beets & beet greens, again : )

Here’s my meal prep for the week! Not a fancy dish, although it does look like it. Just plain, simple soyaki chicken over brown rice with half of my plate filled with veggies!!!

Beets and beet greens are so delicious. BEETS are one of the healthiest vegetables on this planet. Fresh beets have a natural sweetness in them that almost make them taste like a fruit. The pigmented antioxidants that give beets their deep, dark purple color are called betalains, which make them a strong cancer-fighting veggie! BEET GREENS have the same nutritional value as kale. Anytime I see beets with their greens still attached at the market, I take advantage and buy them right away because I know they’re fresh as long as their leaves still look good. If you hardly eat them fresh because of how messy it gets to prepare them, canned beets are just as nutritious! Like canned corn, canned beets are one of the few vegetables that do not lose their nutritional value when processed. The vegetable also contains natural sodium nitrates that provide energy. The natural nitrates are not equivalent to the nitrates in processed foods like hot dogs and lunch meat!! When buying meat, you should always choose nitrate-free and nitrite-free meat products. 

Learn more: BENEFITS OF BEETS.

Ingredients:
+ 3 beets with greens attached
+ 1 lb chicken breast
+ pepper to taste
+ fresh or dried thyme
+ sliced jalapenos
+ 2 garlic gloves
+ 1 tbsp canola oil
+ 1-2 tbsp trader joe’s soyaki sauce

To prepare:
+ peel garlic cloves and smash with the flat side of a chef’s knife. let garlic sit for 10 minutes on the side!
+ cut a few slices of fresh jalapeno; save the rest for another time.
+ separate beet bulbs from leafy greens and chop beet greens into squares. leave the beets whole.
+ steam whole beets & chopped beet greens in a steamer {closed lid}.
+ remove beet greens first as they will soften quicker. the bulbs will take up to 20 minutes or until soft {based on your personal preference}.
+ while the beets cook, season chicken breast fillets {the smaller & thinner the better} with pepper.
+ heat oil in a pan and throw in the garlic & jalapeno slices. cook chicken breast on one side for 4 minutes.
+ flip chicken fillets over and pour on the soyaki sauce and cook for another 4 minutes.
+ remove beets from steamer, cut off tops and bottom of beet bulb, and slice the way you like.