Getting kids to eat veggies, or to eat in general can be a struggle… luckily, I have a foodie kid!!! Kiki loves to eat, but not always most eager to try new things. Luckily I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. When getting our food ready, I always ask her if we are eating a rainbow and if a color is missing from our plate; sometimes I ask her to close her eyes and tell me what color of food/vegetable she’s eating, and sometimes I tell her the benefits of the food like carrots are good for your eyes, broccoli is good because they keep germs away with vitamin C, tomatoes are good for your skin, etc…and she loves these games!

The latest vegetable I introduced to Kiki were beets, also known as the world’s healthiest vegetable! In addition to being delicious, they have some amazing benefits, like boost your stamina [Kiki veggie game – play longer with Barbies], good for your bones {Kiki veggie game – grow taller], lower blood pressure, fight inflammation, anti-cancer properties, and tons of detoxification support!

I wanted a really simple recipe and since she already likes pistachio and goat cheese or as we call it the fancy cream cheese, this beet salad was a good way to eat a new rainbow on the plate, though she was quick to tell me there was no blue or real green color but she was happy with the analogy eating beets meant playing with Barbies a little longer.

In a true faux foodie fashion, I took a short cut, and bought steamed and peeled baby beets.

The best thing about these ready to cook beats, the only ingredient in the pouch are beets!!!

I have to admit, being that beets are naturally high in sugar it was an easy vegetable for Kiki to eat and she loved that they left her lips red like she was wearing a lipstick. I would say, this salad was #kikiapproved and will be making another appearance on our weekly menu!

ROASTED BEETS PISTACHIO AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package of baby beets (or 1 pound of beets if you will roast them yourself)
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Pinch of Kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ of pistachios, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ shallot minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Crumbled goat cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Cut the beets into bite size chunks.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the shallot and mustard and let stand for 10 minutes. Gradually whisk in the remaining olive oil and season the dressing with salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl, toss the beets, pistachios with half of the dressing. Taste and add more dressing to your desired preference. Arrange the beets on a platter and sprinkle the goat cheese.