Guess what grows really well in Utah… That’s right! Beets and Cherries both grow well here!
Combining them into a smoothie might seem a little bit different, but that is what makes it fun! Look how easy, and how pretty this smoothie is! It is only 4 easy to find ingredients and a few minutes with the blender.
Adding something new (like beets) to something kids are used to eating (smoothie) is a great way to help kids learn to try new things, and to not be afraid of tasting new foods. (It works on grown-ups too!)
While cherries are not in season right now, frozen ones are easy to find, and are still packed with all the tasty vitamins and minerals your body loves to put to good use! Cherries are full of good stuff like Vitamin C, which can help your blood absorb iron and build red blood cells. Cherries can also help reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and even help put you to sleep with their naturally occurring melatonin.
What about beets? Yep, they’re full of good stuff too, and since they hold up well in cold storage, they can be picked in the fall and stored for quite a long time! Beets have a lot of vitamins and minerals per bite like Vitamin C, Iron, and Vitamin B6, as well as fiber to keep your insides moving along at the right speed. For this recipe you can buy fresh beets and roast them whole ( bake whole beets, trimmed of leaves and wrapped in foil at 400 F for 50-60 minutes, then gently pull off peel with a paper towel and use) or buy pre-roasted and peeled beets, or buy a can of beets and drain them (watch out for pickled beets! That’s not a good choice for a smoothie!)
This smoothie also has yummy yogurt, and a sweet banana, so you get lots of nutrition without added sugar from fruit flavored or fruit added yogurts, because that banana has natural sweetness.
Be sure to be careful handling cooked beets; Your hands can turn pink, and you might get a pink smoothie mustache or some veggie lipstick drinking this very red smoothie!
Try it out today, and be sure to check back throughout the year for more Harvest of the Season and Utah Farm to Fork recipes that help you learn what we can grow in our great state, and to make a few more healthy foods.