(Makes 3-4 serving as a side or snack)

3-4 medium/small beets sliced and steamed

2 tbsp diced onions/shallots

½ cup chopped fine herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil)

2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil

2 tbsp lemon or apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Directions: In a pot steam beats for aprox. 15mins or until cooked, then remove from pot into bowl. Cool for 10 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients and serve as a snack or as a side.

Why beets:  In traditional Chinese medicines, beets are considered cool and sweet and are used to treat anemia, heart weakness, irritability, restlessness, constipation, herpes, and to detoxify the liver. Beetroots have been used as treatments for fevers and constipation in the old European times and especially used to treat digestive and blood illnesses.

Nutritionally, beets are a great source of folate, potassium, manganese and other powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease and birth defects. Additionally, the pigment that gives beets their deep red color, called betacyanin, is a potent cancer-fighting agent. Several studies indicate that beets are especially effective at protecting against colon cancer. Because beetroots are very rich in the B vitamin folate, which is critical for normal tissue growth, they are especially important to eat during pregnancy.