Beet and Orange Mint Salad

I have a love-hate relationship with fall, I’ll be honest.  My husband loves the cool crisp mornings and the warm sunny days.  I like them too, I just miss the sweltering heat and being out on the lake or waking up really early to go for a walk to avoid the heat.  I guess I just like options and I know what the fall brings… winter.  Now that is a season I could do without.  When it’s cold, it’s cold for a good 6 months – there is just no way around it.  Please don’t misinterpret me as being negative, because I know I am damn lucky to be living in this amazing country and I do realize weather isn’t everything. 🙂

Well, the kids are back in school and it feels like the things I was hoping to do this summer only got about 50% done.  One was to spend less time in my kitchen and more time outdoors.  I’m not sure I did a great job of that… I think maybe it’s because I care so much.  I care about what goes into my friends’ and family’s bellies so I tend to spend a lot of time cooking and prepping food!  I think this whole caring thing is getting in the way… I was told about a book called, “How to not give a *#@&!”, and I’m thinking of buying it. I’d like to adopt a more “laisser faire” attitude with my immediate family as I think it would bring me closer to my children, and husband, to be honest.  I mean, who needs someone who is always reminding them to take their vitamin B12 pill or “eat their kale”.  I feel like that has been my job for the last 17 years, so it is what I know and am good at.  (Or at least annoying at.)

I did make some headway this morning… I informed my daughters that I wouldn’t be making them lunch today.  I found my one daughter’s last two lunches in her purse, uneaten and starting to mold… I need to let some things go.  Maybe I should have them make their own lunches the night before… I am always being told that we have “nothing in the house!” so I am not sure what they would actually make. 😉  I guess I have to just have faith that the healthy eating I have been modelling has been ingrained in them and will serve them as they grow up.  I guess letting go of control is bound to be hard when you are passionate about something.

I suppose I could just offer them $5 a day for lunch money.  My pet peeve is that absolutely everything they can buy at school has some form of animal product in it.  Even if it doesn’t contain meat, there will be the cheese…  The tempting, addictive, saturated fat filled chunks that taste great in mac and cheese and cheese pizza!  So, I resign myself to a life of either not giving a #@&! or waking up early to make summer rolls with rice paper and peanut sauce, that may or may not make it out of their purse at noon… ugh. (See Dr. Barnard’s short video about the detrimental effect of cheese in the link above.)

So, this brings me to wanting to share this end of summer (notice how I didn’t say fall) salad with you.  Harvest season brings root vegetables and herbs and the body’s desire to eat heartier foods. Maybe purple, staining chunks of beets aren’t too geeky to send to school for lunch?

My husband’s parents are coming in tonight so I rode my e-bike down to get groceries (so proud of myself).  I decided to make a refreshing beet salad recipe, the Power Bowl from “Oh She Glows”(one of my prior posts) and try a new chocolate cake to celebrate their birthdays tonight. (Update, the fat free chocolate cake was surprisingly delicious! Another recipe from the book described below.)

I absolutely love beets and so does my family, so that is an easy win.  Add orange and mint to the mix and this recipe is a real winner.  I love that it is simple, has few ingredients, no fat and tons of flavour.  I hope you try it and enjoy it too.

This recipe comes from the book from Rip Esselstyn called Plant Strong.  Rip is involved in the creation of the movie “The Game Changers” due out this winter. (I encourage you to watch the trailer by clicking the link I provided.  I had a chance to watch it before its release at a plant-based conference and it is amazing!)  Rip’s father is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a cardiologist in Cleveland, Ohio who is a leader in prescribing plant-based diets to reverse heart disease in his patients.

Beet and Orange Mint Salad

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Serves: 6 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes for beets 20 minutes for beets

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets, cooked, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 3 navel or blood oranges.  Skin cut off and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 shallot or 1/2 white onion minced
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 1/2 lemon (about 6 tablespoons)
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Instructions

1. Combine the beets, oranges, mint and parsley in a medium sized bowl.
2. In a small bowl, add the vinegar, shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice and whisk to combine.
3. Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing.  Serve chilled.

 

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