Beetroots are mega nutritious but I’ve never been a fan. The only way I like it is sauteed by my mum with some carrots, garlic and mayo into a sort of a relish. I’m unable to replicate this mix as I’m not a great cook. Or possibly it’s just to do with being cooked for.

In any case, my mum is a 3 hour flight away, I visit not as often as I should or would like to… If beetroot is part of a dish in a restaurant, I tend to skip to the next dish of the menu. Basically I eat beetroot once a year… :/

The main reason beetroot is good for you – iron! Since my teens I’ve had low iron and keep hearing that eating beetroot regularly will sort the imbalance and save on taking courses of pills. In my nutrition studies I’ve now learned that beetroot is one of the vegetables high in dietary nitrates (the good guys) that turn into Nitric Oxide, dilate the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and also dietary nitrates reduce need for oxygen during high intensity endurance exercise. Eating beetroots may improve running, increase stamina and help overall exercise performance.

Sounds good to me, and as I’m now able to stomach (and even crave) my childhood nemesis – egg yolks, I’ve decided to give beetroot a go too. Bicep curl!

My first try was a small pack of baby beetroot from M&S, it’s cooked already (convenient), marinated option available too, so it’s was just sliced beetroot with some blue cheese and crashed walnuts (do’h, forgot to take a photo!). And yes, I liked it!  Did not finish the whole 400gr box but it was good, and tasty, and my stomach was fine. Next time will separate into 3-4 parts and vacuum pack. This way will be able to have a bit throughout the week.

I want to try some raw beetroot, here’s a 15min recipe by Jamie Oliver, not sure Asda stocks yellow beetroot, but hey it’s the taste that counts 🙂 and nutrition!

Speaking of nutrition, here’s a link to the Authority Nutrition breakdown of all things in beetroot (supported by research). Main minerals are folate, potassium and iron – all important for cardiovascular health.

And so beetroot gets onto our Superfood list too! 🙂 Photos of my beetroot experiment are to follow.