Beet Harvest

The beets I planted last fall were trying to go to seed so I decided to pull them up today. Plus I wanted to use the section of the garden where they were planted. I ended up with a heaping wheelbarrow full of beets including the tops. After cutting the tops loose, I only ended up with about 4 gallons of roots. I could have had more if I would have done a better job of thinning during the winter. So it's my fault the harvest wasn't larger.  But I ended up with a sink full of the tender center leaves and another sink full of stalks of older leaves.

  

I separate the greens out because the young tender greens will cook faster. You can save the stalks too and cook them together or separately. If you want to cook them together, start the stalks first for about 5 minutes and then add the greens. I found some pretty good recipes for beet  greens at Simple Recipes and you can also try fixing them like you would any other "greens" recipe. To me they're milder than mustard or collard greens and more buttery tasting.

A tip that my Aunt Cecile in Canada taught me was to cook your beet root before peeling. The skins will slip right off. Also cut the top about 2 inches above the root to prevent all the juice from "bleeding" out of the root while cooking. Then cook in water that just barely covers them in a saucepan until tender when pierced with a knife or fork.

Beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach. The greens have a higher content of iron than spinach. Maybe that's why I feel much more energetic the day after eating beet greens. The greens have a higher nutritional value than its roots. But my friends and family enjoy my canned pickled beets and I think my husband prefers the roots. Beets are also loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C as well as calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium.

Its iron is of the highest and finest quality which makes it great for building blood. Both roots and greens are excellent for cleansing the toxins we're exposed to on a daily basis.
Here is an additional list of benefits:
Acidosis: Its alkalinity is essential and effective in combating acidosis.


Anemia: The high content of iron in beets regenerates and reactivates the red blood cells and supplies fresh oxygen to the body. The copper content in beets help make the iron more available to the body. A great blood builder.

Atherosclerosis: This wonderful crimson juice is a powerful solvent for inorganic calcium deposits that cause the arteries to harden.

Blood pressure: All its healing and medicinal values effectively normalizes blood pressure, lowering high blood pressure or elevating low blood pressure.
Cancer: Betaine, an amino acid in beet root, has significant anti-cancer properties. Studies show that beets juice inhibits formation of cancer-causing compounds and is protective against colon or stomach cancer.

Constipation: The cellulose content helps to ease bowel movements. Drinking beets juice regularly will help relieve chronic constipation.

Dandruff: Mix a little vinegar to a small cup of beets juice. Massage it into the scalp with your fingertips and leave on for about an hour, then rinse. Do this daily till dandruff clears up. Warning: you will smell awful during this hour!

Detoxification: The choline from this wonderful juice detoxifies not only the liver, but also the entire system of excessive alcohol abuse, provided consumption is ceased.

Gastric ulcer: Mix honey with your beets juice and drink two or three times a week on an empty stomach (more frequently if your body is familiar with beets juice). It helps speed up the healing process.

Gall bladder and kidney ailments: Coupled with carrot juice, the superb cleansing virtues are exceptional for curing ailments relating to these two organs.

Gout: Another ailment that can be greatly helped by the cleansing that beets have to offer.

Liver or bile: The cleansing virtues in beets juice is very healing for liver toxicity or bile ailments, like jaundice, hepatitis, food poisoning, diarrhea or vomiting. A squeeze of lime with beets juice heightens the efficacy in treating these ailments.

Varicose veins: In similar ways that it helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, regular consumption of beets juice also helps prevent varicose veins.

(Health info courtesy of Juicing for Health.com)

So whether you grow your own; or buy beets at the farmers market or grocery store don't throw away the tops - cook them! You'll get twice as much for your buck. Just remember that you ate beets when you visit the bathroom and don't freak out due the red color in your toilet. Ewwww.