Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Drinking My Valentine

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No candy hearts here.

 This Valentine’s Day marks the first one I’ve ever celebrated candy-free.  It doesn’t seem like a big deal… maybe it’s because Valentine’s Day is a a Tuesday and I’m spending the entire day holed up in a conference room with my boss prepping for a meeting tomorrow?  Or it could be because I’ve been single for 2 years.

In lieu of silly things like candy and flowers, I’m drinking my holiday spirit…. and for once it doesn’t involve red wine.  Today I bring you the best new smoothie I’ve made lately: Roasted Beet and Orange.

You know you make a lot of green smoothies when you get excited that the beets overpowered the spinach to make a red smoothie.

I have never liked beets.  The dirt flavor was off-putting and I didn’t like how they stain everything they touch (I also never ate chicken wings because they are too messy… and the bone grosses me out).

Recently, I discovered how delicious they are with citrus – orange and grapefruit in particular.  When we started the cleanse, I decided to take the plunge and roast them myself.  This has only made me fall completely in love with them!  Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Freshly roasted, the flavor turns more earthy than straight-up dirt.  I find that the sweetness in these beets came forward more as well.

Source: tasteinspired.wordpress.com

After using the first beet in last week’s red cabbage lentil salad, I started on beet #2.  It’s fairly common to see beets listed in juices, why not smoothies?

This post-workout, protein-loaded breakfast smoothie turned out better than I’d hoped!  The orange flavor was quite prevalent, and the almond extract was an amazing compliment.  Both of these are what I credit for hiding the beet “funk” I was sensitive to.

In case you were wondering, beet sunflower pesto* also eliminates the funk.  🙂

*That post also explains why you should buy ’em even if you don’t like ’em. 

Oh yeah…

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie

  • 1 C spinach
  • 1/3 C beet, roasted
  • 1/2 a medium orange
  • 1scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 cap full of almond extract
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp guar gum (optional)
  • 7-8 vanilla stevia drops
  • 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk
  • Water and ice, to taste
  • Ground flax seed, to top

Put it all in the blender/Magic Bullet and let the magic happen!

***

I’m seriously thinking of taking up online dating.

Do you feel like it’s V-Day today?  Or just another Tuesday?

What is your favorite Valentine’s candy/chocolate/treat?  I love those Reese’s hearts.

Comments

  1. Gorgeous smoothie! I kinda feel like it’s Valentine’s Day – but my husband and I will probably end up with takeout after we spend our evening looking for kitchen cabinets, woohoo! The almond extract is a great idea.

  2. I think you seriously have the most interesting smoothie recipes ever. I mean that in a good way 😉 I would have to agree on the reeses hearts too, since they have some serious peanut butter in them. Although, I’m pretty fond of my triple chocolate cheesecake (which I happened to post today). 🙂

    Happy Valentine’s Day!

  5. We both hate Valentine’s Day, so we’re gonna sit at home on the couch and not feel bad about it. I want to like beets so badly. They’re so pretty and juicy-looking, but every time I’ve tried them I just couldn’t like them. So healthy though, and that is a gorgeously red smoothie you’ve made with them.

  7. Get in my belly! I love this. I’m ashamed to admit I bought my FIRST tub of protein powder last weekend and I haven’t opened it yet. I never know what to do with it but I need more protein in general. So, my friend, you will be my forever protein powder muse. Just so you know. I’m trying this one stat!

    • I can’t believe you haven’t tried it yet! Let me know how it goes on Saturday. Sweet potato remains my favorite. 🙂

  9. I would honestly rather have that smoothie any day over a piece of candy- the recipe looks fantastic!
    Right now it feels like any other Tuesday- I’m tired and just want to go home and crawl into bed. 🙂 I am using today as an excuse to go out to a nice dinner with my husband- something we would never normally do on a Tuesday!

    • You know you’ve been drinking smoothies for a long time when… 🙂

      I hope you had a fantastic dinner. And a good V-Day smoothie.

  14. Beets are delicious, so why not put them in a smoothie? Fabulous idea! Why though, do I never think to put any sort of citrus in my smoothie? Fresh juice, almost always, but smoothies, not so much. I must try it! I love the color in yours (that beet color is unlike anything else!)
    I will eat an extra piece of chocolate for you today (dark chocolate covered salted caramel to be exact, if my husband took my not-so-subtle hints). It will be tough, but I like to take one for the team when I can. Way to go for sticking it out with the cleanse.

    • Did you know you can freeze citrus too? I typically have a few (peeled) orange halves in my freezer. Same for avocado (also good with citrus in smoothies).

      Thanks for taking one for the team. What deliciousness did you eat for me?? 🙂

  16. I can smell the dirt of beets right now just reading the post, something I will have to get over. MANY people espouse how good and yummy they are…eventually I will come around.

    Even though it is Tuesday I did spend a good part of the day wishing everyone well and you are no exception: Happy Valentine’s Day Laura!

    • It is definitely an acquired taste. This really wasn’t overpowering though. You can add all sorts of things to smoothies to take over everything but the color. 🙂

      Happy V-Day to you too!

  19. Roasted beet smoothie? Girl, you are just amazing. Everytime I’m on you blog I want to copy everything you do. 🙂 My Magic Bullet is my Valentine today. Ha ha!

    • Thank you – that means SO much coming from your creative self. 🙂

      Don’t feel alone – that bullet is my Valentine too. *sigh*

  21. You know, I really need to man up and roast my own beets. it seems so hard! Kudos to you for sticking to the red thematic on V-Day and for not eating candy. I had enough for the two of us 🙂

  23. I don’t think I had any candy yesterday either, but I did have a cookie. Oh well. Love the color on this smoothie and the combination with orange–I bet it was sweet and delicious!

  24. I LOVE that card too – they are hilarious!

    I’m a suck for anything that is curry-flavored – I don’t know that they ever look totally delicious, but they more than make up for it in flavor!

  25. I agree with beets tasting like dirt. I have not tried them roasted though. I actually just bought some beets yesterday to try in a smoothie.

    • One thing you could try if you roast them is to rub olive oil and balsamic on them before wrapping them in foil to give it some additional flavor.

      I would love to hear how you like them in your smoothie!

Trackbacks

  1. […] happier note, I did get confirmation that my Valentine’s Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie was indeed good.  Check out this pic from reader Ashley, who tweeted: “The verdict is […]

  2. […] bought a bunch (not meaning a lot!) of beets to try.  Inspired by Sprint 2 The Table I did try a beet and orange smoothie that was actually […]

  3. […] Fried Pickles by Planks Love and Guacamole Roasted Beet Orange Smoothie by Sprint2TheTable Portobello Parsnip Sweet Potato Stew by Peachy Palate Spaghetti Squash and Goat […]

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