Roasted beets are one of my favourite salad ingredients. But have you ever wondered what to do with the tops of your beets, as known as beet greens? Believe it or not they are edible, and quite delicious. In this recipe I have paired them with rainbow chard leaves to make an unconventional, but extremely nutrient dense salad mix. Beet greens and chard are both great sources of vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and manganese. Beets and chard also contain nitrate, which has been found to help lower blood pressure, and can improve athletic performance in athletes by improving blood flow to the muscles.

Salad Ingredients

• 1/2-1 bunch rainbow chard
• 1 bunch of beets (3-4 medium beets), with the beet greens in tact
• 1/2 cup washed blueberries
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Wash and cut the ends off off your beets. Set beet greens aside.
3. Wrap beets in tin foil and place on a baking sheet.
4. Roast beets for 1 hour, or until easily pierced with the knife.
5. While beets are roasting, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.
6. Remove stems of chard. Roll chard leaves, a few at time, then chop. See picture above. Repeat with the beets greens and place in a large bowl.
7. Chop peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries, add to salad.
8. When done, remove beets form over, and let them cool. You can run them under cold water to speed this up.
9. Peel the skins off the beets by pinching them with your fingers. The skins should slide off easily if the beets are well cooked. If you are using purple beets, it will look like a murder scene in your kitchen. No worries, it washes off.
10. Slice beets and add to salad.
11. Sprinkle salad with walnuts (or any nuts or seeds you prefer). I also love pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on salads.

          

Maple Dijon Dressing

This recipe makes enough for 1 salad, but you can double it and keep the extra dressing in a jar in the fridge to use during the week on other salads.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
• 2 tsp grainy dijon mustard
• 2 tsp maple syrup 
• Sea salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions

1. Whisk all ingredients together.
2. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
3. Shake well before pouring over salad.