Endurance athletes have been consuming both beets and tart cherries for years due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Truthfully, I have never been a fan of either food.
Beets can be delicious if roasted on a salad with some citrus vinaigrette and some goat cheese and candied walnuts, but otherwise, I tend to feel like I’m eating a handful of dirt from my grandmother’s garden (not that I actually ever did that) whenever I eat beets.
Cherries I can also go either way with.
But this is 2021 and it’s time to try new things and make more messes in our kitchens.
I found this recipe in the newly released Runner’s Kitchen by 2017 Steeplechase World Champion Emma Coburn and made a few changes (namely added soy milk instead of almond milk).
I am pleasantly surprised!
Doesn’t taste like dirt!
Here are some of the other benefits of tart cherry juice and beet juice*
-source of melatonin: may help improve sleep
-treats gout (thankfully, I have not experienced this affliction. It does not sound pleasant at all.)
-promotes muscle recovery (sign me up!)
-improve stamina: increased time to exhaustion in studies
-lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial functioning
*Beets will turn your urine pink/red. You are not hemorrhaging, FYI. Everything is normal.
Here‘s the recipe I concocted:
Beet and Cherry Smoothie
2 cups frozen cherries
1 cup beet juice
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger, minced
add to blender and um, blend
optional: zest of lemon, lime, or orange
you can find Emma’s cookbook at: https://emmacoburn.com/collections/emma-coburn-shop/products/the-runners-kitchen-autographed-version
⬆️Beets and cherries are fine to give dogs. Just make sure the cherries have no pits. Beets may make their pee turn pink, too.
Stay well, FitFooters!
Betsy
Comments