Nothing Beats Beets

It was the beginning of my junior year at Colorado State University and at long last I was living in an off campus apartment with three new roommates.  Two of us nutrition majors, an occupational therapy student and a psych major all seemed to be getting along famously until that one morning in early fall.

It was a Monday morning and instead of the usual talkative breakfast banter, one by one, each of my roommates emerged from their room, sullen and quiet. No one spoke or gave eye contact to each other, they just sat in silence. Finally, the psych major announced that she needed to go to the campus clinic. She wondered if anyone had gone there before.

Psych major explained that when she used the bathroom that morning her urine was red and she was concerned that something was terribly wrong.  The others chimed in to share their similar story while I sat in disbelief…their worry was all my fault.

We were getting to know one another by sharing Sunday dinners, so I volunteered to go first. From my mother's garden, I harvested zucchini squash, lettuce and beets to share with my roommates. I'm a country girl, so it didn't occur to me that they would be unaware that eating beets will cause your urine to turn pink. I thought it was a charming reminder of eating a good helping of beets…and they thought they were dying.

I thought that pink urine was a charming reminder of eating a good helping of beets...and they thought they were dying.

I still love beets, but warn all beet beginners about the pink urine effect.

Tips for Buying Beets

Beets are versatile and can be served warm, cold, pickled, cooked or even fresh.

• The freshest beets are sold with the greens still attached.  Because the leaves pull moisture from the beet, remove the leafy tops as soon as you get home.
• Cut the green one-inch from the beet. Chop them us and use them in a salad or sauté them with olive oil and garlic.
• Cooked beets should feel tender all of the way to the center when poked with a knife.
• Peel beets after cooking to prevent their pigments from turning everything (including your hands) red. Use a paper towel to easily  slip the skins off after cooking.

Two Ways to Cook Beets

Roasting Beets

Scrub two pounds of fresh beets (green leaves removed), massage them with 1 teaspoon olive oil, then wrap them all together in a heavy aluminum foil packet. Bake in a 400° F oven for one hour or until a knife can easily pierce the flesh of the beet. After roasting, allow them to cool slightly before slipping off the skins.

Pressure Cooking Beets

Beets are amazingly forgiving vegetables and will remain firm no matter how long they are cooked. I use a stove top pressure cooker when we are on our boat, but at home I use my Instant Pot...set it and forget it!

Recipe

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