Do you remember those foods from your childhood that you just simply hated?

Me too. Canned spinach is the first to come to mind. No matter how many times my mom forced me to eat it, it always left me reeling in dry heaves.

I remember it sitting in a rounded pile on my plate, covered in butter and salt. It would eventually get cold and because I was not allowed to leave the table until my food was finished, I would try to eat the slimy mass in one big bite. Swallowing it whole while pinching my nose shut.

To this day, I cannot think of anything more repulsive.

And then there were the foods that I assumed I hated, but never even actually tried. Like brussels sprouts. Which are actually really good.

And onions. While I still won’t eat them raw, I can now eat them in dishes where they’ve been cooked down (texture gets me).

So like the mature adult I pretend to be most times, I’ve been trying out things that I formerly disliked and deciding if I still dislike them or not. (Unfortunately, I still don’t like tomatoes. I love tomato products, but I regrettably admit despite growing loads of tomatoes every year, I can’t stand them raw. I know, I know, the shame of it.)

Take beets. I grew up with pickled beets on my plate. They received (almost) as much rejection as the spinach. Tasted like pickled dirt to me, but worse (is that possible?).

But this year, I’m determined to find out if I just don’t like beets pickled, or if I don’t like them at all. And so I’ve decided to experiment with some recipes and found one way that I enjoy them: in smoothie form.

Now, it could be the fact that they are paired with raspberries, which I adore. But the earthiness of the beets are present, which is what I’m trying to acclimate myself to. If you don’t like that earthiness but are desiring the nutritional perks of beets (they benefit so much of your body- brain, liver, heart, eyes, immune health, digestion, etc.), you can cut that earthiness by adding a banana or sweetening it up a bit with some almond or coconut milk. If it were later in the year and citrus was in season, I might take my Dominican sister-in-law’s suggestion and swap out the milk products for orange and pineapple juice like her mother did (she said the neighbors used to flock to her home for her mother’s citrus beet smoothies!).

Raspberry Beet Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peeled & shredded beet
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 7 oz. plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 Tbs. real maple syrup
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender. Enjoy!

Note: To cut down on texture, you can blend the raspberries before hand and push through a sieve to strain out the seeds. To sweeten, (1) add one small banana (2) sub vanilla or other flavored yogurt for plain (3) sub almond or coconut milk for the regular whole milk.

Tell me: what are your favorite ways to enjoy beets (that might sway the unconvinced)? I have a roasted balsamic beet recipe that I’m anxious to try next, as well as a citrus beet salad.

I hope that this late summer season finds you well. The air has a touch of fall to it. Am I ready? No way Jose. The gardens are at that perfect stage where they have anything and everything I need come suppertime. What an absolute blessing.

See you soon, homestead friends.