Making sure you get enough fruits and vegetables can be a challenge for most of us. I find the easiest way to make sure you get those servings is to sneak them into smoothies, soups + stews.

Beets are a powerful root vegetable, filled with numerous vitamins and minerals. They have been shown to have many health benefits including to help regulate blood pressure, support brain health, and ease digestion. Beets contain betaine, which is an important nutrient for the prevention of chronic diseases (source). They also contain protein, fat, fiber, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, and Iron. We all seem to know why vitamins are important for health, but we may not be as familiar with the benefits of minerals.

Minerals are essential, meaning that our body cannot produce them, and therefore we have to absorb them from our food. Minerals compose about 4%-5% of our body and are found in tissue proteins, enzymes, and blood. Although there are 103 known minerals, there are about 18 that are necessary for health. Deficiencies or excess in any mineral can cause many minor and major issues. That is why I always say that getting your vitamins and minerals from foods is always best.

Unfortunately, for most of us, we have trouble absorbing these minerals because our digestive system isn’t functioning properly. Even if our digestive system is working perfectly, most minerals are moderately difficult to absorb. In addition to digestive absorption issues, much of the food we eat is highly processed and looses much of its mineral content through this refining. Current food production factors affect the amount of minerals found in our food. For example, environmental pollution and soil depletion have a detrimental affect on the quality of our food. The best bet is to buy organic and to buy fruits and vegetables in season. Of course, that isn’t always possible, so we just do the best we can. You can buy frozen beets at the store - just make sure there isn’t anything else added to them such as sugar or oils.

ROLES OF MINERALS:

• Acting as cofactors for enzyme reactions

• Maintain pH balance in the body 

• Facilitating the transfer of nutrients across the cell membranes

• Maintaining proper nerve conduction

• Contracting and relaxing muscles Regulating tissue growth

• Providing structural and functional support

MINERALS ARE CLASSIFIED AS EITHER MACRO MINERALS OR MICRO MINERALS.

We need macro minerals in large amounts and micro minerals in small amounts. As I said, the best way to ensure you are getting the right amounts is by eating real food!

So beets have magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, and Iron - awesome.

Try this strawberry + beet + ginger smoothie recipe soon start your day out right by giving your body lots of vitamins and minerals! Smoothies in general are a great way to start your day. I never really follow recipes but just throw things together. I take my chances on flavor :)

strawberry, beet, and ginger smoothie

Ingredients:

1 frozen roasted organic beet*

Coconut oil (for roasting)

1 cup frozen organic strawberries

1/4 tsp. grated ginger

2 cups filtered water or coconut water

(Optional) a bit of raw honey for sweetness

Directions:

prepare beets by covering them with a healthy fat. coconut oil works great for this because it can offer a nice coconut flavor to the smoothie.

roast the beets at 350° until tender, take out, cool down, and peel. Place them on a cookie pan and freeze them. When frozen, Place in a bag and store in the freezer.

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth! Add in extra liquid for desired consistency.

Cheers!