I know it sounds like an odd combination but this incredibly simple salad of steamed beets, diced apples, purple grapes, mellow green onion, dressed with walnut vinaigrette, will definitely land on my dinner table again! Be sure to read the options, this salad is so versatile you can make it with your own signature.

• 2 cups beets (red and/or golden), steamed and cubed OR cut shoestring style OR organic canned shoestring beets
• 2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1 medium green apple, chopped OR cut shoestring style
• 1/4 cup green onion, very thinly sliced
• Juice of 1/2 to 3/4 lemon
• 1 TB walnut oil
• 4–5 TBS walnuts, finely chopped
• Veganaise or Mayonnaise to taste
• Approximately 1 TB (or to taste) Powered Sugar or Natural Powdered Lakanto Sugar

Combine ingredients in a bowl and chill at least two hours or preferably overnight. Season with salt to taste.

Options

• After refrigerating to blend flavors, you can toss with arugula or baby spinach.
• Toss with goat cheese chevre or other crumbled cheese.
• You can add very small pieces of orange or pink grapefruit.
• To add protein, cook quinoa, cool and toss.
• Pine nuts are a delicious substitute/choice to replace walnuts.

Health Benefits of Beets

• Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are a popular root vegetable used in many cuisines around the world. They come in both the red and golden varieties.
• Beets are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and plant compounds, some of which have medicinal properties backed by science. What's more, they're delicious and easy to add to your diet.
• Beets boast an impressive nutritional profile—listed below.
• They're low in calories, yet high in valuable vitamins and minerals. In fact, they contain a bit of almost all the vitamins and minerals you need.
• They are credited in natural medicine for assisting to detoxify, especially the liver.
• Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments, both of which are plant compounds that contain various health benefits.
• Studies show that beets can significantly lower blood pressure over a period of only a few hours. The benefits recorded are greater for the systolic blood pressure rather than the diastolic.
• Several studies suggest that dietary nitrates, like beets, help enhance athletic performance. Nitrates appear to affect physical performance by improving the efficiency of mitochondria—responsible for producing energy in your cells.
• Beets contain pigments called betalains, which potentially possess a number of anti-inflammatory properties.
• Beetroot juice or extract have shown to reduce kidney inflammation when tested on rats injected with toxic chemicals.
• One cup of beetroot contains 3.4 grams of fiber. Fiber bypasses digestion and heads down to the colon, where it either feeds the friendly gut bacteria or adds bulk to the stool.
• The nitrates in beets may improve mental and cognitive function by promoting dilation of blood vessels and therefore increasing blood flow to the brain.
• The antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory nature of beets have led to an interest in its ability to prevent cancer. In animal studies, it showed reduction and growth of
• prostate and breast cancer cells.

Here is an overview of the nutrients found in a 3.5 ounce (100 gram) serving of cooked beetroot:

Calories: 44
Protein: 1.7 grams
Fat: 0.2 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Vitamin C: 6% of the RDI
Folate: 20% of the RDI
Vitamin B6: 3% of the RDI
Magnesium: 6% of the RDI
Potassium: 9% of the RDI
Phosphorous: 4% of the RDI
Manganese: 16% of the RDI
Iron: 4% of the RDI

Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments, both of which are plant compounds that have a number of health benefits.

A preview from The NEW Fat Flush Cookbook

They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home. I bet yours is filled with laughter, love, and nourishing ingredients, but you may be overlooking some important things. In this preview from my NEW Fat Flush Cookbook I cover the rundown on how to make your kitchen the most nourishing, healing place it can be—before you even begin cooking.

Essential Utensils
I personally prefer heavy-duty, stainless-steel, waterless cookware, which cooks in a vacuum seal. When food cooks in its own juices, high flavor, tenderness, and high nutritional value are guaranteed. In fact, studies have shown that cooking in vacuum-sealed cookware rather than non-sealed cookware retains more vitamins and minerals and produces less fat. At the same time, less salt and less of every seasoning is required for high-quality taste. I personally use Le Creuset cookware for all my cooking. Although it is a heavier line of cookware, I feel secure that it is enamel-covered iron and safe. Enamel, Corning Ware, glass, and Pyrex are also acceptable. For those of you who are anemic, you might consider cooking with iron-based utensils because the extra iron picked up from cooking can actually be therapeutic. When a high acidbased food like spaghetti sauce, for example, is cooked in iron pots, it contains six times more iron than when it is made in ceramic cookware.

