I love foods that are vibrant in colour, not only does this usually mean they are rich in nutrients and phytochemicals they make your meals look more beautiful. Beets and red cabbage are two of my favourite vegetables because they add a pop of purple which makes any meal look fantastic and more nutritious.
This week I did a grocery store tour with students from Georgian College and one of our grocery shopping tips was to try something new each week. Most of them said they have never had beets or didn’t know if they liked them or not. This chat inspired today’s blog post. If you have never tried beets before this is a crowd pleasing recipe that you can make and customize in a buddha bowl or serve up as spaghetti and beet balls over zucchini noodles. This is one of the favourite recipes from my first Plant-Based Cookbook you can grab your copy here: https://pamrocca.com/shop
Beets are:
- a nutritional power house
- rich source of betaine which aids proper liver function and protection from harmful toxins
- rich in antioxidants
- anti-inflammatory
- a great source of phytonutrients that aid in phase 2 liver detoxification
Since they are so great at detoxifying or cleaning and protecting your liver I recommend eating them at least once a week in this beet ball recipe, beet and strawberry smoothies, raw shredded on salads, or boiled for an easy side. They delicious raw or cooked.
This vegan “meat” ball recipe also contains a healthy amount of plant-based protein coming from ground flaxseed, white kidney beans, walnuts and mushrooms. So enjoy this recipe as a healthy protein source for any bowl, salad, or as a quick grab and go snack.
The Recipe
PrintBeet Balls
Makes: 24 balls
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1-2 beets (1 large, 2 small)
1 flax egg (3 tbsp ground flax, 1/3 cup water)
¼-½ yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup walnuts (optional)
1 package mushrooms
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
Directions
1. Preheat oven 350, place sliced mushrooms and walnuts on baking tray and bake 10 minutes.
2. In small bowl make flax egg by adding 3 tablespoons flax into bowl along with 1/3 cup water, let sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. Peel beet and place in food processor, process for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse white kidney beans and add to food processor, along with cooked mushroom and walnut mixture, garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, cumin, chili, coriander, garlic salt (or just salt and pepper season to taste) and flax egg mixture. Mix until well combined.
4. Empty mixture from food processor into large bowl. Add breadcrumbs and mix until well combined.
5. Prepare baking tray with parchment paper. Roll beet mixture into small balls and place on prepared parchment tray.
6. Bake 15 minutes, gently flip and cook an additional 15 minutes.
7. Serve as spaghetti and beet balls, in wrap, or Buddha bowl.
If you are making these in a buddha bowl check out my Buddha Bowl Blog or the Top 5 Bowl Dressing blog for some more inspo and free recipes.
If you make this recipe I would love to hear what you think in the comments below or be sure to tag me in your pics on Instagram @pam_rocca.
As always sharing is caring, if you know someone who would love this recipe I would so appreciate you sharing it with them.
Happy Meal Prep Sunday,
