My system is a bit exhausted from eating all those rich, salty Thanksgiving foods. I woke up this morning craving something fresh, so I figured it was time to make my favorite simple salad. At least, it’s simple and easy if you have a food processor with a shredding disk. Those who don’t are going to have to use some serious elbow grease. I suppose you could finely dice all the ingredients instead of shredding them. Let me know if you do, and how it turns out!
I used to abhor beets. In fact, until recently they were practically the only vegetable I refused to eat! Several years ago, knowing how healthy beets are, I made it my New Year’s resolution to learn to like them. After roasting them several times and throwing them away because they tasted like dirt, I gave up. Then this summer, I got stuck with some beets in my fridge (thanks roomie!) and ended up making beet burgers from the recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. They were so tasty that I continued to make them for weeks, and each time I made them I ended up with some leftover shredded raw beets. Turned out, beets are really good raw! They don’t taste like dirt that way! That’s how I discovered this salad, and I’ve been making it ever since. Low calorie, high nutrient, and costs very little to make. Beets pack a serious nutritional punch for very little money.
Ingredients:
1 medium to large beet, peeled and cut into chunks that will fit in the feed tube
2 carrots, trimmed and cut into equal-sized chunks
1 apple, cored and quartered
Juice of one lemon, or a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1/4c sunflower seeds or pepitas, or a combination of the two
Shred the beets, carrots, and apple in a food processor fitted with the shredding disk. I like to alternate veggies as I shred; does some of the mixing for me. Toss in a large bowl with lemon juice or vinegar and seeds. Eat it up!
Makes 4-8 cups of salad, depending on the size of the vegetables. Keeps for a few days in the fridge.