Day 2: Heart-shaped Beets

On the second day of Valentine’s my true love made for me … a salad topped with heart-shaped red beets.

I know a lot of people don’t like beets and I didn’t either before living in Russia, but now I LOVE beets! In addition to being super flavorful, they are extremely good for you . Look at some of these uncommonly known facts I found about beetroot:

.

1. Beet pulp is fed to horses that are in vigorous training or conditioning and to those that may be allergic to dust from hay.
2. Beetroot juice has been found to improve performance in athletes, possibly because of its abundance of nitrites.
3. Since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac.
4. It has been suggested the pigment molecule betanin in the root of red beets may protect against  oxidative stress and has been used for this purpose in Europe for centuries. In humans, oxidative stress is involved in many diseases. Examples include: sickle cell disease, parkinson’s, alzheimers, heart failure, schizophrenia, bipolar, chronic fatigure syndrome.

1 bag of TJ’s butter lettuce

1/2 cup toasted TJ’s pecan pieces

1/2 cup TJ’s dried cranberries

1 fresh pear cut into cubes

1 bag of TJ’s pre-cooked beets, sliced and cut into hearts with cookie cutter

TJ’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola, to taste