Beetroot

This morning I had beetroot juice for my breakfast. I was introduced to beetroot by my sister's father-in-law. I tried the beetroot soup that he cooked, it tasted good and was quite similar in taste to the white carrot soup that my mum used to cook. I was amazed by the red colour of the soup which came from the beetroot. My sis's father-in-law told me that it can be eaten raw by extracting its juice using blender.

So, when i went shopping for groceries yesterday, i saw beetroot and bought one to try.

This piece of beetroot cost RM2.66 or RM4.90 per 1kg. Bought it from Sunshine Sq. This is how it looks after I sliced off its skin.

It looks like the red dragon fruit, except that it is harder in texture. It should be rich in caretenoid due to its red colour, therefore I prefer eating it raw than cooking it in hot boiling water to avoid losing its nutrient. I chopped it up into small pieces, put them into the blender, added some water and blended them. The result:

But it has more pulps than juices, so I had a tough time putting it down my throat. I didn't throw away the pulps, as I believe most of the fibre is in there. There were still some in the blender after pouring it into 2 cups. The taste is quite close to carrot juice. I didn't add sugar or anything else. Hmm....I think I will opt for cooking it instead the next time coz it tasted much better cooked in soup...haha.

Here are some benefits of taking beetroot that I found from the internet:
"Beetroot has for many years been used as a treatment for cancer in Europe. Specific anti-carcinogens are bound to the red colouring matter which supposedly helps fight against cancer and beetroot also increases the uptake of oxygen by as much as 400 percent. Additional studies are taking place to add support to these claims."

The Star has also reported of its benefit in the link below:

http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2007/3/28/columnists/foodsafety/17239112&sec=Food%20Safety