Featured Recipe: Summer beet salad
Check out this recipe brought to you by one of our very own – Kelli Phelan, a registered dietitian at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Ill. Phelan is an advisor to the Garden committee at Sherman and has a garden plot of her own, too.
“There are two trending (superfoods) vegetables – beets and kale. Beets are one of the most potent antioxidant vegetables and the richest source of glutamine, an amino acid essential to the health of the intestinal tract,” Phelan says. “It is well known that we should eat plenty of vegetables, and kale supplies us with an exceptional amount of minerals and vitamins, ensuring that we have the nutrients we need to remain healthy.”
Summer Beet Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large beets, cooked and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled (or feta cheese)
- 1/4 cup walnut pieces
- 1/4 cup watercress
- 1 tbsp high-quality olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- If using raw beets, preheat oven to 400°F. Scrub and rinse beets. Wrap individual beets in foil and roast for 30-45 minutes, until softened. Let cool. Cut into cubes right before making the salad.
- Cut 2 cups of watermelon into cubes.
- On a platter, arrange beet and watermelon cubes. Sprinkle with ¼ cup goat cheese, ¼ cup walnuts and ¼ cup watercress. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts per serving (4 servings)
Calories 157, Fat 10.6g, Carb 10.4g, Fiber 2g, Sugar 7.5g, Protein 4.5g, Sodium 84mg
Related Posts
Comments
About the Author
Jennifer Benson, health enews contributor, is coordinator of public affairs for Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. She has 10+ years of community development and communication experience for non-profits and has a BA in Architecture from Judson University in Elgin, IL. Outside of work, you can find her planning the next adventure near water or rocks, re-organizing spaces, working on her Master’s in Public Health, caring for her senior citizen cat, keeping to healthy moving and eating disciplines and growing green things wherever she can find room.
