put a beet on it

How's the clean eating going? It's that third week of January slump, right? Maybe your toe isn't better yet. Maybe you have a slightly scratchy throat. Maybe you're looking outside at the gray sky and longing for sunshine. By "you," I mean "me," of course. I'm a writer - that happens.

I haven't been 100% clean, let me tell you right now. Still have my fun-size York Peppermint Patty addiction (and, curses, I found a "cleaner" version - they sell them all over town, and they are my new martini.) But I think I'm about 80% compliant. What helps is that I live in a city where healthy eating is pretty damn easy.

Speaking of easy, today, I want to talk about a product that takes the mess out of one of my favorite nutritionally sound foods. Trader Joe's Baby Beets. They're in the veggie section, cooked/peeled, ready-to-eat and super low in calories, high in nutrition. (I sound like an infomercial, I know...)

Lest you think that they're only palatable when paired with a half-pound of chevre, here's how I consumed them over the past 24 hours:

Breakfast - atop Tillamook Farmstyle Honey Peach Yogurt (with a sprinkle of raw cashews) - 200 calories.

Lunch - Power salad - again tapping into the convenience of TJ - Kale, microgreens, baby spinach, beets, ready-to-eat pom seeds, 2 ounces fully-cooked grilled chicken breast strips, a half-ounce of crumbled goat cheese, a Tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette. So good! 200 calories.

Dinner - Looking pretty on a plate of fettuccine (I scraped the Alfredo sauce off in favor of a half tsp butter and a sprinkle of parm cheese). A bit more caloric, this dish. 450 calories, but super filling.

I think I deserve Happy Hour tonight.

So, here's a little sidebar info just for the hell of it:

Health benefits of beets

• Low in calories (provide only 45 kcal/100 g), and contain zero cholesterol and small amount of fat. Its nutrition benefits come particularly from fiber, vitamins, minerals, and unique plant derived anti-oxidants.

• The root is rich source of phytochemical compound, glycine betaine. Betaine has the property of lowering homocysteine levels within the blood. Homocysteine, one of highly toxic metabolite, promotes platelet clot as well as atherosclerotic-plaque formation, which, otherwise, can be harmful to blood vessels. High levels of homocysteine in the blood result in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and peripheral vascular diseases.
• Raw beets are an excellent source of folates. It contains about 109 µg/100 g of this vitamin (Provides 27% of RDA). However, extensive cooking may significantly deplete its level in food. Folates are necessary for DNA synthesis within the cells. When given during peri-conception period folates can prevent neural tube defects in the baby.
• Fresh tubers contain small amounts of vitamin-C; however, its top greens are rather excellent sources of this vitamin. 100 g of beet greens provide 30 mg or 50% of RDA. Vitamin C is one of the powerful natural antioxidants, which helps the human body scavenge deleterious free radicals one of the reasons for cancer development.
• The root is also rich source of B-complex vitamins such as niacin (B-3), pantothenic acid (B-5), pyridoxine (B-6) and minerals such as iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium.
• Further, the root compose of moderate levels of potassium. 100 g fresh root hold 325 mg or 7% of daily requirements. Potassium lowers heart rate and regulates metabolism inside the cells by countering detrimental effects of sodium.

 Any other beet fans out there?