Tasty Tuesday: Just Beet It

For the past several years I’ve been a big fan of beets.  In fact, beets were one of T’s first solid foods, which made for some messy but comical dinners at our house (see pic below).  Though T is in a no beet phase right now, my love for them is still growing strong.  So strong that I created this pretty-in-pink beet hummus last week to go with some tasty veggie burgers.  What’s so great about beets?  The nitrates in beets have proven to be performance enhancing, making beet root juice a popular beverage among competitive athletes.  More recent studies have shown simply eating beets prior to activity may have the same result.  Want to “beet” the competition?  Snack on this hummus prior to your next athletic event….

Beet Hummus

Ingredients:

-1 15 oz can no salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed

-2 medium sized beets, cooked (to skip the prep try Love Beets brand prepared beets)

-1/3 cup low sodium vegetable broth

-1 teaspoon ground cumin

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-2 tablespoons tahini

-Juice of half a lemon

To make:

-Place all ingredients in food processor except for vegetable broth.

-Blend and slowly add in more vegetable broth until desired consistency is reached, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides.  You can use more than the recommended amount if  needed.

-Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

-Enjoy!

For more plant based ideas head over to the Joyful Gym Rat page on Facebook!

This hummus can’t be beet….

T back when he was a little beet machine….