Choose heavy-duty tin or black steel for your baking needs.

Stay Away from Aluminum
As a quick reminder, do aluminum-proof the kitchen as much as possible. Aluminum inhibits the body's utilization of key minerals like magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Scary, right? On top of that, some researchers believe that it can neutralize pepsin, an important digestive enzyme in the stomach. Replace all aluminum steamers, measuring cups, spoons, bread pans, and cookie sheets with stainless steel or Pyrex.

You should avoid aluminum foil also. When cooking, opt for parchment paper (like Beyond Gourmet unbleached parchment paper), which the French have used for years in their “en papillote” dishes to seal in juices. This can be used for roasting veggies as well. For storing and freezing, you can first cover with wax paper then foil, which prevents the aluminum from leaching into foods.

Can't tell whether your utensils are fused with aluminum that could leach into your food? Simple: test with a magnet. A magnet will not cling to aluminum but will to tin or nickel—which is often used with stainless steel.

Curb the Copper
You would also be wise to replace all copper-lined cookware. This metal can upset the sensitive zinc-copper balance in your system. Excess copper has been linked to depression, insomnia, anorexia nervosa, compulsive behavior, anxiety, hyperactivity, various skin disorders, and hair loss. Need I say more?

Consider a Water Filter for Your Home
With pure, clean water becoming extinct and with bottled water not always being reliable, a home water filter is no longer a luxury but a necessity. I recommend the CWR Crown Ultra-Ceramic Water Filter, the most effective water filtration system available. The filter is made of ultrafine ceramic with pores so small that they trap bacteria, parasites, and particles down to 0.8 micron in size. The filtering system provides a comprehensive, three-stage process.

In the first stage the tiny pores in the ceramic remove bacteria, parasites, rust, and dirt. The second filter state is composed of high-density matrix carbon that removes chlorine, pesticides, and other chemicals like chloramines and trihalomethanes. In the third stage, a heavy-metal–removing compound eliminates lead and copper.

Knives
I would be remiss if I did not remind you how important the right knives are for chopping, paring, slicing, and carving— everything from fruits and veggies to roasts and turkeys. At the very least, you will need one high-quality utility knife and one 4-inch paring knife for the majority of your cutting needs in the smart kitchen. If you are planning to purchase a new knife set and you want something durable, then I highly recommend MAC Japanese knives, which are acclaimed by chefs all over the world as the world's finest knives. The MAC knives are what I personally use because they have a razorsharp edge, stay sharp a long time, and have thin blades for easy slicing. They are easily available online.

Thermos
A wide-mouthed thermos is helpful for taking soups, stews, and leftovers to work with you.

The Flaxseed Grinder
Since ground flax seeds are such a potent source of metabolism-boosting omega-3s and fiber-rich lignans— which function as natural hormone balancers—a specially designed flaxseed grinder is a valuable smart kitchen item. The Krups F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with stainless-steel blades is an efficient, easy-to-use grinder. You can find it and similar products online.

Mortar and Pestle
Many of the recipes call for crushed dried herbs. To crush my herbs, I like to use a mortar and pestle, which is best for extracting the essence of the dried herbs and spices used in the recipes. The mortar and pestle crushes the herbs, which in turn release the volatile oils that contain the herbs' health and aromatic qualities. The aromas of the ground, dried herbs or spices are nearly four times as strong as the aromas from the same herbs and spices before they are ground.

Seed Grinder
For grinding and crushing seeds (like anise, fennel, or coriander), a small hand-turned mill is very useful.

For over 200 family-friendly recipes and snacks to make in your new kitchen—including Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, and Gluten-Free options—pick up your copy of The NEW Fat Flush Cookbook.