As amazing as beets are, they got nothin’ on beet greens! Health-wise, that is. In terms of taste, it’s another story for me, though I know people who love them. If you’re more like me in that they aren’t your favorite thing, don’t worry because I came up with a recipe that has me excited to eat more, and reap the benefits of the “unusually comprehensive nourishment” (according to World’s Healthiest Foods) of beet greens! More about the amazing beet green after breakfast & lunch…
- 1/2 charentais melon (a huge one)
Checklist items: 2 other fruits (2 out of 18 servings)
I made a huge batch of mixed beans a little while ago, which makes it super easy to mix together a nice big bean-veggie-green lunch salad with whatever came out of my garden. If I remember correctly, I included black, pinto, red kidney, coco, & white kidney beans.
- 1 c mixed beans
- 1/4 c hummus, homemade, of course
- 1 c red leaf lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 c zucchini, diced
- 1/2 c corn kernels
- dressing made with lime juice, tamari, & sriracha
Checklist items: 3 beans, 2 other vegetables, 1 whole grains (6 out of 18 servings)
Beet greens! Just listen to me – I never thought I could be excited about beet greens. Their health benefits sound great, but I can’t get excited about eating something unless I know I’m also going to enjoy it. That’s why I can’t wait to share this recipe. It’s awesome, and so nutritious! Good thing I planted so many beets this year…
Beets are an excellent source of both calcium & magnesium. Magnesium is important for bone health, blood sugar regulation, glucose metabolism & energy production, mental health (deficiency in magnesium is associated with increased risk of depression), and control over inflammatory processes. Beet greens are also:
- an excellent source of Vitamins K, A, C, B2, & E, copper, potassium, manganese, & fiber;
- a very good source of Vitamins B1 & B6, iron, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, & protein;
- a good source of zinc, folate & Vitamin B3.
Beets, along with chard, quinoa, epazote, & spinach, are chenopods. This sub-family of plants has unique characteristics, not found in other commonly-eaten plants. The red and yellow pigments – betalain pigments – are antioxidants comparable in potency to the anthocyanins in blueberries. They are heat-sensitive, though, so to get the most out of the betalain pigment, add some raw beet greens to salads, or keep cooking times to a minimum. The specific epoxyxanthophyll carotenoids found in this sub-family are effective anti-inflammatories, especially in the stomach, as well as being supportive of the health of our eyes, and, indeed, our entire nervous systems. Oh, and they’re associated with decreased cancer risk, too! People who need to avoid oxalates, though, shouldn’t eat a lot of beet greens.
All that for less than 40 calories per (boiled) cup. Okay, great, so how do you make them taste good? Make them into patties, of course! I got the idea from the patties I remember my dad making out of swiss chard. This recipe makes 2 servings, but I calculated the checklist items below for 1 serving/half of this recipe.
- 2 small onions, diced
- 3 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 c rolled oats
- 1/2 c breadcrumbs (made from whole grain bread)
- 1/2 c pumpkin seeds
- 4 packed cups beet greens, chopped
- 4 T lemon juice
- 1/4 – 1/3 c dijon mustard
- 1 tsp ground coriander, plus 1/2 tsp grains if you have them
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 T flour
- 2 flax eggs (2 T ground flaxseed + 6 T water)
- 4 large potatoes (~ 2 1/2 lbs or 1.15 kg)
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- Cube and bake the potatoes for 1/2 hour at 230° C (450° F), turning them after 15 minutes. Pro-tip: agata potatoes taste amazing if you can get them; it’s a cultivar originating in the Netherlands, and I don’t know if they’re widely available outside of Europe.
- In the meantime, mix the beet greens with the lemon juice and half the mustard, and let them sit until the potatoes are finished.
- Mash the potatoes, then mix everything together except for the broccoli.
- Form the mixture into small patties and bake in the oven, same temperature and time as the potatoes, flipping them over half-way through.
- While those are going, steam the broccoli, and serve with whatever flavoring you like. I used a mix of homemade bouillon, lemon juice, tamari, & black pepper.
Checklist items: cruciferous, 2 greens, flaxseed, nuts, spices, 2 whole grains (8 out of 18 servings)
Well, we have to round out our Daily Dozen with some fruit & berries. Today, that’s some fresh raspberries from the garden and a bowl of fruit salad that I put together yesterday, with mangoes, pineapple, peaches, kiwis, plums, & passion fruit. It’s to die for!
- 1/2 c raspberries
- 1 c fruit salad
Checklist items: berries, 1 other fruits (2 out of 18 servings)
Taking account of the day:
18 servings in total.
We got the recommended servings of everything today.
