#1 / 52 Food Adventures: Golden Beets

We're starting off the year with an easy new item.

B and I both love beets and eat them fairly often but Peanut has been a bit beet deprived.

A few months ago I made him roasted beets and he liked them but man, do they make a mess!

Oh and did I mention that with the exception of the beets I made Peanut (once) we usually eat the canned kind?  I know, it's just that it was so much easier... until I found this trick to roasting and peeling the beets.

So I've been keeping an eye out for golden beets that Peanut could pick up with his hands without the fear of a red-stained baby.  

Are you ready for the great trick for peeling the beets?

Don't peel them until after you roast them and the skin slides right off.

For the red beets you can cover your hand with cling wrap or a sandwich bag to keep from staining your fingers.

Roasted Beets

2 medium beets, washed with the tops and tails cut off

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Place your beets in the middle of a sheet of foil and then fold the foil

over the top, folding and folding until it is secured down.

Fold the ends up until they meet the middle as well.

The goal here is to make sure it's airtight so the beets steam in their packets.

Roast for 45 minutes.

Allow the packet to cool a bit and open them carefully.

Cover your hand with a plastic bag, gloves or cling wrap and peel the skin off the beets,

cutting the top and bottom off if necessary.

Now they are ready to eat!

I cut them into chunks for Peanut to eat as a finger food, he ate quite a bit during dinner and I think I'll use it as a snack during the day.

A word about beet greens, eat them.

Prepare them the way you would spinach and you'll find they are tasty and actually much sweeter than spinach.  

Also, remove your greens as soon as possible as they actually suck up the sugars and water from your veggies.  If they sit for too long your beets will end up soft and without the same level of sweetness.

Here's the verdict on golden beets:  sweeter, milder and totally delicious.

Sometimes regular beets can taste a bit earthy, these are different and have an incredible sweetness to them.  We'll be getting more of these!

We can also add Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese to this weeks new foods.

I used it on a salad with the beets, romaine lettuce and a vinaigrette.

Although I liked it, the vanilla makes it feel a little out of place on a salad.

I think this would be great on it's own or as the package suggests, with fruit.

A tiny hint of vanilla and lots of dried blueberries and blueberry flavor.

Did you try anything new this week?

I know we're only a few days into the year so you have plenty of time to catch up  :)

Have you had golden beets before?

If you'd like to join the 52 Food Adventures Challenge you can read about it HERE or grab the button from the upper right side of the blog.