Beets! Who Knew?

My only experience with beets was seeing my mother eat the pickled beets from a jar at Thanksgiving. As a picky eater kid who only included corn and iceberg lettuce in my veggie repertoire, you can imagine I never tried them, and the smell alone made my toes curl.
Fast forward 40 years later and I think it's about time I take a look at beets again. Now that I am expanding my veggie experiences, I'm looking for new and interesting flavors. I've been seeing beets everywhere.....on Top Chef in fancy salads, at the Farmer's Markets and all over gourmet recipe blogs.
So, I bought some beets and looked up some recipes. Roasting them looked like a good idea. I love the way roasting brings out the sweetness in vegetables. I cut off the tops.......there were lots of leafy green tops, and I couldn't imagine just throwing them in the compost. I decided to saute them in some olive oil with a little onion and serve them with the roasted beets and some carrots that I decided to add. An hour in the oven at 350 and I was on my way. While they cooled a little bit, I sauteed the greens. I placed the greens on a plate, peeled and sliced the beets and arranged them on the greens....a little salt and pepper.....delish! Really, they were great! So beets will be in my veggie repertoire from now on!
But perhaps the best reason to eat beets is that they are very good for you. According to WHFoods.com, beets contain compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and colon cancer. They are high in fiber and despite their high sugar content, surprisingly low in calories.
But, if you are a veggie virgin and will not try the beets roasted....just hide them....

Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins

1 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 C. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. chopped pecans or walnuts

1/4 C. butter
2/3 C. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 C. beet puree
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper cups; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients until well combined.Stir in the half cup chocolate chips and nuts; set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the other 2/3 cup chocolate chips and butter over very low heat.Stir to combine and set aside to cool until lukewarm.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, beet puree, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.Don’t over mix.
7. Immediately spoon batter into 12 well-greased or paper-lined muffin cups.Batter should completely fill the cups.
8. Place muffin pan in a preheated 375 oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Muffins are done when they spring back when touched lightly in the center (or when a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean). Don’t overbake!
9. Cool muffins for 10 minutes in pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

Day two!

See that lady up there in that picture? She is doing the same workout as I am with one difference....I don't have a happy grin....I would say I have more of a grimace.......
I did the 5 mile workout again today. Boy, I have to say it really makes you sweat! After each mile, I tried to think of reasons why I should quit and only do two miles or three miles....but I talked myself out of it and stuck with it till the end. I had sweat dripping down my face and back...so I know this is good for me! This workout works your core, as well as your legs and arms. It is aerobic so it gets you up to your peak heart rate, but it also incorporates strength training. So it works your whole body and burns lots of calories. It warms up my joints so well, that I feel completely limber....almost lithe....for the rest of the day. And it has killed any appetite I may have had. So for the hour and 15 minutes, plus the shower I have to take after.....it is an hour and a half well spent. I will be away Friday to Monday, so I will do another one tomorrow and make sure we get a lot of nice hiking in this weekend. And then back to walkin'.

walk away the pounds!

I am still trying to lose weight, but even though I am eating healthy and restricting calories and exercising, I am still just yo yo-ing back and forth within the same 5 lbs. with no progress. I know I need to kick up my slower than a turtle metabolism....and that means aerobics....the kind where I sweat and pant away the calories.
Knowing myself and "how I am" I know I don't want to go to a gym and take classes, so I plugged in the new DVD player and loaded in Leslie Sansone's 5 mile walk dvd.
The last time I had success with dropping pounds was when I was using Leslie Sansone's program. Walking may sound like a too easy thing to do to get the heart rate going, but don't be fooled by the title. Yes, the basis of the workout is walking...as in moving your feet up and down...but she also adds in knee lifts, kick backs, side steps, kick outs, arm work and weights, lunges and squats. I did the whole 5 mile workout which took an hour and ten minutes, moving at a rate of 4 to 5 mph. I was sweating, but felt really great. When I was done I was full of energy and had no appetite the rest of the day, so I vowed to do this every day!
Well, I had to skip yesterday....no, I didn't overdo it and ache all over. I actually had no pain or stiffness....except for one thing...........It seems that during the cool down stretch, when I pulled my arms to each side, I pulled a muscle in my neck and shoulder. When I got up yesterday, I couldn't turn my head or move my arm. Leave it to me, to get through a long workout and then injure myself in the cool down! As much as I wanted to suck it up and do it anyway, I resisted. It paid off because today there is hardly a twinge and I can get right back into it! I'm actually looking forward to it.
This is the type of workout anyone can do. She usually has a group of normal looking people of different sizes doing the workout along with her to the beat of some catchy music.
If you don't feel like you can keep up with aerobic classes or you need to fit it into your own schedule, this is a perfect workout. If you go to her site, you'll see she has all levels of programs to suit everyone. I've also used her beginner yoga program, which I love! If you think aerobics are too hard, give one of Leslie's programs a try. You don't have to be a gym rat to get healthy!