Festive Cherry Beet Salad

When the holidays come, the festive accompaniments look very good. Most belong to the category of vegetables or bread / stuffing. Many people also enjoy the standard Jellied Cranberry Sauce or Cranberry Orange Sauce with its beautiful red and orange colors. But here I offer you an alternative that is just as delicious and so brightly colored that it is sure to add to the festivities at your holiday table.

To make my cherry beet salad you will need:

1 large apple, unpeeled

1 medium raw red beet

1 large or 2 medium carrot

1 lime – juice

1-2 packets of stevia

1/3 cup dried pitted tart cherries

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Addresses:

Mash the apple, beets and carrots in a bowl.

Add the dried cherries. The ones I use are the pitted, tart Montmorency cherries.

Add the lemon juice and stevia. Mix well.

I love using Stevia. It is my favorite sweetener. You may only need one pack, so test the level of sweetness and adjust for your taste. If you want to add a little spice, add the ground ginger and adjust it to your liking as well.

The beets will color the other ingredients, but the bright orange of the carrots will come out, so this is a beautiful dish.

Warning: Beets stain! Watch out for juice splashes on your clothes. As for your hands, you will probably need to wash several times to remove the bright red stain. Also, the bright red color of beets comes from a compound called betanin. It is not broken down in the body and, in higher concentrations, it can temporarily make urine and stool look a little red; fear not, it is harmless and will dissipate once the food is out of your system.

Obviously, this is the type of recipe that you can adjust based on the amount needed and the level of sweetness. There is a delicious earthy flavor to root vegetables and the dish is a festive salad that can easily be a side dish or dessert, albeit not traditional.

Nutritionally speaking: beets are a good source of vitamin C, iron, and magnesium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate, potassium, and manganese. The bad news is that they are usually high in sugar, just like carrots. Carrots are a good source of thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and manganese, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium.

Lastly, for those of you who only need your blueberries, you can of course substitute for the cherries. I’ve even come across orange flavored blueberries to work well too. But try the cherries as they really add a nice flavor to the salad. Happy Holidays!