Beets can’t be beat as the best bone and joint food! Beets the highest level of nitric oxide content which is not only beneficial for your joints, but it also helps with stem cell growth. I highly suggest a simple diet of roasted beets over a kale salad sprinkled with feta cheese and pumpkin seeds (pepitas) as a wonderful, healthy and tasty salad. Best thing is that some of the best beets in the world are grown right here in Michigan. Click here for Dr. Loniewski’s pain busting beet and kale salad. Enjoy!
If you are interested in making an appointment with Dr. Loniewski , call 810-299-8552 or use our on-line request form.
Pain Busting Beet and Kale Salad- Serves about 4
Ingredients:
- 3 medium to large raw beets- preferably from Michigan.
- One bunch of fresh kale washed and chopped into bite size pieces
- 4 ounces of feta cheese cut into bite sized cubes or crumbled
- ¼ cup of shelled, roasted and salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- ½ fresh lemon squeezed with seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of dijon type mustard
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional but tasty)
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of coarse ground pepper
- ½ cup of olive oil
Dressing
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Wash and trim the beets removing the stems and just the tip of the beet.
- Coat each with some of the olive oil and add additional salt and pepper.
- Wrap each beet in foil and place in an ovenproof dish to catch any juice.
- Roast at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour to 1.5 hrs for larger beets.
- Unwrap from foil careful to avoid spilling any juice and place into an airtight heat proof container for about 20-30 minutes to cool and steam so the skins easily peel.
- After cooling, carefully peel back the skin with a paring knife and cut into ¼ to ½ inch cubes.
- Mix the above dressing ingredients adding in the olive oil last as you whisk this in with a whisker or fork.
- Mix the dressing over the beets first and mix thoroughly to coat. Add in the feta cheese and peptias and mix some more. This mixture you can save for another salad or to eat alone.
- Finally judge how many beets and cheese you want for your salad and mix this with the the chopped kale and mix gently one more time. Save the rest of the beet mixture for later.
Do this twice a week for a 6 weeks to replace your nitric oxide levels.