Just BEET it....

One of my kids favorite things that I make for them is roasted beets and carrots. 
Odd, I know, my kids are ages 4 to 9 years old and they LIKE beets, go figure right?  They didnt always like them or even wanted to try them, but one day I made this dish, and now they love them.  So I wanted to share with all of you so that you can make this at home and share with your kids,. (even my husband eats it and he is a PICKY eater)  







 



So, here is what you do:  
I normally have 3 beets and about 6 carrots. 
Peel the beets and then cut them into quarters. then lay the beet down and slice them into thick slices, this is called a "country chop" due to its rustic appearance.  
Do the same with the carrots. I do not bother to peel the carrots since my kids eat them raw and whole all the time (as you can see from the picture of Arcee, she sat there munching on a whole carrot while I cooked), there isn't much need to and is a waste of time. 






Toss all the chopped pieces onto a baking sheet and sprinkle some olive oil on the tops of them and then some pepper and some sea salt. Then put them in the oven at 350 until they are soft. You may have to take them out and toss them a few times for them to cook evenly.

 Afterwards they look about like this: I ran out of time and had to pull them a little sooner then I usually do because the kids had school today and we needed to eat dinner.

I made some green beans, chicken, and some homemade chicken gravy to go with them for dinner. I like to keep to one side dish that grows above the grown and one that grows under the ground. It is a good way to keep a balanced mix of vegetables so that you do not eat too much of one kind. 

Dinner looked like this.  It was very yummy and the hubby and kids ate it right up!  :)

So,  Now that we have discussed HOW to eat beets, let talk about WHY!  :)

 One serving size of beets is 1/2 cup slices.  As you can see beets are naturally fat free, (and depending on how much olive oil you add to it, there isn't much in the whole dish.) They are not a good source of protein, but have good fiber. But beyond that, lets look at their vitamin and mineral levels.

A good source of:
Fiber
Folic Acid/Folate
Omega 6
Omega 3
Manganese
Magnesium
Potassium
Iron
Vitamin C

So just BEET it!  

And Have a Great Monday!!

Let me know in the comments if you tried this and how you liked it. 

Also, if you have a different way that you like to eat beets I would love to hear about it!  :)

a Big thanks to:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2349/2
Who provided the nutritional graphs and information for my beets!  I couldn't have had such a great blog post without it!  :)