When I came to have my first juice with beetroot in, I was somewhat apprehensive. To my surprise, I liked it and given all its nutritional benefits, beetroot became My New Veg Friend.

It is advisable when you first begin juicing to add some fruit, especially lemon and/or berries, even ginger, which I still do, I’m not that hardcore that I drink straight beetroot juice! It has a slightly earthy flavour which some people aren’t keen on, although some varieties are sweeter than others. This is reduced if you remove the skin, but of course you’ll also be removing vital nutrients.

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A welcome donation from our neighbour’s allotment

To my surprise, my previously juice-sceptic husband started having a daily beetroot juice too. I convinced him that it would help his blood pressure and now it has become part of his daily routine. And he doesn’t even drink it with a peg on his nose! He certainly feels healthier for it.

He gets regular exercise cleaning up after he’s made it too – for some reason, he always manages to get beetroot juice everywhere! So be warned, it stains, you’re advised to wear an apron and rubber gloves!

Just one of the many beetroot explosions in our kitchen, it even reached the ceiling once!

Beetroots are rich in iron, potassium, magnesium and folate, are anti-imflammatory, rich in anti-oxidants and are good for heart and blood health. They increase blood flow to the brain and improve exercise performance. Regular drinking of beetroot juice has been shown to reduce blood pressure.

Here’s one of the beetroot recipes we use – full of anti-oxidants, it is also anti-inflammatory, mineral-rich and has protein from the romaine leaves (see below for links to other beetroot juice recipes)*

The Red One

Ingredients

(Organic if possible)

1 Small or Half a Medium Beetroot – If organic and you’re used to beetroot, just chop the ends off, scrub well and leave the peel on

2-3 Medium Carrots, scrubbed

6 Romaine leaves, rinsed well

Thick Slice of Wax-Free Lemon – if organic, scrub and leave peel on, if not peel thinly leaving as much pith as possible.

Chunk of Ginger – size depending on whether or not you are used to the taste, it doesn’t want to be overpowering

2 Medium Apples

Half a Mango or Large Handful of Mixed Berries

Method

Juice all ingredients except Mango or Berries. Blend them into the juice, add ice.

(Beetroot is also a great tomato substitute: if you’re nightshade-sensitive and miss pasta or pizza sauce see my post Amazing Tomatoless Sauce)

*Winter Beetroot Wonder-Juice: Refreshing, Nutritious, Simple

Election Day Special Fruity Beetroot Juice

Blended Breakfast Beetroot Juice

Hot, Hot, Hot Anti-Inflammatory Beetroot & Ginger Juice!

Here’s one for beetroot soup:

Vegan, Gluten-Free Carrot, Beetroot & Basil Soup

and a burger recipe:

Nutty Bean & Beetroot Veggie Burgers with Quinoa & Redcurrants

You can even have beetroot in your porridge!

Pink Oats, Anyone?

The glass bottle in the photo is by Grip and Go UK. They produce a variety of stylish glass bottles in quirky shapes, some with colourful silicone grips and easy grip lids, or you can choose stainless steel lids. The bottles are dishwasher-safe and you can even chalk on the one in the photo, great fun! Ditch the plastic!

Here’s a gentle, relaxing YouTube video of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (see what I did there? 😉) to listen to while you sip your juice.

 Copyright: Chris McGowan