Here’s another crowd-pleasing recipe – I made this at home and brought it to a friend’s party a few weeks ago. People were curious to find out what this fuchsia-colored dip was and surprised by how great it tasted!

I initially found this recipe on Veggie Belly, a vegetarian food blog, – the moment I saw it, I knew I needed to try it for myself. And once I did, I was amazed by how easy it was to make and by how great it tasted!

I deviated a bit from the original recipe a bit so let me know what you think.

Just as a side note, if you’re not going to eat all of it at once or right away, put it in a container and keep it in the refrigerator, it should keep for about two or three days.

What You Need:

4 small beets (I used 1 package of the ready-to-eat variety from Trader Joe’s)
3 tablespoons orange juice (per my last post about calcium, I used Tropicana fortified with Calcium + Vitamin D orange juice)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¾ cup raw walnuts

How-To:

Put all ingredients into blender and puree under smooth.

It should make about 12 ounces and only takes about 15 minutes

*The next day I decided to incorporate the beet dip into a salad. I took about a cup and a half of mixed greens, 2-3 canned artichoke hearts (rinsed and pulled apart) and about a 1/3 of a cup of the beet deep.

Nutritional Benefits: Wheat Free, Dairy Free, No Added Sugar

Beets: Beets contain phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron and folic acid, which is actually recommended for pregnant women because it may lower the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborn infants. Beets also help to detoxify blood and renew it with minerals and natural sugars.

Walnuts: Walnuts are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. Walnuts are one of seven nuts that have less than 4 grams of saturated fat per 50 grams.

Orange Juice: Orange juice contains a lot of Vitamin C, which is essential vitamin for our bodies and an important antioxidant. Drinking orange juice, when combined with a meal that also includes carbohydrates (i.e. beets) and fats (i.e. nuts), helps to prevent the occurrence of inflammation within the body.

Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar is made from white Trebbiano grapes in northern Italy – their unfermented juice is used to make the vinegar. Balsamic vinegar plays a role in a healthy weight loss plan as it helps to suppress the body’s appetite and increase the amount of time it takes for the stomach to empty, which can contribute to weight loss by preventing overeating.

Tagged as: beets, laura knapp, meatless monday, vegan