The leaves on my nasturtium plants are getting so big, they’re reminding me of lily pads. I love having nasturtiums in my garden, as they’re both beautiful and functional. I’ve come across some articles mistakenly claiming that nasturtiums repel aphids. I saw one article suggesting making an infusion out of nasturtiums and spraying it on your garden. Don’t do that! Whoever wrote that has never had a nasturtium plant. Aphids love them! For that reason, some people plant them outside of their vegetable garden, at some distance, to attract the aphids away from their veggies.
That is not, however, my goal when I plant my nasturtiums. I have a single purpose in mind: to make as much nasturtium pesto as humanly possible, and freeze it so that I have enough for the whole year. It’s one of my favorite things. But I’ll get to that later. First, today’s daily dozen starts with…
Normally, I have most or all of my fruits & berries during breakfast. However, it’s the first day of the year that we’re getting above 80 F (26 C), so I already know that I’m going to be having some banana ice dream with black raspberries tonight for dessert. Thus, I’m going to leave the banana & berries out of my usual breakfast routine. Also, because I already know that I don’t enjoy the texture of flaxseed with melon, I’m going to add it to the ice dream – we’ll see how that turns out. I think it’ll be really nice.
- 1/2 charentais melon
Aside from drinks, that’s it.
Checklist items: 2 other fruits (2 out of 18 servings)
The entire above-ground portion of the nasturtium plant is edible. The base of the larger/older stems do tend to be a bit too fibrous, though, so I cut the leaves and flowers off an inch or two down. It tastes both peppery, like its namesake, watercress (a.k.a. nasturtium officinale), and sweet. In fact, mine are exceptionally sweet this year – almost like candy. Hailing from northwestern South America, the nasturtium has been used traditionally to treat urinary and respiratory infections, including colds & flu.
Nasturtium plants, like their cabbage cousins, contain kaempferol – a flavonoid/antioxidant which has been shown to aid in cancer prevention and treatment along with quercitin, also contained in nasturtium. We also find anthocyanins, carotenoids, vitamin C, iron, sulphur, & manganese. It’s best to eat both the leaves and the flowers, as they have different distributions of these beneficial elements.
Anyone who has been concerned about eyesight & nutrition probably knows the value of lutein, but a search for lutein-rich foods typically has kale at the top of the list, despite the fact that nasturtiums provide the highest lutein density of any edible plant – 45 mg per 100 g. Lutein is vital in preventing macular degeneration & glaucoma. In plants as well as animals, it helps to absorb damaging high-energy blue light rays, preventing free radical damage via antioxidant activity.
In a paper published in 2009, two researchers demonstrated that the essential oil in nasturtiums (benzyl isothiocyanate) kills harmful intestinal bacteria, such as E. coli and C. difficile, while leaving intact our gut microbiome’s beneficial bacteria, such as bifidobacterium & lactobacillus.
For all these reasons and more, I vote that we start paying more attention in general to edible flowers, and in particular to nasturtiums! Good thing the best pesto I’ve ever had is a nasturtium pesto! And my favorite way to use it is in sandwiches.
You can find the recipe for my nasturtium pesto here. As I mentioned before, I make enough to freeze and use throughout the year. It loses its pepperyness when frozen, but that’s actually better for kids, and it still tastes totally amazing. So, for lunch, I’m having…
- 2 slices of whole grain bread
- 1/2 c nasturtium pesto
- 2 slices of zucchini
- 2 slices of bell pepper
- 2 slices of cucumber
- thinly sliced red onion
- radish sprouts
- 1 c arugula & lettuce, mixed
- 1/2 c broccoli
- 1/4 c hummus
I’ll put as much of this as I can into the sandwich, except for the hummus & broccoli – it will depend on the size of the bread, really. The rest I’ll just eat as veggies & dip. My whole grain bread is actually quite small – half the size of a “normal” sandwich-style loaf.
Checklist items: cruciferous, 2 greens, 2 other vegetables, spices, 1 whole grains (7 out of 18 servings)
Dinner is quick, and not too filling, because we want to save room for banana & black raspberry ice dream for dessert!- 1 1/2 c black & pinto beans, mixed
- 1 c corn kernels
- 1/4 c cilantro
For flavor I added unknown quantities of lime juice, tamari, cumin, paprika, oregano, & sriracha, enough to suit my taste.
Checklist items: 3 beans, spices, 2 whole grains (6 out of 18 servings)
It’s so rare I have a dessert, so this feels like a treat, even though it’s basically just my breakfast in frozen form, with a little vanilla flavoring & nut milk added in. The basic recipe is here. Today, I used just 1 large banana, and added the following:
- 1 T ground flaxseed
- 1/2 c frozen black raspberries
- 1/4 c crushed Brazil nuts
Checklist items: berries, 1.5 other fruits, flaxseeds, nuts (4.5 out of 18 servings)
Taking account of the day:
19.5 servings in total
We got at least the recommended servings of everything, plus extra spices and 1/2 an extra serving of other fruits.
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