B is For Beets…and Breakfast

I had strawberries and Greek yogurt and beets for breakfast this morning. Don’t worry, they weren’t all in one bowl.

I woke up this morning thinking about the beets I made last night. I had every intention of eating them for dinner, but after my soy crumbles/pasta sauce/sautéed mushrooms/butternut squashgasm, I was satisfied and didn’t want to eat any more. OK, maybe “didn’t want to eat” isn’t true, but I chose not to eat them because my stomach said I didn’t need to. And my stomach is much smarter than my brain.

I think I’ll start more mornings with beets. I was awake at 4:15 for no reason and finally dragged my butt out of bed at 6:15. I thought for sure I’d be dragging by 8 and want to take a quick nap, but no. My body was full of energy and I completed a full workout. Could it have been the beets? Hmmm…

I went in search of information about this yummy root vegetable and found The World’s Healthiest Foods website. What a gem! It features a food of the week, cooking tips, in-depth nutritional information and even healthy menus. I also signed up for their free newsletter. By the way, today’s food of the week is crimini mushrooms. Where has this website been all my life?
Anyway, back to beets. According to WHF, “Beets are an excellent source of the B vitamin, folate, and a very good source of manganese and potassium. Beets are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus.” Eating them can help prevent colon cancer, birth defects and inflammation. One cup of beets is only 74 calories. I never thought to grate raw beets into salads before or to roast them. So many options! I’ve also never eaten beet greens before, but I will try them now that I know what to do with them.

Tonight I’m cooking up Brussels sprouts and will make enough to have for breakfast tomorrow. I’ve decided to incorporate a veggie into every breakfast, even on non-omelet days. I know it wasn’t simply eating beets that kept my energy level high this morning (although I know beets have a high sugar content, I’m pretty sure my energy came from my scale number which was down and that made me very happy and when I’m happy, I’m energized), but eating veggies at every meal is my new goal. I’ll just have to be very careful not to confuse them for the fruit I put in my yogurt or on oatmeal or Shredded Wheat ‘n Bran. I’m pretty sure asparagus in light vanilla soy milk wouldn’t be very appetizing. Although, green beans in warm milk was a staple while I was growing up. Mmmmm…now I want green beans.

My mind is a scary place sometimes.