Time to "Beet" a Cold?

While I would love the believe that subsisting on bizarre greens, 36oz fruit smoothies, and inordinate heaps of cocao powder would render me invincible, sadly such is not the case.

So when I got a sore throat yesterday afternoon, on the eve of my third reading-packed week of graduate school (in early September no less), my stubbornness immediately set in. No way! I'm not letting you get the best of me, you lousy microbes!

I bought a bundle of beets in anticipation of this new beet smoothie recipe I planned to make. And having just learned that they boast some Vitamin C, along with lots of other nutritious anti-oxidizing properties, I commissioned these health-boosting soldiers for battle the as soon as I felt those first viral inklings.

First I had to "learn myself" in the art of steaming and peeling these unfamiliar roots (I probably don't have a high enough powered blender to whiz them raw and after one premature blender death this year, I'm not willing to find out).

This wasn't terribly intuitive, but after reading over a couple online tutorials and making a mess tantamount to butchering Barney on the kitchen counter (man, is beet juice vibrant, beautiful, but MESSY!), I had a good 4 smoothies-worth of prepared beets for the week!

This is what I scrounged up from online:

1). Wash beets thoroughly and remove leafy stems, retaining 1 in of the stem and the tap root (Why? I don't know...)

2). Line pot with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil.

3). Quarter your beets, leaving skin on.

I just love how colorful God made food!

4). Place beets in steaming basket, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes.

5). They are done when a knife or fork slides in easily. Remove beets from heat and retain liquid (I saved mine since some of the color and nutrients probably slip down in there. You can save it to add to smoothies, soups, iced-tea, or just drink it with some OJ, ice, and a straw like I did! :)

Study snack!

6). Place on cutting board and either use a fork and knife to skim off skins or use a paper towel to rub the skin off. (This was the messy part. A couple unruly beet chunks shot out at me like missiles... glad I had my apron on!)

7). Cut and store in refrigerator.

Hopefully this smoothie (recipe link above), and some other nutrient-packed meal-choices, will conquer this sore throat before it develops into anything beastly. Apparently Vitamin C doesn't shorten colds (killjoy researchers...), but I don't see how all this healthy goodness in a cup won't help recovery time! I even threw in a handful of fresh kale and some carrot juice for extra body-healing oomph.

I'm also making a new Apple Cinnamon Oat smoothie to bring in the new season and to console my sniffly self in the process. Plus, it turns out that apples, bananas, and protein-packed silken tofu might help shorten sick time, too!

And so, even if these medicinal smoothies don't whip my body into immediate virus-busting shape, at least my "prescriptions" were tasty. :)